Building Bridges: Six Strategies for Effective Vendor Management in Clinical Trials

Vendors are essential to the clinical trial industry, serving as the backbone of a successful clinical supply chain. Establishing a clear and transparent vendor management strategy is crucial, but fostering effective working relationships with these vendors is equally important. By doing so, you not only strengthen the clinical supply chain but also pave the way for achieving your trial goals.

Below are six (6) suggestions for effectively managing your vendors and setting your sponsors and clinical trials up for success.

During the vendor selection process, initiating and documenting discussions relating to each vendor’s scope of work within the clinical trial is crucial. Be sure to set clear expectations for work activities and communication with the sponsor and contractors, including appropriate escalation procedures for any issues or concerns that may arise during the course of the trial. Ensure all parties agree with these outlined expectations to avoid misunderstandings later. In addition to the sponsor outlining vendor expectations, it is equally important for vendors to communicate their expectations of the scope of work and relationship with the sponsor to ensure mutual understanding.

Before entering into a vendor contract, clearly define and document the roles and responsibilities of each party involved in trial activities. This includes identifying specific deliverables and tasks required from each vendor and who (group or individual) is responsible for performing each task. Creating a RACI (Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, Informed) chart outlining these details can be a helpful resource to ensure everyone agrees to and understands their roles and responsibilities within the clinical trial.

Outline and document with your vendors all deliverables expected throughout the trial and frequently revisit/update any changes as they occur. Transparency with your vendors regarding study deliverables and timely communication of any changes that may be necessary help build trust and create a true partnership, allowing all parties to remain fully aligned on study goals.

Having regular and consistent communication (e.g., weekly /bi-weekly team meetings, emails, MS Teams chats) with all relevant sponsor and vendor representatives helps to ensure everyone is aware of the progress and status of study activities and can respond quickly to any issues or concerns that may arise. It is important not only to have such regular meetings and communication streams but also to document a summary or recap of each meeting, including decisions reached and required actions (action item, responsible party, target completion date). Such documentation ensures critical trial information is available and communicated to all parties, which helps foster collaboration and partnership.

When problems arise, the priority should be to focus on resolving the issue at hand. It is never helpful to immediately lay the blame for a problem at the feet of a particular individual or team. We are all human beings who make mistakes, and engaging in assigning blame only distracts us from immediately addressing the issue. Rather, this is the time to lean into the partnership you’ve worked so hard to foster with each vendor, which often proves beneficial in achieving a quicker resolution. Once the problem is resolved to the team’s satisfaction, all stakeholders should work together to identify the root cause and agree on a solution to prevent reoccurrence.

I cannot stress enough the importance of avoiding any aspects of an adversarial relationship with your vendors. Vendors are our strategic partners and are vital to the success of clinical trials. In the clinical supply industry, we rely heavily on our third-party vendors to successfully meet the goals of our clinical trials, including packaging and labeling, storage and timely distribution of clinical supplies, and reconciliation and destruction of used/unused supplies at the end of each study. Our vendors strive to provide the highest quality services possible to meet the needs of their customers, and we respect and appreciate their hard work and diligence in successfully achieving study goals.

In clinical supply management, each day brings new challenges and opportunities. At CSC, we embrace these challenges in collaboration and partnership with our sponsors and vendors to ensure that each clinical trial moves forward efficiently and achieves the highest possible outcomes. Let’s discuss how we can set your trials up for success today.