All businesses rely on external relationships. This simple truth is often overlooked by companies regardless of size or industry. To be successful, companies must depend on other businesses, individuals, or other outside parties for products or services, and more specifically, companies must rely on their contracts with these external parties to ensure their business needs are being met.
Even when the dependence on external parties is understood, the relationships aren’t managed with the same diligence as internal relationships. Many organizations do not know what is in their contracts with critical external parties, pay more than the contract requires, don’t comply with their own obligations, can’t find the documents, or just don’t manage the relationship. Ignoring contracts with external parties and the broader relationships they support – or simply choosing not to actively manage them – can have negative repercussions: business-disrupting disputes, constraints on strategic initiatives, regulatory exposure, compliance risk, and higher costs.
Swingtide CVLM provides a holistic approach to the full life cycle of the relationship with the external parties you rely upon. While traditional vendor lifecycle management typically encompasses the contract and how it is filed, Swingtide CVLM’s Complete Lifecycle Management approach includes sourcing, contracting, and vendor management with every step focused on the primary objective to get the most out of your external relationships.