Vendor Management Templates
Banyan Business Outcomes is a Learn-it-all company. From time to time we publish what we learn and templates we use on our site.
3rd Party Risk Assessment
Vendors and other 3rd Parties create risks for their clients in several forms. Their negligence can expose the company to cybersecurity or regulatory issues. Their finances can impact delivery, and their behavior can breach ethical boundaries. 3rd Party errors may interrupt operations or impede strategic initiatives.
This simple Excel template scores each Risk Event by impact and probability to help identify which risks need to be mitigated.
Download the template here.
Vendor Scorecard
It’s no wonder operational teams avoid reading vendor contracts until their arm is twisted by a renewal or crisis. Vendor contracts are written in obscure legalize more suitable for “bedtime reading” then governing a relationship.
Yet, contracts are important. They describe critical elements for a satisfactory relationship: What is the business value sought? How will we measure success? Who will be responsible for what?
A vendor scorecard connects operations to the contract by translating vendor obligations into quantifiable performance targets. It’s a fundamental governance document as it tracks vendor delivery and performance improvement goals.
This basic vendor scorecard template tracks basic contract information, vendor performance each quarter, vendor goals from quarter to quarter. It’s best used for managed services agreements or other ongoing relationships, though it could be adapted for project work.
This template is offered free and without warranty. Download it here.
One Page RFI for Managed IT Services
As a vendor, I hated filling out lengthy RFI/RFP responses. I knew many of these opportunities were pre-selected, and the client was just going through the motions for some compliance reason.
As a buyer of services, I hate RFPs because I end up talking to long-shot vendors just to fill out my spreadsheet, or I’ll discover a mismatch at the end of the process.
Both client and vendor have the same complaint, time wasted on long shot opportunities. The problem is down-selection.
How do you down select to just the MSPs who are right for your business? How do you get a sense of your options without spending endless time chasing dead ends?
A full RFI may be too formal and time consuming if you’re just pre-screening competitors. A short form RFI is a much better option because it doesn’t require an NDA, legal review, lengthy responses, but it does get you the facts.
At Banyan, we use this one-page RFI to sample the market and develop the vendor pool. Upon request we can send this request to vendors without disclosing your company’s name for confidentiality reasons.
Quickly screen vendors for rough fit with this one-page RFI for managed IT services. Download the template here. It is offered free and without warranty.