Vendor Selection and Supply Chain Monitoring

Reliance on vendors for guidance on how to buy investment and administration services is a dangerous approach to managing pension plans and donors' contributions to foundations.  Best in class organizations turn to Roland|Criss to redefine and restructure their methods.  We do not sell any services that appear in fiduciary supply chains.

We solve the problems caused by haphazard vendor management with these key activities:

• Analyze the needs of the pension plan or donor program in order to determine the best configuration of vendor types.
• Benchmark purchasing functions to identify processes that are not best in class...investment reviews, transaction processing, solicitation development, contract administration, and others.
• Formulate contracts with best in class terms and conditions to increase compliance with federal and state fiduciary laws and reduce maverick spending by vendors.
• Improve performance of service providers by developing and implementing comprehensive vendor performance evaluation programs.
• Identify vendor candidates based on their fiduciary support competency demonstrated by relevant certifications and ratings of their practices, not investment performance alone.
• Negotiate initial and renewal vendor arrangements.
• Monitor the supply chain ongoing at our client's committee level as an acknowledged ERISA fiduciary.

Case studies of the results of vendor selection and supply chain monitoring are available here from Roland|Criss.

Many executives that purchase investment and administration services for their ERISA qualified plans and non-profit foundations wonder if they can trust their vendors.  A free white paper reveals Roland|Criss' viewpoint.