We all understand the importance of overseeing our vendor ecosystem, but today we’re paying it a bit more attention as we realize the critical governance oversight it provides us. Our systems are uniquely positioned to act as a bridge that connects all of our stakeholders.

We have traditionally managed our vendors ourselves, as we feel this gives us better control over our vendors—allowing us to keep a hand in what is going on. However, more established enterprises are seeing the benefits of third-party management, bringing these specialists in to manage the day-to-day oversight of their vendors. Vendor management specialists can help manage transactional activity, collect operational data and even come up with suggestions for improvement.

By outsourcing management of our vendors, we can reduce our costs, improve service delivery, and place our focus on internal resources to help us develop richer relationships and higher strategic value.

Outsourcing certain jobs frees up everyone else in your business to focus on the areas they add the most value. An outsourced job usually requires a particular skill set unique to that industry, so having your existing employees pick up jobs they aren’t particularly trained for will take time away from their own specialized work, and will result in less-than-desirable results. You can’t expect your director of sales to also be an expert at marketing, just like you can’t expect anyone else in your company to quickly pick up the skills required of your own job.

When one individual is responsible for developing and managing an internal vendor management system, that information is often held by just that single person. When that person goes on vacation, takes time off for life events, or quits, the work is shuffled off to a backup who doesn’t necessarily know what to do. This can result in two problems:

1. The backup does it wrong. Tasked with vendor management, the backup will give it his best shot, but if he doesn’t know what he’s doing, he can easily make costly mistakes. This can create problems down the road.
2. The backup wastes a lot of people’s time asking questions. The backup wastes time reinventing the wheel and asking a bunch of questions that the vendor manager already asked.

Outsourcing creates stability. Losing an employee won’t mean losing systems, policies, and procedures. They are already developed and stored in an easily accessible place.

While there are many reasons why your organization would benefit from outsourcing your Vendor Management … Here are 6 of them.

6 Ways Outsourcing to a Fully Managed Vendor Software Solution Adds Visibility and Efficiencies to your Organization?

1. Cloud Based Repository. Increased Efficiency and Productivity.

Your company starts to grow, and you need more technology to keep up with additional staff, customers and to help improve the process. You are aware of the efficiencies and cost savings made possible by new technologies and are upgrading their infrastructures as a result.

But are you aware of How Purchasing more Technology can lead to Cost Creep?

Every CFO knows about “cost creep”; the slow build-up over time in the cost/revenue ratio. In today’s marketplace, there is an increasing number of service providers who can deliver more efficient solutions, giving end-users more options than ever.

In the beginning, new suppliers are on their very best behavior, cutting deals and slashing costs. The client will enjoy some pretty large cost savings during the first couple of years.

However, as the contract matures and becomes less visible to the client, costs begin to slowly creep up until, if unchecked, they can accelerate way beyond the initially agreed-upon amount.

When you purchase more services, your plans may mutate, creating new contracts that incur additional charges. Over time, small ancillary charges can appear but are not questioned, increasing your bills slowly. This “creep” may leave you paying for services you do not need and may not even understand.

Because data is at the heart of every business and it plays a crucial role in businesses staying connected, technology bills are perceived as a necessary fixed expense and are often overlooked even when the initial cost has increased yet services have not changed.

Companies, Organizations, and Businesses can easily incur monthly expenses ranging from thousands to tens of thousands of dollars each month. Managing the financial component of vendors can be a nightmare! Looking at just telecom you have: Multiple carriers, multiple contracts, introductory offers, equipment, and different locations. Just these factors can lead to poor financial management and procurement processes.

Learn how to improve vendor management processes and improve your bottom line! #stopcostcreep #reducecostcreep

With a Vendor Management Solution, contract experts can negotiate a fixed rate for a particular service. The contract terms must be met ensuring that both parties are aware of what is expected and any variances will be flagged and the vendor will be held accountable for any charges and changes outside of the agreed terms.

If you have questions about any of our VMS benefits contact us today at 866-504-4050 to learn more about our Vendor Management Solutions.

Vendor management is a core competence in successful business. In a competitive marketplace, businesses must look at creative ways to extract more value from providers, while reducing risk and upholding quality.

Simply beating suppliers down on price year after year is not a sustainable strategy!

Limitless Technology, LLC has been managing complex indirect spend and vendor documentation since 2006 for some of the largest companies in the USA saving them millions in costs.

Through our Billing Optimization and Vendor Management Solutions proprietary platforms, we utilize technology, processes, expertise, time, and resources to improve our client’s bottom line.

Limitless Technology manages your vendors, so you can manage and grow your business.

For Additional Information Contact us at 407.330.4466

As companies attempt to streamline their costs, an area that frequently gets overlooked is vendor management. This critical function of an organization is oftentimes plagued with errors and inefficiencies, especially if it has not been given the proper attention.

Problems include not knowing the exact services you have, SLA’s for providing the service and whether or not you’re paying too much. Recognizing the “whether or not” in itself is an enormous problem and a difficult task. However, there are unique service offerings and software based toolsets which companies can take advantage of to fully understand their current vendor environment.

Just as a retail store takes an inventory of what products are on their shelves, companies need to do an inventory of their vendor and supplier management systems. A expertly  managed VMS solution proactively measures and monitors your vendor environment, so you know where every penny is going and the value you’re receiving in return.

It’s easy for unnecessary services — (which in many instances go unused or provide little value) — to creep into your vendor invoice line items. The VMS system analytics gives you a 360 degree view so you can accurately gauge your situation, determine whether service changes need to be made and whether it’s feasible to reduce costs.

VMS is essentially helps analyze where a company’s vendor infrastructure is today and what modifications can be made to improve the organization tomorrow.

The end result of the VMS Service and Software is to ensure individuals responsible for their company’s vendor management can make better educated decisions about what they actually need, what risks are involved and how much to pay for them. Additionally, the data enables them to more effectively manage adds, moves or changes to  line items, equipment and services as their company expands. It puts users in control of their vended services which inevitably reduces costs, improves efficiency, mitigates risk and can save significant amounts of money.

Whether you’re being billed correctly or utilizing your vendors to full capacity will no longer be a challenge once you engage in a fully managed vendor management service. Once engaged with VMS, you will know what services you’re paying for, their true costs and the value they’re delivering to your organization.

In order to survive in today’s business environment, you must find ways to increase profitability, improve productivity and obtain a competitive advantage. A VMS solution provides you with some additional help to achieve this objectives.

Those that lead IT teams should harness this urge for savings by identifying experts (internal and external) that can streamline and standardize vendor processes. At the same time, these experts can reduce the costs that leadership seeks while creating a more organized and cost-efficient structure.

Read more to see a system many IT leaders have implemented across industries to help optimize billing and produce costs savings.

Outsourcing vendor management to a third party will also help standardize processes; and consistency helps enable the transparency essential to effective governance. This helps to alleviate flawed data, and costly mistakes.

Our software will not only house every contract, service agreement, warranty or renewal agreement, but we also manage negotiations for better rates and terms saving your business from unnecessary fees and costs while maintaining quality standards. If you have questions regarding how to manage vendor contracts/agreements or would like more information regarding our fully managed vendor management solution contact LIMITLESS at (866) 504-4050.

Improper management leads to duplication of accountabilities and capability gaps and overlaps, which can result in increased costs and missed business opportunities.

“By collaborating effectively, SP&VM functions can work toward common objectives, and transform from inward-focused teams to a combined outward-focused group that is engaged and motivated to work together to meet the future challenges of the organization,” says Luke Ellery, research director at Gartner. (www.gartner.com: Resource)

“Gartner estimates that organizations spend an average of 62% of their technology budgets on vendor products, services and outsourcing.”

Sourcing, procurement and vendor management are disciplines that must align with the most available souring options to allow the business with the speed and agility to grow. This alignment must be accomplished in all vendor industries especially technology where markets are rapidly growing. All markets must be continually evaluated, revised and measured against changing business priorities, market disruptions and new opportunities.  Engaging with potential vendors, negotiating with them, buying from one or more of them in the same industry to facilitate transitions between vendors when a replacement decision needs to be made in order to ensure performance and achievement objectives and quality of service are maintained. Vendor management is not a one-time event, but rather an ongoing management function.

Setting the ground rules for vendor engagements outlines the frameworks and policies for effective governance.

The three disciplines of sourcing, procurement and vendor management have to be clearly outlined, roles and responsibilities documented, and work together to plan and execute these objectives.

With LIMITLESS, Vendor Management Solutions, we partner with each member of your team so they feel confident they can maintain the overall control, won’t lose the vendor relationships they value but, WILL gain the critical support they need to make better decisions. The support we provide allows your team to focus on the important work of ensuring occupancy rates, delivering exceptional resident experiences, and grow their business and market shares.

Nationwide: 866-504-4050.

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Important Agreement signed last week. You ask yourself … “Where is that Contract – I know it’s in HERE somewhere I just saw it last week. I know it was filed … Account name or by service? I can’t find it!” Meanwhile, management is still in meeting waiting for the signed Agreement.

How REFERENCEABLE is your CURRENT VENDOR Database? How quickly could you retrieve files, agreements, contracts, vendor contact information or a particular invoice by date or total amount PAID? How can those documents be retrieved “from another location?”

LIMITLESS Vendor Management Solutions is THE Vendor Management Solution Software that brings Superior Spend Analytics and Visibility within a FULLY MANAGED software solution. Contact LIMITLESS for more information.

Your company starts to grow, and you need more technology to keep up with additional staff, customers and to help improve process. You are aware of the efficiencies and cost savings made possible by new technologies and are upgrading their infrastructures as a result.

But are you aware of How Purchasing more Technology can lead to Cost Creep?

Every CFO knows about “cost creep”; the slow build up over time in the cost/revenue ratio.   In today’s marketplace, there are an increasing number of service providers who can deliver more efficient solutions, giving end users more options than ever.

In the beginning new suppliers are on their very best behavior, cutting deals and slashing cost. The client will enjoy some pretty large cost savings during the first couple of years.

However, as the contract matures and becomes less visible to the client, costs begin to slowly creep up until, if unchecked, they can accelerate way beyond the initially agreed upon amount.

When you purchase more services, your plans may mutate, creating new contracts that incur additional charges. Over time, small ancillary charges can appear but are not questioned, increasing your bills slowly. This “creep” may leave you paying for services you do not need and may not even understand.

Because data is at the heart of every business and it plays a crucial role in businesses staying connected, technology bills are perceived as a necessary fixed expense and are often overlooked even when the initial cost has increased yet services have not changed.

Companies, Organizations and Businesses can easily incur monthly expenses ranging from thousands to tens of thousands of dollars each month.  Managing the financial component of vendors can be a nightmare! Looking at just telecom you have: Multiple carriers, multiple contracts, introductory offers, equipment, and different locations. Just these factors can lead to poor financial management and procurement processes.

LEARN MORE ABOUT COST CREEP from Todd Larsen, CEO

Are you overlooking the financial costs of managing suppliers? What are the risks of doing that?

Here are findings from top research names in the industry. While cost creep can occur with any supplier these statistics share the findings in just telecom alone…

• – Telecom costs rank in the top 5 expenses for most companies (Gartner)
• – 80% of carrier bills contain errors (Gartner)
• – Telecom analysts spend on average 20% of their time identifying errors (Gartner)
• – Enterprises forfeit 12%-17% of telecom expenses without a proactive approach to telecom cost management (Aberdeen Group)

With a Vendor Management Solution contract experts can negotiate a fixed rate for a particular service. The contract terms must be met ensuring that both parties are aware of what is expected and any variances will be flagged and the vendor will be held accountable for any charges and changes outside of the agreed terms.

If you have questions about any of our VMS benefits contact us today at 866-504-4050 to learn more about our Vendor Management Solutions

Most businesses at one time or another outsource due to limited internal resources. But what happens when you aren’t in control of your vendors terms, cost of services or even quality of work? How much is that costing your business?

We recently came across a company that used 3 companies for network support. One company was more expensive than the other one and took longer to complete work needed, but the quality that was performed always met their standards. Because they had a limited schedule and were more expensive the company had to at times opt for a couple of other vendors that did not meet the same quality of stands. They did not show up when scheduled, had poor work habits and didn’t complete the job fully so they had to make several trips. Sometimes they would return with a different technician which presented other issues like familiarity with the systems, software, project or service.

In many cases they were also overcharged because they would charge the company for multiple trips or charged to fix other issues while they were there without informing the company first. We have also come across companies like this where they feel they must continue for one reason or another working with certain vendors due to relationships or knowledge of equipment or software or just general familiarity with the business itself.

These vendors know this and unfortunately some of them take advantage of the company’s inability to find someone else. Do you have vendors like this? What have you done if anything to resolve the issue?

Vendors inability to perform to the standards agreed upon in a contract can be costly, involving losses of hundreds of thousands of dollars. So, it’s important that businesses know how to deal with these circumstances.

With a Vendor Management Solution contract experts can negotiate a fixed rate for a particular service. The contract terms must be met ensuring that both parties are aware of what is expected and any variances will be flagged and the vendor will be held accountable for any charges and changes outside of the agreed terms.

If you have questions about any of our VMS benefits contact us today at 866-504-4050 to learn more about our Vendor Management Solutions

Having vendors or third-party service providers is a necessary part of your business in order to operate and provide the services and/or products to your customers. How you manage those vendors is up to you and your leadership team, but these 4 Reasons are only a sampling of the many reasons your business should have a vendor management solution in place.

1. Increased Efficiency:

How many vendors do you manage? 10-20-50-70+? If you don’t have a process and program in place to manage a multitude of vendors, how can you possibly keep up with them? Here are some questions to think about related to efficiency in managing your vendors:

• When does their contract renew?
• When does their insurance certificate expire?
• When do you need to conduct an annual due diligence review to assess the risk they pose on your organization?
• Have their services changed that increases or decreases risk?
• Have your services or processes changed that increase or decrease risk?

2. Vendor Visibility

To effectively reduce supplier risks, whether in terms of operations, unforeseen cost implications, or regulatory compliance, you need increased visibility. Vendor management can track your suppliers and provide the data you need to identify supplier risks so you can take the necessary steps to mitigate them, or choose an alternative vendor. You can easily verify supplier information, such as qualifications and certifications, track performance, and even look into the supplier’s financials to get a broader picture of their risk level in order to protect your organization.

3. Reduce Costs

When you have increased visibility, you can see invisible costs that you can then better control in order to save on costs. Additionally, having strong relationships with your suppliers, due to effective procedures and processes with a vendor management solution. VMS can help you to negotiate better rates and have access to discounts and incentives that can increase your profit margin.

4. Risk Management

Vendors provide value in the expertise and experience they offer; however, organizations must still maintain active oversight. It is important to remember that when a vendor performs a service or function, the institution bears ultimate responsibility for compliance. Because varying levels of risk remain with the institution that offers the product or service, a strong vendor risk management program is key to maintaining compliance and avoiding claims of improper service levels to customers.

VMS Software – Vendor Management Solution is a discipline that enables businesses to not only cut costs but also: control expenses, drive service excellence and mitigate risks…while gaining increased visibility and value from their vendors. Through LIMITLESS’s on-line software overall vendor management, as well as – vendor expense management, is accomplished by giving you absolute visibility into your vendors and spend. No matter what the vendor or type of service they provide – companies can have a comprehensive view into their: services, contracts, rates, terms, conditions and spends through this sophisticated web-based solution.

If you have questions about any of our VMS benefits contact us today at 866-504-4050 to learn more about our Vendor Management Solutions.