What is a Vendor Contract?
Definition
Legal agreement governing vendor relationship including scope, pricing, terms, and obligations. Vendor contracts establish service commitments, intellectual property rights, liability limitations, data protection requirements, termination conditions, and dispute resolution mechanisms. Organizations should negotiate favorable terms rather than accepting vendor standard agreements, focusing on liability caps, data ownership, exit assistance, and pricing protection.
Why This Matters
Vendor contracts govern entire relationship including scope, pricing, obligations, and termination. Organizations should negotiate favorable terms rather than accepting vendor standard agreements. Critical terms include liability caps, data ownership, exit assistance, pricing protection, and termination flexibility. Contract quality determines your options and recourse when vendors underdeliver. Legal review is essential before signing.
Related Terms
Showing semantically related terms from our RFP knowledge graph. Priority connections are highlighted.
Essential Connections
Master Service Agreement
RFP Fundamentals
A contract establishing terms and conditions for ongoing vendor relationships including pricing, payment terms, intellectual property rights, liability, termination clauses, and dispute resolution.
Contract Negotiation
Pricing & Total Cost
The process of finalizing terms with the selected vendor including pricing adjustments, SLA modifications, customization scope, payment terms, and exit clauses.
Vendor Management
Vendor Management & Evaluation
Ongoing relationship management with vendors post-contract, including performance monitoring, contract compliance, issue resolution, and strategic partnership development.
Procurement Process
RFP Fundamentals
The end-to-end process of identifying needs, evaluating vendors, negotiating contracts, and procuring software or services for an organization.
Vendor Selection
Vendor Management & Evaluation
The systematic process of evaluating and choosing software vendors based on product capabilities, security compliance, implementation support, company stability, and pricing.
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