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You can get a tender out the door, receive quotes from three subcontractors, and still choose the wrong one.
Why?
Because vendor management isn’t just about picking the best price. It’s about managing risk, ensuring compliance, and getting the job done without surprises.
Relationships still drive who wins work. Emails go missing. Excel sheets are out of date by the time you open them. This guide is here to fix that.
Vendor management in construction is about having a structured approach to selecting, onboarding, and monitoring subcontractors and suppliers throughout a project. This includes checking insurance, tracking safety incidents, and reviewing payment history.
Unfortunately, it's one of the industry's biggest blind spots.
The Old Way of managing vendors relies on gut feel and disorganised email folders.
A contracts admin might pick a subcontractor they worked with years ago, but there’s no record of their past performance or whether they met deadlines. As one quantity surveyor put it, "You don’t know if they’re good, you just know they weren’t a disaster last time."
Without structure, vendor management becomes inconsistent. One project might prequalify every subcontractor, while another just picks whoever the site manager knows. Insurance certificates get missed, exclusions are overlooked, and subcontractors may be ill-equipped for the job.
Many private contractors still rely on outdated systems, using spreadsheets and disconnected tools. When a subcontractor walks off-site or a variation claim arises, there's no clear record of how they were hired or what terms were agreed.
A structured approach replaces guesswork with data. It enables teams to compare vendors based on performance, workload, and compliance, ensuring consistency in how subcontractors are selected and decisions are made.
When a project goes off track, it’s rarely the scope or design that’s the issue — it’s often the subcontractor. The warning signs were probably there, but without the right system, you couldn’t see them.
If different people use different methods to vet subcontractors, you’re not managing risk — you’re just hoping for the best. That’s a problem when you run 12 projects at once with 150+ active subcontractors.
Standardised vendor oversight brings control. It gives your team a defined path to follow, no matter the project, trade, or manager. That means less guesswork and fewer surprises.
When you know what was checked, when it was checked, and who signed off, you can manage performance instead of reacting to issues.
Consistency doesn’t just keep things tidy. It protects margin and reputation.
Duncan McPherson, managing director at 2Construct, said:
'Subbies want to work with us because we're hassle-free and get to contract faster.'
That doesn’t happen by accident. It happens when oversight is structured, repeatable, and clear.
Vendor management isn’t just about picking the lowest quote. It’s about making sure the right subcontractors are doing the right work, at the right time, for the right price — with a paper trail to back you up if things go wrong.
Here’s how experienced contractors keep it tight from start to finish.
Before you send out any tender, define what you’re buying.
Just because a subcontractor can price a job doesn’t mean they should get it.
A good tender makes it easy to compare apples to apples. A bad one leaves you chasing clarifications.
Once bids are in, land on a fair deal, not just the cheapest price.
This is where deals can fall apart if not managed properly.
Vendor management becomes daily once the subbie is on site.
When the job’s done, don’t move on without capturing what you learned.
Most contractors still rely on spreadsheets — if they track vendor performance at all. Rows of names, random notes, and half-remembered phone calls about late arrivals.
A proper vendor management system replaces scattered data with a single source of truth. It links every subcontractor’s history, performance, and compliance to real-time project decisions.
Construction software should do more than store contact details. Used right, it helps you manage risk, track performance, and make better calls.
If a subcontractor bid comes in low, but they’ve had repeat safety incidents, you’ll see it. If their insurance expired last week, you’ll catch it before awarding the job. If other projects are already waiting on them, you can decide if that’s a risk.
ProcurePro ties all of that together. It links vendor records to tenders, scopes, approvals, and contracts. Every decision is backed by data, not just memory or gut feel.
You still need to manage the subcontractor, not the task. That means checking their track record with similar work. If you don’t have the internal capability to assess the technical risk, ask your consultants for help early.
Procurement is the full process. Vendor management is one part of it. You identify, assess, and oversee subs as you procure each package. Poor vendor management leads to poor procurement decisions, even if the paperwork looks fine.
It’s usually split between the commercial team and site team. But someone needs to own the record. When things go wrong, no one wants to hear 'I thought you had it.'
If subcontractor issues keep repeating, it’s not bad luck — it’s the process. When vendor oversight changes from project to project, so do the outcomes.
A structured approach brings consistency. It speeds up decision-making. It cuts down time spent chasing paperwork, clarifying scope, and sorting out problems that could’ve been avoided.
If your vendor records still live in inboxes and your risk controls are a spreadsheet, it’s time to fix that.
Book a demo to see how procurement and vendor management actually work together.
Tim Rogers
