End of supplier relationship

[Greenkindness]

One of our suppliers at work will not having their contract renewed later this year. We’ve worked with them for over 10 years. It goes out to tender and another company scored more highly.

The contract not being renewed has nothing to do with me (I didn’t know it was happening) but my team uses the service itself a lot. We talk 99% of the time by email, maybe once a month.

I’d say we get on well - we had a big project that got a bit stressful but it’s all working ok now and I’ve always passed on positive feedback about the service when I have it.

I feel like I want to email them to say something - thank you? - but I don’t know if that’s a good idea or how to word it appropriately / sensitively. I don’t know if they think I’ve had any involvement in the decision.

Would appreciate any thoughts.

I wouldn’t. I’m currently on the other side of this at the moment, where we’ve been a supplier for 15 years and they are moving from us.

They need us to do something specific for them, so we are hitting them with the full day rate and not their usual rate. It’s business as far as we’re concerned. Once the work is done and the day comes where the contract is over, we’ll stop access to the system, email to tell them that’s been done and then walk away, job done.

Thanks, I appreciate that viewpoint.

I'm sure there'll be some transition type emails you'll have to send as their contract comes to an end. I'd add a line to the bottom of one of those saying you've enjoyed working with them etc.

Keep it at a personal level (is: this is a message from you as an individual to another individual, not speaking on the company's behalf) and don't make any reference to the quality of their work/performance.

Thanks. I get on well with the people there. I’m struggling to separate personal from business at the moment, which is my problem not theirs.

Don't. A colleague made a friendly comment (but said I'm not sure what precisely) to a contact in a supplier in this situation which led to a court challenge around the tender for contracts. Stay utterly detached and professional aside from 'I'm sorry we won't be talking anymore' type comments.

All great advice, thanks

We have suppliers with multi-million pound accounts, I'm still friends with some who have left. There's no harm is a friendly message saying how much you enjoyed working with them.

This

It sounds like you're not involved in the commercial side of things, so don't muddy the waters and potentially incriminate yourself or your team.

Is there a formal Client feedback/closedown procedure you might be invited to comment on?

Towards the end of the framework, you could say some very non-commits stuff, like "I've enjoyed working with you for the last few years", but you need to separate personal feelings from a professional situation.

Thanks, no I’m not on the commercial side at all. It’s not this, but say the supplier was a courier company. I make the bookings for deliveries but I have nothing to do with procurement, I don’t organise paying the invoices and I’m not their client contact. But I book the deliveries every week, I talk to the staff, and have done for years.

Like you say (and I have earlier) I need to separate personal from the professional. I can see it’s not appropriate to get involved so I’m going to leave it alone.

Thanks for the advice, I’m going to leave this thread now.