The Project Depends Upon Vendors Who Do Not Have A Strong Presence In Some Locations

A vendor or supplier wants to get work. They often state how they have offices and customers in various locations. Potential customers often accept this as a fact. Only later do they find out that the supplier presence in some of the locations is marginal at best. In one case, a vendor claimed that maintenance was available in all 10 countries that the project was going to be implemented in. This turned out to be false. They really only had a presence in 6 of the countries. In the other 4, there was only a sales office. The vendor then had to fly people in from other locations to provide support. Needless to say, the costs were higher and the time to do repairs longer.

Impact

Everyone wants to believe what people tell them. This is the case with vendor claims and statements. If a vendor fails to provide adequate support in one or more locations, the schedule and cost of the project are impacted.

Prevention

You want to determine if this is a problem at the start of the project. For the finalist group of vendors, have the managers in each location carry out an assessment of vendor support in their country. In addition, have each potential vendor identify customers in each location. These can be contacted.

Action

If a vendor fails to perform in one location, treat it as a general problem. This is the principle of “An attack on one is an attack on all.” If you don’t treat it seriously, then the vendor may think that it is not important. Point out to the vendor that they cannot make up for it by increased support in other locations. Press the vendor to develop an action plan to deal with the problem. Have the local management report on vendor progress.