Vendor management: recommending and describing processes
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Think about these questions before reading the article. Share your ideas with a partner.
- Think about a time you had to choose between several options for a significant purchase, either for work or in your personal life. What criteria did you use to make your final decision?
- Imagine your company needs to find a new supplier for a critical service. What steps should the company take to ensure they choose a reliable and high-quality partner?
- When is it a good idea for a business to pay more for a product or service instead of choosing the cheapest option available? Describe a potential scenario.
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Negotiating with a New Supplier
Listen to the dialogue. Notice how the vocabulary and grammar from the lesson are used.
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Key vocabulary for procurement
Vocabulary
These expressions will help you discuss procurement and vendor management more effectively.
Examples
To vet a supplier — to carefully check a potential supplier's background, finances, and reputation before signing a contract with them.
This is a standard business phrase. You can talk about a 'vetting process' or say 'We need to properly vet all potential partners.'
To iron out the details — to solve the final small problems or agree on the last remaining points of an agreement or plan.
This idiom is common in business contexts. It's often used towards the end of a negotiation, e.g., 'The main terms are agreed, we just need to iron out the details of the delivery schedule.'
A ballpark figure — a rough estimate or an approximate number, not an exact one.
Use this in the early stages of a negotiation when you don't have precise information. You can ask, 'Could you give us a ballpark figure for the total cost?'
To streamline the process — to make a system, organization, or process simpler and more efficient.
This collocation is often used when discussing improvements. For example, 'We're implementing new software to streamline our procurement process.'
A bottleneck in the supply chain — a point of congestion or a problem that slows down or stops the flow of production or delivery.
This is a key term in logistics and operations. A 'bottleneck' can be caused by a slow supplier, customs delays, or production issues.
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Procurement processes
Complete the sentences to describe common steps in managing suppliers.
Match the beginning of each sentence on the left with its correct ending on the right.
Drag or click to match
Definitions
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Grammar: passive voice for describing processes
Grammar
In business, especially when describing formal processes like procurement, we often use the passive voice. It helps to keep the tone objective and focuses on the action or process itself, rather than who is performing it. This is useful when the agent (the person doing the action) is unknown, unimportant, or obvious from the context.
Examples
All potential suppliers are carefully vetted before a decision is made.
Here, the focus is on the action of vetting suppliers, not on who does it (e.g., the procurement team).
The final contract was signed last week after extensive negotiations.
Use the passive to emphasize the result of an action. The active form ('Our legal team signed the contract') would focus more on who did it.
Detailed background checks must be carried out on all shortlisted vendors.
The passive voice is often used with modal verbs (must, should, can) to talk about rules and recommendations within a process.
Key points
- Use the passive when the action is more important than the person or group doing it.
- Form the passive voice with the correct tense of the verb 'to be' + the past participle.
- Avoid overusing the passive; use the active voice when you need to be clear about who is responsible for an action.
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Find and fix the error
Read the sentences below about procurement and vendor management.
Each sentence contains one error. Find and correct it.
01To avoid future issues, you must to conduct thorough due diligence on all potential vendors.
Corrected version
To avoid future issues, you must to conduct thorough due diligence on all potential vendors.
02After the bids are received, they are carefully review by the procurement team.
Corrected version
After the bids are received, they are carefully review reviewed by the procurement team.
03The selection criteria is based on price, quality, and the supplier's reputation.
Corrected version
The selection criteria is are based on price, quality, and the supplier's reputation.
04Before we sign the contract, we need to make out the final details about the delivery schedule.
Corrected version
Before we sign the contract, we need to make iron out the final details about the delivery schedule.
05The main bottlenek in our supply chain is the customs clearance process.
Corrected version
The main bottlenek bottleneck in our supply chain is the customs clearance process.
06Could you give me a ballpark number for the total cost of the project?
Corrected version
Could you give me a ballpark number figure for the total cost of the project?
07We need to choose a supplier who can comply for all our quality standards.
Corrected version
We need to choose a supplier who can comply for with all our quality standards.
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Useful phrases: negotiating with a new supplier
Vocabulary
When meeting a potential new supplier, you'll need to discuss and agree on the terms of your partnership. These phrases will help you state your position, ask for clarification, and negotiate key details like price and delivery in a professional way.
Examples
From our perspective, the key issue is... — used to state your main priority or point of focus.
Register: neutral/formal. Use this at the beginning of a negotiation to clearly and professionally state what is most important to your company. It helps to frame the discussion.
Could you walk me through your standard service level agreement? — a polite way to ask for a detailed explanation.
Register: neutral/formal. 'To walk someone through something' means to explain it step-by-step. You can replace 'service level agreement' with 'pricing structure', 'onboarding process', etc.
That's a bit higher than we had budgeted for. — a soft way to reject a price and open a negotiation.
Register: neutral. This is a polite but clear way to signal that a price is too high without being aggressive. It invites the supplier to offer a different price or justify the current one.
Is there any wiggle room on the price? — a more direct way to ask if a price is negotiable.
Register: neutral/informal. 'Wiggle room' means flexibility. This is slightly more informal than the previous phrase and is best used when you have a good rapport with the other person.
What if we were to commit to a larger order? — used to propose a compromise or a condition.
Register: neutral/formal. Use this to offer something from your side in exchange for a better term (e.g., a lower price, faster delivery). The structure 'What if we were to...' is a classic conditional for making suggestions.
Let me just recap to make sure we're on the same page. — used to summarise points of agreement to confirm understanding.
Register: neutral. Excellent for avoiding misunderstandings before ending a discussion. 'To be on the same page' is a common idiom meaning to have a shared understanding.
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Finalising a supplier agreement
Read the following advice on selecting and finalising an agreement with a new business partner.
Fill in each blank with the correct word or phrase from the word bank.
Word bank
Before signing any contract, you carefully any potential supplier to ensure they meet your quality standards. It's wise to ask for a at the beginning so you have a general idea of the costs involved. A good partnership can help the process and prevent any potential in the supply chain. Once you're ready to proceed, the final step is to meet to the details of the agreement.
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Discuss these questions with a partner. Try to use vocabulary from the lesson.
- To what extent should a company prioritize low costs over ethical considerations, like labor practices or environmental impact, when vetting a new supplier? Is it ever acceptable to work with a supplier who has a questionable reputation if it significantly streamlines the process?
- In your country or culture, how important is building a personal relationship with a potential supplier before you start to iron out the details of a contract? Is it more common to focus purely on the business terms and a ballpark figure, or is the personal connection a critical part of the vetting process?
- Imagine your company's current procurement process is slow and inefficient, creating a bottleneck in the supply chain. What specific steps would you recommend to streamline the process? Consider how technology, better communication, and clearer criteria for vetting suppliers could help.