Vendor management includes all the activities a business undertakes to maintain strong relationships with suppliers. Like ensuring vendors are paid on time, orders are processed correctly, and procurement runs smoothly.
Several departments contribute to vendor management in different ways, with the Accounts Payable (AP) team playing a central role. AP ensures timely payments to vendors, which in turn supports prompt order fulfillment, strong supplier relationships, better terms, and efficient procurement operations.
However, AP teams often spend too much time on manual vendor management tasks. This happens especially in large organizations where multiple suppliers need to be onboarded, tracked, and paid. When automation is lacking, AP professionals are left filling in data by hand and managing documents manually, which drains time and resources.
Through conversations with our JD Edwards customers, we’ve identified recurring challenges in vendor management. Below, we break down the five most common ones. Make sure to stick with us until the end to discover the solution to overcome them.
The Challenges
1. Time-consuming vendor onboarding
When a company starts working with a new vendor, the AP department is responsible for onboarding—entering vendor data into JD Edwards, collecting the necessary documents, and ensuring everything is correctly set up in the JDE Master Data.
But when this process is done manually, it becomes time-consuming. It often involves validating details, chasing vendors for information, and handling documents via email—all of which increases the risk of errors or lost data.
2. Difficulty managing vendor queries
Vendor management also includes handling questions from suppliers, whether it’s about missing invoices, payment discrepancies, or clarification on payments.
These queries typically come in through emails or phone calls, making it hard to track their status or ensure timely follow-up. Without a clear process, vendor queries can fall through the cracks, leading to frustration and strained supplier relationships.
3. Lack of vendor self-service
Traditional vendor management processes often don’t provide suppliers with access to essential documents or real-time visibility into payment status and invoice updates. As a result, vendors must reach out each time they need information, creating unnecessary back-and-forth and added workload for the AP team.
4. Vendor data spread across systems
When vendor communication happens across multiple channels, it’s difficult for AP teams to maintain a clear, centralized view of each supplier’s data. Information ends up scattered across emails, spreadsheets, and internal systems, making it time-consuming to retrieve documents, invoices, POs, or past communication history.
5. Inconsistent or missing compliance documentation
When vendor onboarding is done manually, it’s easy to overlook critical compliance documents like W-9s, tax forms, certificates, or banking details. These gaps can delay vendor setup and increase the risk of audit issues or even fraudulent payments.
The solution: A Dedicated vendor portal
Most vendor management challenges stem from a lack of automation and modern tools to manage supplier relationships.
The solution? Moving vendor management to a centralized portal.
A vendor portal reduces the time and effort needed to maintain strong supplier relationships.
When integrated with JD Edwards, a vendor portal keeps master data up to date and streamlines communication. Instead of chasing down details through long email threads, your AP team can access everything in one place. And with built-in self-service features, suppliers can easily check document status, view payments, and access key information on their own.
Modernize vendor management with Vendor Hub
Looking to bring your vendor management into the modern age?
Vendor Hub is the web-based supplier portal, fully integrated with JD Edwards via Orchestrator. It’s built to simplify and improve vendor management, so that your team can focus on what matters.
With Vendor Hub, you’ll reduce manual tasks, improve visibility, and give suppliers the self-service experience they expect.
Get in touch with our team to see just how smooth vendor management can be. Fill out the form here, and ask any questions you might have—no sales pitch, we promise.
