Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Vendor

🎯 Role Definition

As a Vendor, you own the day-to-day relationship with assigned suppliers and vendors, ensuring timely delivery of goods and services, adherence to contracts and SLAs, accurate invoicing, and ongoing performance optimization. You act as the primary liaison between internal stakeholders and external suppliers to reduce risk, control cost, and drive continuous improvement across the supply chain. This role requires a blend of procurement discipline, contract management, operational execution, and cross-functional communication.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

Procurement Coordinator or Procurement Assistant
Buyer or Junior Sourcing Specialist
Accounts Payable / Vendor Onboarding Specialist

Advancement To:

Senior Vendor Manager / Supplier Relationship Manager
Procurement Manager or Category Manager
Supply Chain Manager or Head of Strategic Sourcing

Lateral Moves:

Contract Specialist / Contract Manager
Vendor Risk & Compliance Analyst
Supplier Quality or Supplier Development roles

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

Manage end-to-end vendor relationships for assigned categories, including vendor selection, onboarding, performance tracking, contract compliance, and offboarding to ensure suppliers meet delivery, quality, and cost expectations.
Lead contract negotiations with suppliers and vendors, drafting and reviewing terms and conditions, pricing agreements, service level agreements (SLAs), and statements of work (SOW) to protect the organization’s commercial and legal interests.
Maintain ownership of vendor performance metrics (KPIs) such as on-time delivery, quality scorecards, lead time, fill rate, and total cost of ownership; prepare monthly and quarterly performance reports and drive corrective action plans.
Execute procure-to-pay (P2P) processes: raise and manage purchase orders (POs), match invoices to POs, resolve discrepancies, and collaborate with Accounts Payable to ensure timely and accurate payments.
Perform regular vendor risk assessments including financial stability, compliance with regulatory requirements, information security, and business continuity readiness; coordinate remediation and escalation plans where required.
Lead or support strategic sourcing activities: create and manage RFIs, RFQs, and RFPs; evaluate supplier proposals; conduct benchmarking and supplier selection based on cost, capability, and risk.
Implement and maintain supplier onboarding programs, ensuring required documentation (W-9, insurance certificates, contracts, tax forms) and system setup in ERP/Procure-to-Pay platforms (e.g., SAP, Oracle, Ariba, Coupa).
Conduct spend analysis and category management to identify cost-saving opportunities, consolidation initiatives, and process efficiencies; partner with finance and category leads on annual savings targets.
Serve as the primary cross-functional stakeholder contact for vendor-related inquiries, requirements, escalations, and change requests; translate business needs into supplier deliverables and operational requirements.
Monitor and enforce supplier contract terms, renewal dates, pricing escalators, and volume commitments; initiate renegotiations and renewals to ensure competitive terms and continuity of supply.
Drive supplier development and continuous improvement initiatives, including quality improvement plans, process standardization, and joint value-creation programs that reduce cost and increase supplier responsiveness.
Facilitate supplier audits and compliance reviews, coordinating internal audit, procurement, legal and compliance teams to verify adherence to contractual and regulatory obligations.
Manage vendor performance improvement programs and dispute resolution; facilitate root cause analysis, CAPA (corrective and preventive actions), and supplier remediation to minimize business disruption.
Oversee logistics coordination with vendors and internal operations to ensure timely shipping, correct documentation (packing lists, bills of lading), customs compliance, and resolution of delivery exceptions.
Maintain accurate supplier master data in ERP systems, ensuring correct vendor codes, payment terms, tax identifiers, and contact information to prevent payment errors and support reporting accuracy.
Support inventory planning and demand forecasting discussions with suppliers and internal planning teams to align production and replenishment schedules, minimizing stockouts and excess inventory.
Partner with Legal, Compliance, and Procurement to design and implement vendor governance frameworks, including escalation paths, approval matrices, and documentation retention policies.
Manage supplier diversity and sustainability requirements where applicable; track supplier diversity spend, sustainability credentials, and CSR commitments to meet organizational goals.
Project-manage vendor integrations or transitions, including change management, data migration, system configuration, stakeholder communication, and go-live support to ensure seamless supplier transitions.
Coordinate pricing and invoicing disputes resolution, conciliating supplier claims, applying contractual terms, and escalating when necessary to maintain positive supplier relationships while protecting company interests.
Stay current on market trends, commodity pricing, regulatory changes, and technology innovations that impact supplier capability, pricing, and risk; propose strategic adjustments to sourcing plans accordingly.
Provide training and support to internal stakeholders on vendor management procedures, procurement best practices, PO creation, and contract compliance to reduce process errors and increase adoption.

Secondary Functions

Support ad-hoc supplier data requests, exploratory vendor analytics, and ad-hoc reporting to drive procurement decisions and executive updates.
Contribute to the organization's vendor management strategy, process documentation, and roadmap for P2P automation and vendor governance.
Collaborate with IT and data teams to integrate vendor data into business intelligence tools for enhanced spend visibility and supplier performance dashboards.
Participate in continuous improvement and agile procurement initiatives to shorten sourcing cycles and increase procurement velocity.
Assist in cross-functional procurement projects including new product introductions, supplier qualification, and cost-reduction workshops.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

Vendor Management & Relationship Management: proven ability to manage a portfolio of suppliers and maintain contractual and operational performance.
Contract Negotiation & Drafting: experience negotiating commercial terms, SLAs, SOWs, and price mechanisms with suppliers.
Procure-to-Pay (P2P) Processes: strong working knowledge of PO issuance, invoice matching, dispute resolution, and supplier payment lifecycles.
ERP & Procurement Tools: hands-on experience with systems such as SAP, Oracle, Ariba, Coupa, Workday, or NetSuite for vendor onboarding and transaction management.
Sourcing & RFx Execution: practical experience running RFI, RFQ, and RFP processes and supplier evaluations.
Spend Analysis & Cost Modeling: ability to analyze spend data, build cost models, and identify consolidation or optimization opportunities using Excel or BI tools.
Data & Reporting Tools: advanced Excel skills (pivot tables, VLOOKUP/XLOOKUP), and familiarity with Tableau, Power BI, or other analytics platforms.
Vendor Risk & Compliance Management: able to assess supplier risk, maintain compliance documentation, and run mitigation strategies.
Supply Chain & Logistics Coordination: understanding of freight, customs, lead times, and inventory implications of supplier decisions.
Quality Management & Supplier Development: experience implementing supplier scorecards, audits, and continuous improvement plans.

Soft Skills

Strong Negotiation & Influence: persuasive communicator who obtains favorable outcomes while preserving supplier relationships.
Stakeholder Management: ability to liaise with finance, legal, operations, and engineering to align supplier activities with internal needs.
Problem Solving & Analytical Thinking: rigorous approach to root-cause analysis and data-driven decision making.
Communication & Presentation: clear written and verbal communicator capable of producing executive-level reports and supplier communications.
Project Management: organizes cross-functional initiatives, drives timelines, and manages vendor onboarding or transition projects.
Attention to Detail: meticulous with contract terms, invoicing, and supplier records to prevent financial and operational errors.
Time Management & Prioritization: effectively balances multiple vendors, high-priority escalations, and recurring operational tasks.
Adaptability & Resilience: thrives in dynamic procurement environments and handles supplier disruptions calmly and efficiently.
Collaboration & Teamwork: works cooperatively in cross-functional teams and mentors junior procurement or vendor staff.
Ethical Judgment & Confidentiality: exercises good judgment with sensitive supplier information and adheres to corporate compliance standards.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Supply Chain Management, Finance, or a related field, or equivalent professional experience.

Preferred Education:

Bachelor's or Master’s degree in Supply Chain, Business, Finance, or Procurement certifications such as CPSM, CIPS, or CPM.
Professional development in contract law, negotiation, or supply chain analytics.

Relevant Fields of Study:

Supply Chain Management / Logistics
Business Administration / Finance / Economics
Procurement / Operations Management
Industrial Engineering / Management Information Systems

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range:

2–7 years of progressive experience in procurement, vendor management, supply chain, or related operational roles.

Preferred:

5+ years managing vendor portfolios, negotiating contracts, and operating within ERP/P2P systems in medium or large enterprises.
Demonstrated track record of delivering cost savings, improving supplier performance, and leading cross-functional vendor projects.