# Vendor Review

> 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.

- Skill: `ashutoshsrivastava17/vendor-review` (Agent Skill)
- Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add ashutoshsrivastava17/vendor-review`
- Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/ashutoshsrivastava17/vendor-review/raw
- Safety review: pending
- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: Coding & Dev Tools
- Author: ashutoshsrivastava17 (https://skillmd.com/u/ashutoshsrivastava17)
- Updated: 2026-09-17
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/ashutoshsrivastava17/vendor-review

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# 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

- [ ] Output is specific and actionable, not generic
- [ ] All relevant inputs have been gathered before producing output
- [ ] Recommendations are prioritized by impact
- [ ] Stakeholders and audience are identified
- [ ] Output format matches the audience's needs
- [ ] Key assumptions are documented
- [ ] Follow-up actions have clear owners