Vendor Management

Top 3 Vendor Management Tools Every Organization Needs to Consider

21.03.2024

Vendor management tools are the technological solutions that allow organizations to manage their vendors consistently, through frequent collaboration and regular monitoring. Managing vendors manually is a cumbersome and time-consuming process. Vendors management tools help businesses manage costs, track quality, and measure the performance of third-party vendors.

There is an array of vendor management tools available in the market today. Picking the right solution for vendor management is challenging, and demands a lot of planning and assessment.

We have compiled a list of the best supplier management software solutions that help organizations in their search for the right VMS. Here are the list of top 3 vendor management tools that stand out from the crowd:

1. Kissflow Procurement Cloud

Kissflow Procurement Cloud is a flexible source-to-pay software that enables businesses of all sizes to streamline their procurement processes. While it has a dedicated vendor management module, it also takes care of sourcing, contract management, inventory management, invoice automation, spend analysis, and custom integrations, all in one unified platform. This makes it a comprehensive source-to-pay solution rather than a standalone vendor management system. The software is also completely customizable to your needs making it incredibly advantageous over the others in the market. Here are some of the vendor management functionalities you should be aware of.

Here’s what it can do for vendor management -

  • It helps automate the entire supplier onboarding process
  • Suppliers and buyers can create catalogs, manage and access them easily
  • Suppliers can create shipping notices and update the PO with the shipping details
  • Provides access to all modules that supplier has interactions with (Shipping Notice, PO, Invoice, etc.)
  • Suppliers can create and manage multiple ‘remit to’ and ‘ship from’ addresses for invoicing
  • Provision for a buyer to capture the supplier reviews and to flag a supplier, thereby mitigating risk
  • The supplier can manage contact information, invoice preferences, PO transmission preferences, discounting term, and payment term.

Customers Testimonial:
Kissflow allows any level of customization. It is easy to use and is flexible enough. It is also a business process-compliant system. – Shifan Ishak, Nana Direct.

Kissflow is incredibly flexible. It helped us create various workflows for several use-cases and its very user-friendly. – SAPIN.

Get the best of vendor management with Kissflow.

Home to 20,000+ suppliers

2. Procurify

Procurify is an all-in-one procurement management software. Its vendor management module stores essential vendor information like contact information, address, payment terms, and contracts all in one place.

For organizations that purchase multiple goods from the same vendor, Procurify allows them to store all purchase orders in a centralized location to cut down shipping costs and minimize paperwork for both parties involved. Their vendor performance rating helps buyers determine how well a vendor is performing through scorecards and team reviews.

While Procurify is easy to use and implement, it lacks flexibility. Businesses have trouble tailoring workflows to fit around their operations. Also, Procurify can be a bit too expensive for small and medium businesses.

3. Precoro

Precoro is a user-friendly spend management solution that is designed to help businesses optimize their spendings and generate savings.

Its supplier management module stores all vendor information, purchase orders, invoices, and contracts in one place. The smart notification feature tracks agreements and makes sure nothing falls through the cracks.

Precoro’s self-service supplier portal allows vendors to manage catalog, update prices, control delivery dates, and respond to RFPs (request for proposals) in a click. It simplifies vendor communication and enhances collaboration.

Although it is quite extensive when it comes to functionalities, Precoro’s rigid approval workflows make users wish for more flexibility when trying to tailor a vendor management process attuned to their business needs.

Improve your supplier relationship in just a click!

Home to 20,000+ suppliers

Conclusion

Procurement teams can use procurement tools like Kissflow Procurement Cloud to collaborate efficiently with their vendors and track their performance better. With the evolution of cloud technology, digital procurement has come a long way.

Although some of these vendor management-only tools listed seem like a good prospect, the truth is that a comprehensive procurement solution is usually either easy-to-use, but lacking features, or packed with features, but requires months of training.

Before you leap onto a specific product, take a look at each tool and verify whether it suits your unique vendor management process. Looking for a vendor management tool that streamlines your supplier relationship management process with absolute ease? Try the Kissflow demo for free today, and see if it is the right fit for your organization.

Get the best of vendor management with Kissflow.
Trusted by 1,000+ global procurement leaders!

Best Vendor Management Software Buyers Guide

What is vendor management software?

Vendor management software is enterprise software that helps companies optimize the process of procuring and managing a team of temporary employees and external vendors. It is a central repository of vendor information and streamlines communication and collaboration with vendors. A vendor management software can run on the cloud, the local IT infrastructure, or a hybrid model. It contains several features that make it easy to search for, identify, recruit, onboard, track, manage and monitor the performance of vendors and contract employees.

Top features of vendor management software

  1. Self-service portal
    With a vendor management portal, suppliers and customers can update their profiles, track payments, and update order details.
  2. Vendor performance management
    A vendor performance management module provides actionable insights, identifies risks, highlights opportunities, and makes better deals possible by providing a comprehensive view of supplier performance.
  3. Spend Management
    Using rule-based workflows and automated notifications, organizations can capture and manage all spend categories with spend management integrated into vendor management software. As a result of these workflows, budgetary restrictions will be enforced, eliminating dark purchasing and maverick spending
  4. Integration 
    A vendor management system will likely be integrated with multiple procurement solutions if you use them. Your purchasing process can be made more productive, and improved with API integrations that integrate ERPs, accounting systems, and external supplier databases to improve speed, productivity, and performance.

Key considerations when choosing vendor management software

  1. Define your goals and objectives
    Understanding why you need a vendor management system is the first step to choosing one. Prior to starting your search, identify the pain points you want to solve, which will help you focus your research and assess each solution based on its ability to meet your needs. Your short and long-term goals should also be taken into account.
  2. Analyze your existing system
    In order to guide your decision-making, ensure you understand how AP automation fits into the overall tech stack and approval process.
  3. Assess the possibilities of integration
    You should select a vendor management system that is compatible with your existing technology stack without compromising your company's data security. Ensure that each solution you're considering works well with the technology you use and that you can trust them to protect your data by consulting with your IT and compliance teams.
  4. Schedule product demos
    You should schedule demos with the vendors you are considering. Focus on what you need from a vendor management system during these demos.

    To feel confident enough to make a decision, prepare a list of questions you’ll need answered before the demo. If you want to feel more confident, ask a member of your IT team to attend the demo. You can also estimate how much you hope to save by investing in vendor management software.

    It is important to inform the sales representative of your pain points and goals before the demo begins. This will help him or her focus on your needs and set the stage for addressing them.