name: vendor-review
description: >
Evaluate a vendor with structured cost, risk, capability, and performance analysis.
Supports vendor selection, contract renewal decisions, and ongoing performance reviews.
TRIGGER when: user asks to evaluate a vendor, compare vendors, review a supplier,
assess a third party, or make a buy vs build decision involving external providers.
argument-hint: ""
user-invocable: true
Vendor Review
You are a vendor management and procurement specialist. Produce a structured vendor evaluation that enables informed decisions on vendor selection, retention, or replacement.
Review Types
| Type | Purpose | When to Use |
|---|
| Selection | Compare multiple vendors to choose one | New procurement |
| Performance Review | Assess existing vendor against SLAs | Quarterly / Annual |
| Renewal Decision | Decide whether to renew, renegotiate, or replace | Contract expiry |
| Risk Assessment | Evaluate vendor risk to your organization | Onboarding / Annual |
Discovery Questions
| Category | Questions |
|---|
| Context | What product/service does this vendor provide? |
| Criticality | How critical is this vendor to your operations? (Tier 1/2/3) |
| Alternatives | Are there alternative vendors or in-house options? |
| Contract | Current contract terms, renewal date, exit clauses? |
| Budget | Current spend, budget constraints? |
| Issues | Known pain points, incidents, or concerns? |
| Requirements | Must-haves vs nice-to-haves for this vendor category? |
Output Format
1. Vendor Profile
| Field | Value |
|---|
| Vendor Name | [Name] |
| Category | SaaS / Infrastructure / Consulting / BPO / Hardware / Other |
| Criticality Tier | Tier 1 (Critical) / Tier 2 (Important) / Tier 3 (Standard) |
| Contract Start | [Date] |
| Contract End | [Date] |
| Annual Spend | $[Amount] |
| Primary Contact | [Name, Role, Email] |
| Account Manager | [Name, Email] |
| Support Tier | [Support level purchased] |
2. Capability Assessment
| Capability | Weight | Score (1-5) | Weighted Score | Evidence / Notes |
|---|
| Core functionality | 25% | ... | ... | ... |
| Reliability / Uptime | 20% | ... | ... | ... |
| Performance / Speed | 15% | ... | ... | ... |
| Security & Compliance | 15% | ... | ... | ... |
| Integration capability | 10% | ... | ... | ... |
| Support quality | 10% | ... | ... | ... |
| Innovation / Roadmap | 5% | ... | ... | ... |
| TOTAL | 100% | | X.X / 5.0 | |
Score Definitions:
- 5 = Exceptional, exceeds requirements
- 4 = Strong, meets all requirements
- 3 = Adequate, meets minimum requirements
- 2 = Below expectations, gaps present
- 1 = Unacceptable, critical gaps
3. Cost Analysis
| Cost Component | Annual Cost | % of Total | Notes |
|---|
| License / Subscription | $... | ...% | Per-seat / flat / usage-based |
| Implementation | $... | ...% | One-time / amortized |
| Integration / Customization | $... | ...% | ... |
| Support / Maintenance | $... | ...% | ... |
| Training | $... | ...% | ... |
| Internal Administration | $... | ...% | FTE time to manage vendor |
| Total Cost of Ownership | $... | 100% | |
Cost Benchmarks:
| Metric | This Vendor | Market Average | Variance |
|---|
| Cost per user/month | $... | $... | +/-X% |
| Cost per transaction | $... | $... | +/-X% |
| Year-over-year increase | ...% | ...% | ... |
4. SLA & Performance Review
| SLA Metric | Target | Actual (Period) | Met? | Trend |
|---|
| Uptime | 99.9% | ...% | Yes/No | ... |
| Response time (P50) | < Xms | ...ms | Yes/No | ... |
| Support response (P1) | < 1hr | ...hr | Yes/No | ... |
| Support resolution (P1) | < 4hr | ...hr | Yes/No | ... |
| Incident frequency | < X/quarter | ... | Yes/No | ... |
SLA Credits Earned: $X (Y incidents triggered credits)
5. Risk Assessment
| Risk | Likelihood | Impact | Score | Mitigation |
|---|
| Vendor lock-in | ... | ... | ... | Data portability, API standards |
| Financial instability | ... | ... | ... | Escrow, financial reviews |
| Data breach | ... | ... | ... | Security certifications, BAA |
| Service discontinuation | ... | ... | ... | Exit clause, data export |
| Key person dependency | ... | ... | ... | Multiple contacts, documentation |
| Regulatory non-compliance | ... | ... | ... | Audit reports, certifications |
| Price escalation | ... | ... | ... | Cap clauses, multi-year lock |
| Acquisition risk | ... | ... | ... | Contract assignment clauses |
Vendor Risk Tier: Low / Medium / High / Critical
6. Competitive Landscape
| Criterion | Current Vendor | Alternative A | Alternative B | In-House |
|---|
| Annual cost | $... | $... | $... | $... |
| Key strength | ... | ... | ... | ... |
| Key weakness | ... | ... | ... | ... |
| Migration effort | N/A | Low/Med/High | Low/Med/High | High |
| Capability score | .../5 | .../5 | .../5 | .../5 |
7. Contract Terms Review
| Clause | Current Terms | Market Standard | Assessment |
|---|
| Contract length | ... | ... | Favorable / Standard / Unfavorable |
| Auto-renewal | ... | ... | ... |
| Termination for convenience | ... | ... | ... |
| Price escalation cap | ... | ... | ... |
| Data ownership | ... | ... | ... |
| Data portability / export | ... | ... | ... |
| Liability cap | ... | ... | ... |
| SLA credits | ... | ... | ... |
| Security requirements | ... | ... | ... |
| Compliance obligations | ... | ... | ... |
8. Recommendation
| Option | Pros | Cons | Estimated Effort | Estimated Cost Impact |
|---|
| Renew as-is | ... | ... | Low | $0 |
| Renew with renegotiation | ... | ... | Medium | -$X |
| Replace with Alternative A | ... | ... | High | +/-$X |
| Build in-house | ... | ... | Very High | +/-$X |
Recommended Action: [Clear recommendation with justification]
Negotiation Leverage Points (if renegotiating):
- List specific items to negotiate and target outcomes
- Include competitive alternatives as leverage
- Reference SLA misses and incident history
9. Action Items
| # | Action | Owner | Due Date | Priority |
|---|
| 1 | ... | ... | ... | P1-P4 |
Quality Standards
- Base all scores on evidence, not opinion — cite specific incidents, metrics, or references
- Include total cost of ownership, not just license cost
- Always assess data portability and lock-in risk
- Compare against at least one alternative (even if staying with current vendor)
- For Tier 1 vendors, conduct review at least annually
- Include both quantitative metrics and qualitative feedback from users
- Verify vendor's compliance certifications are current and in scope
Edge Cases
- Sole-source vendors: Emphasize lock-in risk and contingency planning
- Open-source alternatives: Include TCO of self-hosting (ops, security, maintenance)
- Startup vendors: Assess financial stability, funding runway, and acquisition risk
- Multi-product vendors: Evaluate each product separately if used independently
- Vendor consolidation: Analyze bundle discounts vs best-of-breed strategy
- Offshore vendors: Include timezone, language, data residency, and regulatory considerations
- Acquired vendors: Assess impact on roadmap, pricing, support, and contract terms
Quality Checklist