In the Better Together blog series, we take a look at how business continuity can support other functional areas by creating an information foundation from the data that business continuity collects from multiple sources across the enterprise. Here, we explore how business continuity and vendor management are better together.
With enterprises increasing their reliance on vendors in support of critical business functions, the role and visibility of third-party or vendor management has grown substantially.
The production priorities of this function include:
- Vendor qualification
- Contract negotiation
- Capability assessments
- Service level agreement monitoring
Business continuity has worked with third-party or vendor management for many years to ensure that business continuity language is included in contractual agreements, thereby reducing operational risk. But can business continuity further assist third-party or vendor management with their priorities?
Absolutely! Take the scenario that an equipment supply vendor’s contract is coming up for renewal. Vendor management can access the information foundation to see that the vendor currently supports two business processes. Plus, vendor management can readily see if there is an alternative vendor already working with the company who may provide the same services. These factors can be taken into account in the upcoming contract renewal decisions.
For more real-world examples of the information foundation in action, read our whitepaper Creating the Foundation for Increased Business Resiliency and Efficiency.
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