It Takes a Village to Build a Website: How to Manage a Multi-Vendor Engagement

Building a modern enterprise website requires deep expertise in a variety of subject areas. And in an increasingly complex digital marketing landscape, it’s rare for one vendor to be able to meet all your needs alone. 

This is especially true if your organization is embarking on multi-faceted digital initiatives that will transform the way you do business. It’s wise to plan on engaging multiple partners to help you build a solution that will support your organization’s varied objectives.

But when several vendors are responsible for contributing separate pieces of a larger puzzle, how can you be sure they’ll collaborate effectively? Who should take the lead in establishing a joint timeline for deliverables? And what’s the best way to keep each vendor on track and accountable?

To ensure your ultimate solution delivers the capabilities and results you’re after, build your multi-vendor engagement project with the following factors in mind.

Engage Vendors With a Track Record of Collaboration

Managing a successful multi-vendor engagement begins with hiring the right people for the job. And yes, it’s important to vet potential partners in terms of the industry expertise they bring to the table. But it’s equally important — perhaps even more critical —  to select a vendor with a demonstrated track record of working well with other partners. 

Of course, you’ll need an experienced web developer to build and design your site. But when searching for partners to supplement your expertise in areas such as brand identity, custom CRM integrations, and managed hosting, look beyond their work examples. 

Ask about their experience working with other vendors. Pose scenarios about how they might handle conflict or disagreements when working with other vendors on complex problems, especially where boundaries are not clear. And pay close attention to any red flags that indicate the agency could be territorial or difficult to work with.

To set your project up for success, choose partners committed to true collaboration.

Establish Open Lines of Communication Early in the Web Development Process 

The most common pitfall that derails multi-vendor web development projects is lack of communication. When the right hand doesn’t know what the left hand is doing, it can significantly delay your progress or even derail the project. 

Therefore, be intentional about fostering communication between each vendor working on your project early in the process. Orient them around how they will each contribute to a solution that meets your organization’s overarching goals and objectives. 

If possible, consider inviting vendors to participate in the discovery phase of your web development project. For example, a branding agency might contribute valuable insight during workshops focused on your website’s design. 

But even if it’s not practical to involve each vendor in discovery, make it a point to bring all your external partners together as early in the project as possible. Open up the lines of communication between vendors and make it clear they are empowered — and expected — to collaborate along the way. 

Appoint a Project Lead to Manage Workflows and Deliverables

Complex projects require careful planning and ongoing management. No matter how well your vendors collaborate and interact together, you’ll need a point person to keep track of all the moving parts. 

Ideally, your organization will have the capacity to appoint a skilled project manager to handle the logistics of the project. If that’s not possible, consider asking your web development partner to help provide leadership in this area. 

In the same way that a lead contractor manages all the subcontractors when building a house, your web agency can help you define each vendor’s responsibilities. Then they can put those responsibilities into action by creating a shared workflow to keep everyone on the same page. 

Define Vendor Roles and Responsibilities

Sometimes multiple vendors overlap in their areas of expertise. For example, your web partner might have the capability to build custom integrations to connect your website to your Martech stack and third-party platforms. But you might choose to hire a CRM specialist that may also offer a custom integration service. 

When engaging vendors who offer similar services, it’s important to set clear expectations for each party. Knowing exactly what each is responsible for is key to eliminating redundancy and frustration. An easy way to do this is to create a RACI matrix that lays out:

• Who is Responsible
• Who is Accountable
• Who must be Consulted
• Who must be kept Informed

This provides at-a-glance insight into who is working on each element of the project. And if one part of the project falls behind or is not completed as agreed upon? You can point back to the agreed-upon RACI matrix to hold each vendor accountable.

Manage Timelines and Workflow Dependencies

If one vendor is late providing their assigned deliverables, it might impede another partner from starting or completing key tasks. For example, your branding agency will need to solidify your brand colors and visual identity with you before your web partners can start creating your site design. That’s why it’s essential to appoint a project lead to coordinate a workable timeline that factors in deadlines for each dependency. 

Having three different timelines from three different vendors is not helpful. Everyone needs to understand how their individual piece of the puzzle impacts whether the overall project stays on track. 

Applying the principles of the Agile manifesto can be useful here. Using a Gantt chart is a great way to visually show when each vendor is responsible to complete key tasks and subtasks so that everyone stays in sync. Be prepared to update it regularly. From there, your project manager or lead vendor might break your project down into smaller sprints to reach tangible goals within a certain timeframe. 

Following a specific meeting cadence (e.g., daily check-ins, mid-sprint team check-ins, retrospectives, and reviews) can keep the project on track. 

Plan Carefully to Make Your Multi-Vendor Website Project a Success

To build an enterprise website that supports your organization’s comprehensive business needs, you’ll need to bring partners to the table with deep expertise in key areas. And to keep your project running smoothly, you’ll need to insist on a spirit of collaboration, open lines of communication, and a clear understanding of each vendor’s roles and responsibilities. 

Managing a multi-vendor engagement can be challenging. But with a good plan and dedicated partners, you’ll arrive at a custom solution that propels your business forward for years to come.