Vendor Directory
Track vendors, contacts and scorecards.
Overview
The Vendor Directory is a structured list of every supplier your business pays, what they do for you, who the main contact is, and how they are performing. Each vendor record captures the company name, category, primary contact details, account number, key dates, and an optional scorecard covering quality, delivery, price, and responsiveness. It is the procurement equivalent of the Client List: the master record that every other vendor-related decision references.
Beyond the basic contact lookup, the scorecard is where the directory earns its keep. By rating vendors consistently over time, you build evidence to renegotiate, switch, or expand a relationship. A vendor that scores well on price but poorly on responsiveness might be fine for commodity supply and wrong for critical projects, and the directory captures that nuance instead of relying on collective memory.
How it works
You add a vendor by filling in the name, the category, the primary contact, account references, and any relevant dates such as contract start or review date. The optional scorecard lets you rate each vendor on the dimensions you care about; a simple 1-to-5 scale per dimension produces a composite that surfaces top and bottom performers.
The directory pairs with the Contract Renewal Tracker so the same vendor's renewal date is one click away, and with the Document Vault so the master service agreement is indexed alongside the relationship.
Examples
- Annual vendor review. Filter to vendors with annual spend above a threshold and review each scorecard before contract renewal season.
- Procurement decision. Compare two vendors in the same category side-by-side on their scorecards before committing to a multi-year agreement.
- Onboarding a new supplier. Capture the account manager, the contact details, and the SLAs at the point of contracting so future questions have an answer.
- Underperformer escalation. Identify the vendor with the worst scorecard in a critical category and start a structured improvement conversation.
FAQ
What is the right scorecard scale?
A simple 1-to-5 works for most teams. Keep dimensions stable so trends are comparable over time.
Should I score every vendor?
Score the vendors who matter, typically anyone in your top 80 percent of spend or any single-source supplier.
How often should scorecards be updated?
At least annually, or after each significant engagement. Quarterly is appropriate for strategic relationships.
Does this connect to accounting?
No. Spend data and invoices stay in your accounting tool; this directory is the qualitative relationship record.
What if a vendor delivers in multiple categories?
Use the primary category and list secondary categories in notes; rate per dimension based on the dominant relationship.