Use cases by role
Vetting a supplier you already work with
Asking a ten-year supplier for documents reads as distrust unless explained. And the oldest one reacts worst.
Vetting new suppliers is easy: it enters the conversation from day one and nobody argues. The problem is the other thirty — those who have supplied for years without anyone asking for a document, and who must now be emailed for five of them.
How each one reacts
| Supplier profile | How they usually react | What works |
|---|---|---|
| Large and organised | Sends it in two days | Just ask: they have it ready |
| Small and tidy | Asks what for and sends it | Explain the reason once |
| Long-standing, informal | Takes it as distrust | A call before the email |
| The one who does not have it | Goes quiet and stalls | Time and a realistic minimum list |
Important
The third row is the one to work on before sending anything: **for a long-standing supplier, asking for documents after ten years is not a formality, it is a message**. And the message received, unexplained, is that something has happened or that you no longer trust them. A one-minute call — «we are doing this with everyone, starting with those who do most work for us» — changes the response entirely, and it is the difference between papers in a week and a negotiation you never intended.
How to run the campaign
- 1
Start with the highest risk or highest volume
And say so: being first reads better when the reason is given.
- 2
Ask for the minimum list, not the ideal one
Five documents get sent; fifteen open a discussion.
- 3
Give one realistic deadline
A short deadline with extensions teaches that deadlines do not matter.
- 4
And say what happens if it does not arrive
With no consequence, half of them never will.
Watch out
Every vetting campaign's uncomfortable discovery: **some long-standing suppliers will not be able to provide what you ask**, and not for want of willingness. They have worked for years without that document because nobody asked. There the decision is no longer purchasing's: it is whether you keep working with them, give them time to obtain it, or accept the risk in writing. What does not work is leaving it open — because then the work continues and so does the gap.
What the relationship gains when it is done well
Worth knowing
If your own clients require you to control the chain, say so: for a supplier, «we are being asked» is very different from «we have decided to ask». It is true, it is understood and it stops them taking it personally.
›Do I stop orders if they do not send it?
That is the decision to take before starting, not when it happens.
›What if they have never had that document?
Case by case: sometimes another one proves the same thing.
›Do I ask again every year?
Only for what expires. Repeating what does not change wears the relationship.
A real case
The situation
A company emails thirty long-standing suppliers for five documents and gets four replies.
What you do
- Calls the oldest ones first and explains it applies to everyone, starting with the main ones
What you get
Most reply within a week and the awkward conversations come down to two cases.
The situation
New suppliers are approved and existing ones have no file.
What you do
- Launches the same process to those already working with you
What you get
The criterion is the same for everyone.
The situation
A long-standing supplier has never provided anything.
What you do
- Launches onboarding as if they were new
What you get
Seniority stops being an exception.
The situation
There is a fear of upsetting a trusted supplier.
What you do
- Explains it is the same process for everyone
What you get
The request does not read as distrust.
The situation
A hundred are onboarded at once and nobody replies.
What you do
- Launches in rounds, starting with the critical ones
What you get
Progress is real from the first round.
The situation
An audit uncovers suppliers with no file.
What you do
- Checks beforehand who has no file
What you get
The gap closes with time to spare.
This article answers
- asking long-standing suppliers for documents
- vetting existing suppliers
- the supplier takes offence at paperwork
- starting to control the usual suppliers