There, off my chest. Vendor Relationship Management indeed is Fools' Gold
Now, all I need to do is argument that, and I'll have a few extra enemies. Cool!
Just kidding - right?
Here's the definition of VRM according to Wiki:
The goal of VRM is to improve the relationship between the demand-side and the supply-side of markets by providing new and better ways for the former to relate to the latter. In a larger sense, VRM has the potential to improve markets and their mechanisms by equipping customers to be independent leaders and not just captive followers in their relationships with vendors and other parties on the supply side of the marketplace.Let me make it short and brief: it's not the V or even the M in the acronym I'm tripping over, it's the R - Relationship. If I buy a bread, do I have relationship with the baker? Bakery? Market, supermarket? Person, brand or organisation of any of those? People related to them?
Geez, all I wanted was a loaf of bread!
- If it's not any good, I'll go back and complain.
- If it's any good, I'll go back and buy some more.
- If it's very good, I'll go back, buy some more, and praise them whenever I can
There is, in short, my relationship with a vendor: none. There is no relationship if there's not a darn good product in the first place.
I stand corrected: there might be a relationship, albeit it cumbersome, via bad, to nagging, without a good product. But if the product is satisfactory, you just use it
So why this VRM? I have no idea really, and I just wish people would stop pushing it.
It is the ultimate people-pleaser contest: let me make myself as attractive as possible for anyone out there...
People-pleasing is driven by innate insecurity, a severe lack of self-esteem, no clue of a goal and purpose in Life, and anything else that will waste your limited time on Earth (not mentioning politics and religions)
It is very easy really: either you are interesting enough for vendors to get in contact with, or you're not. If the former, they'll know when and where to find you and have all the needed (by them) metadata on you. If the latter, you're just not significant enough to deal with, whether your data is tattoed on all their employees' forehead or not. Face it
VRM is as bad an idea as was ESB: Enterprise Service Bus. Over the years I've seen that definition on the wiki twist and turn from outrageous Gartner lie to anonymous Integration anachronism. There were ESB's decades before the word was invented, and according to the Law of Infallibility its meaning has been gracefully slimmed and trimmed down so the self-invented cube does end up fitting into the circular hole - that was there from the beginning
Vendor-independence? You can always decide not to buy. Or put up with it. Or become competition for ye olde vendor. The usual market just works perfectly for that, always has, and always will
Just give me a business case please, thank you
