After the contract is signed and the sales team steps away, organizations often face a gap between supplier promises and delivered performance. Seprio’s Supplier Governance Operational Model emphasizes the importance of strong communication, proactive issue resolution, and executive alignment to bridge that gap. By establishing clear service expectations, addressing issues in real time, and holding strategic suppliers accountable for supporting long-term goals, companies can transform vendor relationships into high-value partnerships. Effective supplier management ensures not just promised outcomes, but also added innovation, competitive advantage, and measurable ROI.

While AI has advanced operational efficiency and decision-making, it cannot replace the human skills needed to build strong supplier relationships. Trust, transparency, open dialogue, and executive engagement remain vital for fostering successful partnerships - something Seprio’s Supplier Governance Model emphasizes.

Strategic supplier reviews help reduce risk and strengthen value. Don’t let complacency or poor scalability undermine your supply base. Plan ahead to ensure key suppliers still meet your needs today, and tomorrow.

Supplier rationalization boosts value, reduces redundancy, and increases leverage. Seprio’s Summer Series explores consolidating suppliers without compromising service or risk management. Streamline spend and strengthen strategic relationships.

This conclusion to Risk Management highlights the growing risks tied cloud-based supplier agreements, especially in multi-tenant environments where data is shared and security responsibilities are complex. With emphasis on the importance of a strong Governance, Risk Management, and Compliance (GRC) framework to monitor and manage supplier risks—starting with selection, continuing through ongoing oversight, and supported by the right tools and processes. When risks can’t be avoided, they must be actively managed.

In Part 4 of this four part series, we explore how AI is revolutionizing the workplace with tools that automate communication and analyze data for actionable insights, but its rapid adoption brings significant legal and data privacy risks. Many AI features are quietly embedded into existing software or offered as low-cost add-ons, making it easy for them to bypass traditional risk reviews. Supplier-friendly contracts often grant broad data rights and offer limited protections, leaving companies exposed. As regulations lag behind, legal teams rely on business users to identify and report AI use early. Every employee plays a role in managing associated risks to protect the organization.

In Part 3 of this four part series, we explore the unique legal challenges AI presents—especially around data privacy, supplier contracts, and liability. Unlike traditional tech agreements, many AI contracts grant suppliers broad data rights and limit accountability for IP infringement or output accuracy. Legal teams must work closely with business leaders to ensure proper risk reviews and data protection measures are in place. As AI continues to evolve, so must corporate risk management strategies.

In Part 2 of this four part series, we explore how AI is rapidly transforming the workplace through low-cost add-ons that automate tasks and enhance software. These smaller purchases, often classified as “Tail Spend,” frequently bypass traditional risk reviews, exposing companies to hidden threats. Despite their affordability, these AI tools can access and process sensitive data, making them just as risky as high-value contracts. Since AI risk doesn’t align with spend, organizations must update their risk management processes and educate employees to ensure comprehensive AI governance.

In Part 1 of this four part series, we explore how AI is slipping into businesses through new purchases, renewals, and even midterm additions—often without proper oversight. AI is being sold as a quick fix—but the real risks are hiding in the fine print.

The first stop in our series on Supplier Governance is Risk Management. Learn about how a robust and proactive Risk Management effort has now become an absolutely mandatory requirement and a primary focus of any Supplier Governance Operating Model.

Goodbye Vendor Management, Hello Supplier Governance. This Series will introduce the four specific areas surrounding Supplier Governance and that must be addressed with your suppliers, (with a particular focus on those suppliers who are the most strategically and/or operationally important to your company’s success): Risk Management, Contract Management, Relationship Management, and Performance Management.

Vendors often introduce additional or special terms during the renewal phase. Typically, these include clauses stating that the renewal terms and conditions will be governed by the vendor's online terms and conditions, effectively superseding any prior agreements between you and the vendor. This seemingly minor change can have far-reaching consequences. Find out what those consequences could be, and how to avoid them.

How about that annual health physical that has long since passed the definition of “annual”? Just as our personal health is an important element to not put off – a health check on our software licenses is worth bringing to the forefront before we head into year-end budgeting and software renewals.

With an effective contract management system, your company can realize significant improvements in efficiency, accuracy, and profitability of contracting processes. The increased visibility and streamlined workflows can empower teams to make data-driven decisions that enhance both customer and vendor relationships.

We take a look at what it means to employ a Best Practices in renewals. But first, it makes sense to talk a bit about what it looks like when organizations do NOT employ best practices in their renewals.

We will look at a situation where a vendor imposed an unreasonable renewal price increase, but, in this case, the tide of the battle was turned by a somewhat unexpected (and very old) participant.

How do we do this? By turning our attention inward to existing contract obligations by focusing on committed spend, especially when minimum commitments are involved, and on renewals.

Have you ever had your budget blown up by an unexpected price increase imposed on a “routine” renewal?