Vendor Agreements
The Necessity of Agreements
No matter what part of the aviation industry you are in, as part of your business there are typically a number of agreements in place with suppliers of various goods and services needed to operate your company. These agreements are a necessary part of operating well.
Agreements with suppliers allow you know you can depend on something happening a certain way-you can know that your supplies will be delivered at a stipulated price according to an identified schedule or that services will be provided in a specified manner. If agreements with those that provide goods and services to your aviation business are well thought out, they keep the process in motion for ensuring that you will be able to serve your clients well.
Some of the agreements you have in place may be long and drawn out including several parts, like facility leases or agreements with fuel suppliers or a brand for which you are an authorized dealer or representative. Others may be short and simple, primarily consisting of the “fine print” on an invoice from the vendor.
And some agreements will be more a matter of established relationships that have never been documented.
Revisiting Agreements
Certainly, many of the supplier agreements you have in place have been there for some time. Take for example that facility or equipment lease. Maybe you have always bought supplies from certain vendors and nothing much has changed over the years. It’s time to take a look at those agreements and answer these questions:
- Are your supplier agreements and leases all current?
- Do the conditions in the agreements reflect and address your needs today and going forward?
- Are any of the agreements up for renewal soon? If so, then maybe it’s time to start thinking about any terms you might want to change or consider other vendors.
- What about agreements that currently only exist verbally? Especially if they are tied to personal relationships, it might be time to “put them on paper,” to ensure that terms continue in the future.
An important factor in the value of a business is confidence that things will continue moving forward in a dependable manner. Current and well thought out agreements with your suppliers is one more piece of building the value in your aviation business.
