I've had a rough vendor spell lately. I can't say it happens often, but it definitely occurs. One vendor believes it's my responsibility to keep his employees employed, and still another seems to think I should buy something new to get him to fix something we already own.
Yet another vendor told me that the difficult procurement process he wants me to go through exists because his company is publicly held and its share price is contingent on this process. (I couldn't make this stuff up if I tried.)
It occurred to me, as it has in the past, that vendors aren't the problem here — I am. Vendors, after all, are people and have the same characteristics as anyone else, even if we pay a premium for their services. In my career, I've always struggled with the idea that we pay a premium and then must also provide care and feeding (i.e., vendor management). That's just the way it is and isn't entirely unintuitive, since anyone who works in our environment is part of the same team.
Recommended For You
Want to continue reading?
Become a Free PropertyCasualty360 Digital Reader
Your access to unlimited PropertyCasualty360 content isn’t changing.
Once you are an ALM digital member, you’ll receive:
- Breaking insurance news and analysis, on-site and via our newsletters and custom alerts
- Weekly Insurance Speak podcast featuring exclusive interviews with industry leaders
- Educational webcasts, white papers, and ebooks from industry thought leaders
- Critical converage of the employee benefits and financial advisory markets on our other ALM sites, BenefitsPRO and ThinkAdvisor
Already have an account? Sign In Now
© Touchpoint Markets, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more inforrmation visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
