The Vendor Management Office: Unleashing the Power of Strategic Sourcing

Negotiating the lowest possible price is no longer enough. Internal customers now demand more: they need business advice, guidance, and expertise to manage their sourcing requirements. They need an organization that focuses less on price and more on the value that vendors can provide. The organizational key to unleash the potential of strategic sourcing is the Vendor Management Office. It is an over-arching organizational concept of strategically managing procurements and vendors to maximize business investments in key commodities. Resulting from over 10 years of real-life experience implementing VMOs, this book introduces the concept of a VMO and the VMO philosophy that cost is not always a factor. The book is much more than conceptual: concrete and practical tools considered necessary to launch a newly formed VMO are explored in detail. Additionally, appendices contain materials that can be easily adapted for use by any VMO.