Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Vendor Support Consultant

🎯 Role Definition

As a Vendor Support Consultant, you will be the cornerstone of our supplier ecosystem. You are the go-to expert and trusted advisor for our vendors, guiding them from onboarding through to a successful, long-term partnership. Your mission is to champion the vendor experience by providing timely, empathetic, and effective solutions to their inquiries and challenges. This role requires a unique blend of customer service acumen, technical troubleshooting, and relationship management. You will collaborate extensively with internal teams like Procurement, Accounts Payable, and Operations to resolve issues, streamline processes, and ensure our vendors feel valued and empowered. If you are passionate about building strong business relationships and solving complex problems, this is the perfect opportunity to make a significant impact.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

Customer Support Specialist
Procurement Coordinator
Accounts Payable Clerk
Junior Account Manager

Advancement To:

Senior Vendor Support Consultant / Team Lead
Vendor Relationship Manager
Procurement Manager
Partner Success Manager

Lateral Moves:

Operations Analyst
Contract Administrator
Supply Chain Analyst

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

Serve as the primary, day-to-day point of contact for all vendor inquiries, providing exceptional and timely support through email, phone, and dedicated support ticketing platforms.
Masterfully manage the end-to-end vendor onboarding process, from initial contact and documentation collection to system setup and comprehensive training on our platforms and policies.
Proactively build, nurture, and maintain strong, positive, and collaborative relationships with a diverse portfolio of vendors to foster loyalty and long-term strategic partnerships.
Investigate, troubleshoot, and meticulously resolve complex vendor-facing issues related to payments, invoicing discrepancies, platform access, product data, and operational logistics.
Act as a key liaison between vendors and internal departments, including Accounts Payable, Procurement, IT, and Operations, to ensure seamless communication and swift resolution of cross-functional issues.
Develop, update, and maintain a comprehensive library of support documentation, knowledge base articles, and video tutorials to empower vendors with self-service resources.
Monitor and analyze vendor performance against established Service Level Agreements (SLAs) and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), identifying and escalating trends or persistent issues to management.
Conduct regular check-in calls and formal business reviews with key vendors to discuss performance metrics, gather critical feedback, and identify opportunities for mutual growth and process improvement.
Educate and communicate with vendors regarding new product features, policy changes, and system updates to ensure compliance and a smooth operational transition.
Manage and maintain the integrity of vendor data within our Vendor Management System (VMS) and CRM, ensuring a high degree of accuracy and completeness at all times.
Analyze trends in vendor support tickets and inquiries to identify root causes, proposing and helping to implement process improvements that enhance the overall vendor experience.
Assist in the administration and management of vendor contracts, including tracking key dates, renewal timelines, and ensuring adherence to contractual obligations.
Facilitate engaging and informative training sessions and webinars for new and existing vendors to improve their understanding and effective utilization of our business tools.
Act as the subject matter expert on all vendor-facing systems and processes, providing expert guidance and internal support to other business units.
Professionally manage the vendor offboarding process, ensuring all contractual and operational obligations are met for a smooth conclusion to the business relationship.
Gather, synthesize, and champion vendor feedback, providing actionable insights to Product and Operations teams to influence future platform enhancements and strategic decisions.

Secondary Functions

Support ad-hoc data requests and exploratory data analysis to generate reports on vendor activity, spend, and performance for leadership review.
Contribute to the organization's broader data strategy and vendor management roadmap by identifying gaps and opportunities in current tools and workflows.
Collaborate with business units to translate their evolving data and operational needs into clear, actionable requirements for our engineering and procurement teams.
Participate in sprint planning, agile ceremonies, and user acceptance testing (UAT) for new tools or platform features that will impact the vendor community.
Assist the procurement team in the research, vetting, and evaluation of potential new vendors that align with our business needs and quality standards.
Create and distribute regular communications, updates, and newsletters to the entire vendor network to keep them informed, engaged, and connected to our company's mission.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

High proficiency with CRM and support ticketing software (e.g., Salesforce, Zendesk, ServiceNow, HubSpot).
Demonstrable experience with vendor management systems (VMS), e-procurement platforms (e.g., Coupa, SAP Ariba), or similar supplier portals.
Strong command of the Microsoft Office Suite/Google Workspace, with advanced skills in Excel/Sheets for data manipulation, pivot tables, and reporting.
Solid understanding of core Accounts Payable (AP) and procurement principles, including purchase orders, invoicing, and payment reconciliation cycles.
Proven ability to create and maintain clear, user-friendly knowledge base articles, FAQs, and technical support documentation.
Experience in analyzing support metrics (e.g., response time, resolution time, CSAT) to identify trends and report on team and vendor performance.

Soft Skills

Exceptional communication skills, both written and verbal, with a talent for articulating complex information clearly, concisely, and with empathy.
Superior problem-solving and critical-thinking abilities, with a calm and methodical approach to troubleshooting and de-escalating tense situations.
Innate relationship-building and interpersonal skills, capable of quickly fostering trust and rapport with a diverse range of personalities and business partners.
A high degree of emotional intelligence and patience, demonstrating a genuine commitment to providing an excellent, white-glove vendor experience.
Excellent organizational and time-management skills, with the proven ability to prioritize and manage a high volume of concurrent tasks in a fast-paced environment.
Meticulous attention to detail and a steadfast commitment to maintaining data integrity and accuracy in all systems.
A proactive, resourceful, and self-motivated mindset with the ability to work effectively both independently and as a collaborative member of a team.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

Bachelor's Degree or equivalent practical work experience in a relevant field.

Preferred Education:

Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration, Supply Chain Management, or Communications.

Relevant Fields of Study:

Business Administration
Supply Chain & Logistics
Communications
Finance & Accounting

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range:

2-5 years of direct experience in a vendor-facing, client support, account management, or procurement support role.

Preferred:

Experience working in a high-volume B2B support environment, particularly within the SaaS, technology, e-commerce, or logistics industries.
Proven experience contributing to process improvement initiatives that directly enhanced a customer or partner experience.