Vendor Management

Covers the vendor lifecycle from selection to exit. Two failures dominate this discipline: tiering vendors by spend rather than by blast radius, and losing every point of renewal leverage to a missed notice deadline. This skill is built around preventing both.

When to use this skill

• Selecting a vendor and needing a scorecard that survives scrutiny
• A renewal is approaching and the notice deadline needs to be found before it passes
• Reviewing the vendor portfolio for concentration, risk tier coverage, and consolidation
• Preparing a business review with SLA performance and credits owed
• A vendor is underperforming and the case needs to be built on trend, not anecdote
• Planning an exit and needing the sequence right

Inputs the skill expects

• For selection: weighted criteria, must-have requirements, and 0-10 scores per vendor with evidence
• For the portfolio: annual spend, category, renewal date, notice days, and auto-renew flag per vendor
• Risk inputs per vendor: data classification, business criticality, alternative availability, subprocessor use
• Internal owner per contract
• For SLA reporting: committed metrics with target, actual, direction, credit tiers, and prior-period history
• Annual contract value and the contractual credit cap

Clarify First

Before generating, settle the inputs below. When one is missing or vague and would change the result, ask about it; when it wouldn't, use a sensible default and say which one you used.