Vendor Conflict Resolution

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SKJ
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Joined: Fri 18 Dec 2015 1:33 am

My friend works for a customer as a BA and manages the development team from different vendor for last 2 years. He is the only person from his company in the team. Recently, his customer was replaced by new person and (s)he does not understand, bringing both the vendors together for any issue/slippage related discussion creates conflict as they blame requirements not being clear to borrow time to fix issues. The customer is new to function and IT technologies. Practically, how can he explain and make her understand that the vendor team will not listen to my friend with out her support in front of them. May I know your advice for him?
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dhaughey
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Just a thought, but if there are arguments about the requirements not being clear, have all parties agreed on them and signed them off? If not, this could be the root of your friends problem, apart from the fact the vendors do not work well together. I’d suggest it’s the project manager’s responsibility to bring the two parties together, making sure they have clearly defined roles and responsibilities.

It's not necessary for the customer to be on every call or at every meeting as long as they have made their position clear to the vendors. Perhaps she needs to get them together for a 'clear the air' session and set them on the right track.

Hope this helps.
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