Vendor Management Systems (VMS)
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What is a Vendor Management System (VMS)?
Vendor Management Systems (VMS) or vendor management software help manage the external workforce, which includes freelancers, contractors, temporary or seasonal workers, consultants, managed service providers, etc. There are numerous benefits to using a VMS, including savings through rate management, increased compliance, reduced invoice costs, reductions in the time-to-fill rate, increases in worker quality, and a reduction in invoice errors. Additionally, a VMS helps to contribute to other important objectives, such as enhancing security and mitigating risk.
VMSs are used mainly by Human Resources or Financial and Accounting departments of companies with large external workforces. The particular composition of any given workforce may vary, and VMSs generally have subsystems to deal with different parts of the external workforce. The largest of these subsystems are Services Procurement and Contingent Workforce Management.
Services Procurement
Services Procurement is a part of VMS that handles vendors that provide specific services. These vendors include Managed Service Providers (MSPs) and Statement of Work contractors. In both cases, the external workers do not answer to the contracting company, even if they work with the contracting company’s employee in an on-site workplace.
Services Procurement focuses on initiating, managing, and completing contracts with these external service providers. The software automates the process and helps standardize these contracts' management. The resulting consistency helps reduce bureaucratic costs, increase security, and reduce risk.
Contingent Workforce Management
The contingent workforce is comprised of freelancers, consultants, independent contractors, or temporary workers. These workers can either be contracted independently or through third-party agencies. However, the contracting company can usually exert more control over the exact nature of the individual’s work than it can with employees of Managed Service Providers. In the case of a freelancer, this may just be the specifics of the deliverable, whereas contractors could have their location, hours, and work method specified for them.
Contingent Workforce Management systems seek to streamline business processes and increase productivity while improving security and mitigating risk. This is accomplished by centralizing contingent worker information and standardizing the contingent worker hiring and work cycle.
Vendor Management System and Software Features
Most vendor management software products include the following features:
- Invoice management and automation
- Reporting and analytics
- Dashboards
- Vendor information management
- Risk evaluation
- Compliance processes
- Security automation
- Onboarding and offboarding
- Customizable job description templates
- Pre-screened talent pools
- External worker performance management
- Record keeping
Vendor Management Software Comparison
When selecting a vendor management system, keep the following factors in mind.
Workforce Composition: Many different types of workers make up the external workforce, and some Vendor Management Systems focus on certain groups. If your company only contracts with traditional contractors, then you do not need a platform that handles Managed Service Providers. Conversely, if you only want to contract with a company to handle your IT functions, you probably don’t need functionality to handle freelancers. Consider the makeup of your external workforce before purchasing a Vendor Management System.
Workflow Configurability: While much of the hiring and work cycle for contingent workers is the same, there are almost always a few differences between industries and companies. Ensure that your VMS has the necessary flexibility to accommodate your onboarding, management, and offboarding workflows
Analytics and Reporting: One of the driving forces behind implementing a Vendor Management System is to help maximize the value of external workforce spend. To do this, it is essential to have visibility and data on costs and productivity. Make sure your product of choice has sufficient analytics and reporting capabilities. In particular, check if it will have the custom reporting capabilities to provide you with the precise data you need.
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Pricing Information
The majority (between ⅔ and ¾) of purchasers of Vendor Management Systems do not directly pay for the product. Instead, many Vendor Management Systems use a vendor-funded model, where vendors pay a small fee to the VMS provider based on many factors. The VMS is still beneficial to the vendors as the fee is typically significantly smaller than the money saved from increased efficiency. For systems that do not operate under the vendor-funded model, pricing can run from $500 to thousands of dollars per month. Other vendors may only give quotes on request.