Some of the most important partnerships for any business are its vendor relationships. Business-to-business (B2B) vendor partnerships allow the purchasing business to shore up its deficiencies by outsourcing certain business functions to organizations with greater expertise. This avoids the time and effort required to develop the necessary infrastructure, staff and expertise internally.
The obvious downsides of using vendors include out-of-pocket costs and potential lack of control over vendor operations. This lack of transparency and control can and frequently does result in conflict in those crucial B2B relationships. (more…)