TCR-IT-009: Vendor & Contract Management Policy
Summary
Section titled “Summary”Framework for managing vendor relationships and contracts, including digital tracking of renewals and timely stakeholder notification. Applies to all departments and personnel procuring goods/services from external vendors.
Why it exists
Section titled “Why it exists”Vendor relationships that aren’t actively tracked tend to auto-renew unnoticed, lapse without a replacement plan, or drift out of compliance with TCR’s standards. A consistent process for selection, negotiation, and renewal tracking keeps that from happening silently.
Policy
Section titled “Policy”Vendor selection and onboarding
Section titled “Vendor selection and onboarding”- Vendors selected on price, quality, reliability, and compliance with TCR’s values and policies.
- Contracts negotiated for favorable terms, with clear specifications, deliverables, and performance benchmarks.
- New vendors go through an onboarding process to understand TCR’s expectations.
Contract management
Section titled “Contract management”- All contracts are digitized and stored in a centralized contract management system (CMS).
- The CMS tracks renewal dates and alerts the responsible department head 60-90 days before renewal.
Notification and review process
Section titled “Notification and review process”- Procurement notifies relevant stakeholders of upcoming renewals 60-90 days in advance, via email and CMS notifications.
- Stakeholders review contract performance, assess continuing need, and decide on renewal or termination.
- All decisions and actions are documented in the CMS.
Compliance and performance monitoring
Section titled “Compliance and performance monitoring”Regular assessments of vendor performance against contract terms, and regular compliance checks against TCR’s policies and regulatory requirements.
- Procurement department: implements this policy, manages the CMS, ensures timely renewal notifications.
- Department heads: review and decide on contract renewals based on performance and business need.
- Finance department: ensures budget considerations are factored into contract review.
Enforcement
Section titled “Enforcement”Failure to comply may result in disciplinary action, up to and including termination of employment or contracts.
Review
Section titled “Review”Reviewed annually and modified as needed to reflect regulatory changes, college needs, and best practices in vendor management.
See Contracts & Vendors for the actual per-vendor contract records this policy’s tracking process produces.
Digitized from TCR-IT-009 - Vendor & Contract Management Policy [Rev 1.0].docx; the original is kept under source/policies/ in this repo.