Vendor Guide

Before you begin receiving orders, ensure your business is fully onboarded.

Onboarding requirements:

• Company and contact information confirmation
• Tax and compliance documentation (e.g., W-9, COI)
• Banking/ACH setup
• Pricing files and product/service catalogs

Why this step is critical:
Procurement partner onboarding ensures you are verified, compliant, and ready to transact while reducing delays and payment issues

CES will guide you through how members access and use your contract.

Key areas of alignment:

• How members find your contract (e.g., Bluebook)
• Ordering processes (based on contract type)
• Invoice and payment expectations
• Reporting requirements

Best practice:

• Procurement partners should be fully integrated into CES procurement and financial systems before transactions begin

Once active, your role is to make procurement easy, compliant, and reliable for CES members.

Core responsibilities:

• Honor contract pricing and terms
• Respond to member and CES Staff inquiries quickly
• Provide accurate quotes and documentation
• Deliver products/services as contracted
• Follow all applicable procurement rules (state/local/federal)

Important:

• Public sector contracts operate with high scrutiny—missing documentation or errors can delay or jeopardize work

Your success depends on how easy you are for members to work with.

What members expect:

• Fast response times
• Simple ordering process
• Clear pricing (no surprises)
• Reliable delivery

CES actively supports procurement partners by:

• Introduce your contract to entities
• Helping members understand how to buy from you
• Facilitating introductions and engagement

With your contract active you should:

• Promote your CES contract to public entities
• Train your sales team and staff on:
  • How CES contracts work
  • Who can use them
  • Why they simplify procurement

Ongoing contract success depends on consistent compliance.

Common expectations:

• Sales reporting (as required by contract)
• Maintaining up-to-date pricing and documentation

Why this matters:

• Procurement partner onboarding and management establish accountability, performance tracking, and long-term partnership success

CES views vendors as partners—not just contract holders.

What success looks like:

• Active use of your contract by multiple entities
• Strong member satisfaction
• Responsive communication with CES
• Continuous improvement of offerings

CES focuses on collaboration, communication, and mutual success. Replace the last item and bullet with this sentence.