Managing Vendors – Like a 9-Year-Old
OK, let me frame that explosive statement.
I spent the first 12 years of my career as an employee of various IT vendors and service providers. Over those years, I had hundreds of clients – people who needed to manage me and the companies I worked for as we provided products and services to them.
American Airlines Sabre System was one of those clients.
They stood out from the rest of the customer base:
Other customers got whatever technician was available – Sabre had dedicated service technicians,
During a snow blizzard, other customers got “best effort” arrival – Sabre still had a guaranteed Mean Time to Arrive,
Our company had a pool of parts to service all our customers – except for Sabre. We had a separate inventory of spare parts – just for the Sabre account.
How did they get that level of service?
And why were all our competitors fighting to steal the Sabre account from us?
Yes, Sabre System was big – but it was not our biggest client.
Sabre System was the best – the best at managing their vendors.
There was no mystery with that account. You always knew:
Where your relationship stood with that customer,
How well you were performing against the contract requirements, and
What profitability you were getting from that contract.
They managed us like a 9-year-old.
OK, I really like 9-year-olds. They come with different skills and levels of responsibility. They have enough tenure and experience to be great companions on a journey, and really good partners in projects. Their world is shaped more by the literal and tactical than by the abstract and strategic, so they can be a refreshing break from adults.
The only caveat in working with 9-year-olds is that you, as the adult, need to own the responsibility while they capably do the roles and tasks.