Functionalities in VendorLink
Within VendorLink, Pon uses the modules Contract Management, Spend Management and Vendor Rating. “We are implementing Spend Management Pon-wide,” says Martijn. “Every Pon company itself can then indicate whether they would also like to make use of Contract Management or Vendor Rating. Whether they have a need for these functionalities depends entirely on the type of Pon company. At Pon’s Automobielhandel, we use two functionalities.”
Six years ago, Pon’s Automobielhandel started using Vendor Rating in VendorLink. “This is different than with most companies, which often first start with gaining insight into the spend of contracts,” explains Martijn. “For us, it was very interesting to gain insight into the performance of suppliers and, based on this, to be able to reach better contract agreements with (new) suppliers. Additionally, our OEMs and factories also require a specific system for assessing suppliers and that we act on that. That is therefore one of the reasons why we started first at that time with vendor rating.”
Implementation of VendorLink
The implementation of a software solution is an intensive process. “Particularly in an organisation like Pon that deals with so many administrations,” Martijn says. “Many people from every Pon company were involved in the VendorLink implementation. A number of IT managers, a controller that can validate data, you name it. Moreover, the implementation of new software is an activitiy that is carried out in addition to the normal activities. It was therefore a major challenge to maintain the pace of the implementation process and to keep our people – who themselves of course already have full schedules – involved in the process.”

Collaboration with VendorLink
Martijn is enthusiastic about the collaboration with VendorLink. “The collaboration with VendorLink is going incredibly well and I am therefore very satisfied. Projects are well-managed and the people that work there are very dedicated. They are always ready to help, are easy to reach by telephone and are very involved in the project.”
Now that Pon also wants to connect its bicycle group to VendorLink, Martijn is again seeing how involved VendorLink is. “VendorLink is actively thinking along with us on connecting this new group to our software. We have prepared a wishlist and, for example, we have indicated that we would like specific and deeper insight on product level. VendorLink is now working very hard on setting that up, and we at Pon are therefore very pleased with the tool and the insight that we now have.”
