Transforming Vendor Management: Driving Efficiency, Accountability, and Strategic Alignment
A global food and beverage company facing inefficiencies in vendor management partnered with Forum Solutions to overhaul its fragmented processes, standardize operations, and align local execution with national strategy. The transformation delivered enterprise-wide improvements in workflow efficiency, accountability, and millions in cost savings, creating a sustainable foundation for strategic supplier partnerships and operational excellence.
The Challenge
A global food and beverage client faced persistent challenges in managing supplier and vendor operations at an enterprise level. The legacy process lacked standardization due to multiple reorganizations that shifted workforce responsibilities across new business units. These structural changes, compounded by limited knowledge sharing and inconsistent documentation practices, created significant inefficiencies. The absence of thorough documentation across teams and subject matter experts, partly influenced by informal communication norms, led to misaligned responsibilities, communication breakdowns, and missed opportunities for innovation and cost savings.
The existing vendor management framework was not equipped to support scalable operations or drive continuous improvement. Without a structured approach, performance measurement and accountability were difficult to enforce—hindering the ability to realize operational goals at both the local and enterprise level.
The Solution
Forum Solutions partnered with the client to lead a strategic transformation of their supplier and vendor management ecosystem. Our approach began with a comprehensive diagnostic of organizational structures, process workflows, and vendor engagement practices. This analysis revealed critical gaps and informed a multi-pronged solution.
Key initiatives included:
Designing an enterprise-wide operating framework with Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) covering the entire vendor lifecycle—from onboarding to performance management and contract renewal. The approach aimed to enhance operational consistency, mitigate compliance risk, and improve efficiency across vendor-related activities. .
Creating tailored Supplier and Vendor management plans to support both local execution and national strategy, with clear governance, roles, and reporting structures.
Enhancing internal and cross-functional alignment through communication guides that defined best practices for stakeholder engagement and elevating consistency across teams and regions.
The Impact
These foundational tools enabled the organization to establish a consistent standard of excellence across supplier relationships by implementing a standardized vendor scorecard framework and a supporting key performance indicator (KPI) development guide, with a focus on key metrics such as service level agreement (SLA) compliance, ultimately improving operational efficiency and service quality.
Additionally, our work uncovered significant opportunities for cost optimization. By streamlining processes and leveraging underutilized technical capabilities, the client identified significant annual savings—freeing up resources to reinvest in growth and innovation.
The transformation had an enterprise-wide impact, reshaping how the organization engages with vendors and collaborates internally. Results included:
Improved workflow efficiency and vendor accountability through SOP adoption
Strengthened alignment between local operations and companywide strategic priorities
A shift toward ownership, transparency, and performance-driven partnerships
This engagement delivered more than process improvements—it helped build a sustainable foundation for long-term supplier performance, strategic alignment, and operational excellence.
Forum Solutions is a management consulting company dedicated to crafting and delivering transformational outcomes for our clients, our colleagues, and our community. With our help, clients become more agile, resilient, and connected, bringing great ideas to fruition with brilliant results. From start-ups to the Fortune 50, business leaders rely on Forum Solutions to help them form and realize their strategies. Our company is a certified Woman Owned Business that believes in developing and growing our colleagues, company, and region in a socially conscious way.