IT Project Manager's Guide To Vendor Management

Mastering Vendor Selection, Contract Negotiation, and Performance Management for IT Projects

What you'll learn
Understand the Fundamentals of Vendor Management
Develop Effective Vendor Selection and Contracting Strategies
Implement Performance Monitoring and Relationship Management Techniques
Manage Risks and Resolve Vendor-Related Issues

Requirements
No previous project management or vendor management experience necessary

Description
Managing vendors effectively is critical to the success of IT projects. In this 4.5-hour comprehensive online course, you’ll learn how to navigate the full vendor management lifecycle—from defining business needs to offboarding vendors—equipping you with the skills to drive performance, reduce risks, and deliver project outcomes successfully.This course is designed for IT project managers, program managers, and professionals involved in managing third-party vendors, suppliers, or service providers.What You’ll Learn:The Project Manager’s Role in Vendor Management: Understand your responsibilities throughout the vendor lifecycle, from selection to performance oversight.Defining Business Needs: Learn how to capture project requirements, develop clear Statements of Work (SOWs), and align vendor capabilities with business goals.Vendor Selection Process: Master the art of evaluating vendors, creating effective RFPs, and selecting the best-fit partners for your project.Contract Development: Discover key contract components, negotiation strategies, and how to build agreements that protect project interests and manage risks.Onboarding the Vendor: Implement structured onboarding processes to set expectations, establish communication protocols, and ensure vendor readiness.Performance Monitoring: Apply techniques to track vendor performance, manage Service Level Agreements (SLAs), and address performance gaps proactively.Support Planning: Develop strategies for ongoing vendor support to maintain quality, foster collaboration, and handle changes effectively.Offboarding the Vendor: Learn best practices for transitioning away from vendors while preserving project continuity and knowledge transfer.What’s Included:4.5 hours of expert-led instructionFree templates and resources, including RFP templates, vendor scorecards, statements of work (SOWs), vendor selection templates and links to blog articles.By the end of this course, you’ll be equipped with practical strategies, tools, and insights to manage vendor relationships confidently and ensure project success.
This course is designed for IT project managers responsible for overseeing vendor relationships within technology projects. It’s particularly valuable for those managing third-party vendors, outsourced services, or technology suppliers in complex IT environments. The course will also benefit: Aspiring IT project managers looking to build vendor management skills. Procurement and contract specialists collaborating with IT project teams. Business analysts and IT consultants involved in vendor selection and performance oversight. Project sponsors or stakeholders seeking to understand vendor management’s impact on project success.