When you are selecting an outside company to do business with, whether it’s one for purchasing parts or turning over your service work, look beyond selecting a vendor. Instead look for what I call a vendor-partner.
The word vendor implies a transaction. And while the term vendor-partner is not a legal arrangement, it is a contractual one. In a relationship with a vendor-partner there are shared expectations. For example, a vendor-partner does not merely sell tires; it sells cost per mile.