Template Questions
All 9 Vendor Evaluation Questions
Nine questions covering the complete supplier performance scorecard. Run this template with every internal stakeholder who interacts with the vendor — not just the procurement manager. End-users of the product, finance contacts, technical integrators, and operational teams all have different performance lenses. Question 9 (renewal intent) is your contract negotiation anchor — a low renewal intent score from multiple stakeholders creates objective justification for renegotiation or retendering.
01How reliably does this vendor deliver on time and as promised?Scale 1–5
02How consistently does the product or service meet the quality standards agreed?Scale 1–5
03How responsive and professional is this vendor's communication and support?Scale 1–5
04How would you rate the value for money relative to the contract terms?Scale 1–5
05How well does this vendor comply with contract requirements, SLAs, and agreed standards?Scale 1–5
06How would you rate the overall working relationship and partnership with this vendor?Scale 1–5
07How effectively does this vendor handle issues, complaints, or escalations?Scale 1–5
08How would you rate this vendor's overall performance over the evaluation period?Scale 1–5
09Would you recommend renewing or extending the contract with this vendor?Yes / No
Vendor Performance Tiers
What the Scores Mean — and What to Do
Each vendor's average score across the eight rated dimensions maps to a performance tier. The tier determines the appropriate procurement response — from strategic partnership investment to formal improvement plans to retendering. Use this framework to standardise how your procurement team responds to evaluation data rather than making ad-hoc decisions based on individual opinion.
4.5–5.0
Strategic
Extend contract. Explore deeper partnership. Share roadmap.
3.5–4.4
Satisfactory
Renew standard terms. Address lowest-scoring dimension in review.
2.5–3.4
At Risk
Issue vendor improvement plan. Shortlist alternatives. Monitor closely.
Below 2.5
Underperforming
Retender. Issue formal notice. Begin transition planning immediately.
The performance tier also informs how you approach the contract renewal conversation. A Strategic-tier vendor has negotiating leverage — price increases may be justified. An At-Risk vendor has no leverage and should be aware that retendering is actively being considered. Having the data changes the power dynamic at the negotiating table.
How It Works
From Survey to Scorecard in 3 Steps
1
Use This Template
All 9 questions pre-loaded. Change the vendor name. Send to all internal stakeholders who interact with this supplier.
2
Collect multi-stakeholder views
A single procurement manager's view is biased. Aggregate scores from all business users give a complete picture.
3
Take data to the negotiation
Average scores per dimension become contractual evidence. Low delivery scores support SLA renegotiation.
Sample Results
Your Vendor Scorecard Dashboard
After 12 internal stakeholders evaluated a strategic IT infrastructure vendor, the issue resolution gap against delivery and quality scores justified a formal escalation and SLA renegotiation — supported by objective data rather than anecdotal complaints:
Vendor Evaluation · 12 stakeholder responsesQ1 2026 Annual Review
—
Overall score
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Performance tier
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Renew contract
Delivery reliability4.3 / 5
Quality consistency4.1 / 5
Communication & support3.6 / 5
Value for money3.4 / 5
Issue resolution2.8 / 5
Contract compliance4.4 / 5
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
Is this vendor evaluation survey template free?
Yes. Free forever with no signup from you or your stakeholders. Up to 100 responses free. Pro ($19/month) allows 10,000 responses and response timeline analytics for tracking vendor performance across contract periods.
What questions should a vendor evaluation survey include?
Cover: delivery reliability, quality consistency, communication responsiveness, value for money, contract compliance, relationship quality, issue resolution, overall performance rating, and renewal intent. This template covers all nine dimensions of supplier performance.
How often should I conduct a vendor evaluation?
Quarterly for critical or high-spend vendors. Annually for standard suppliers. Immediately after project completion or contract milestones. For strategic vendors, monthly performance check-ins plus a comprehensive annual evaluation is recommended. Evaluation data should feed directly into contract renewal negotiations.
Who should complete a vendor evaluation survey?
All internal stakeholders who interact with the vendor — not just the procurement manager. Include end users, finance contacts who manage invoicing, technical teams who integrate with vendor systems, and operational teams who depend on delivery. Aggregating multiple perspectives gives a more complete picture than a single point of contact.
How do I use vendor evaluation data in contract negotiations?
Present vendor performance data at renewal negotiations as evidence rather than opinion. Low delivery scores support SLA renegotiation. Low value scores support price renegotiation. High scores give the vendor leverage for price increases. The survey converts subjective stakeholder feelings into objective contractual evidence.
Should I share vendor evaluation results with the vendor?
Yes — sharing aggregated results with vendors is standard procurement practice and required in some frameworks. Sharing converts the evaluation from a passive measurement into an active performance improvement tool. Vendors who receive regular feedback improve faster than those evaluated in isolation.
Can I use this for SaaS vendor evaluation?
Yes. For software vendors, delivery reliability maps to uptime and release cadence, quality maps to bug rate and feature completeness, and communication maps to support responsiveness. All 9 questions are editable to use software-specific terminology. The contract compliance question is particularly important for SaaS vendors where DPAs and security standards are contractual requirements.
How do I evaluate multiple vendors consistently?
Run the same survey template for each vendor with only the vendor name changed. This standardises scoring criteria across your supplier base and allows direct comparison. Create a separate survey instance per vendor. Pro ($19/month) allows unlimited simultaneous surveys, enabling full vendor portfolio evaluation in one cycle.
What is a vendor scorecard and how does this survey create one?
A vendor scorecard is a structured performance rating system that tracks supplier performance across multiple dimensions over time. This survey generates the raw data for a scorecard — the nine dimension scores can be weighted by strategic importance and tracked quarterly to produce a rolling performance score. Pro accounts ($19/month) provide the timeline analytics needed to build a living vendor scorecard.
Can I use this survey to evaluate software vendors and SaaS providers?
Yes. For software vendors, the delivery reliability question maps to uptime and release cadence, quality maps to bug rate and feature completeness, and communication maps to support responsiveness. All 9 questions are editable to use software-specific terminology before sharing. The contract compliance question is particularly important for SaaS vendors where data processing agreements (DPAs) and security standards are contractual requirements.
How do I rate multiple vendors consistently?
Run the same survey template for each vendor with only the vendor name changed. This standardises the scoring criteria across your supplier base and allows direct comparison. Create a separate survey instance per vendor — don't combine vendors in a single survey. Pro ($19/month) allows unlimited simultaneous surveys, enabling full vendor portfolio evaluation in one cycle.
What is the difference between a vendor evaluation and a vendor audit?
A vendor evaluation measures stakeholder satisfaction with vendor performance — the subjective experience of working with the supplier. A vendor audit is a formal compliance and process inspection — verifying that the vendor meets specific standards, certifications, or regulatory requirements. Both serve different purposes. This survey handles vendor evaluation. Audits require on-site inspection or formal documentation review processes.
Can this vendor survey help with supplier relationship management (SRM)?
Yes. Supplier relationship management (SRM) requires structured, regular performance data to move from transactional vendor relationships to strategic partnerships. Running this evaluation quarterly and sharing results with vendors is a core SRM practice. The relationship quality dimension (Question 6) specifically measures whether the vendor relationship is operating as a partnership or a commodity transaction — the key distinction in SRM maturity.
What is a strategic vendor and how should I evaluate them differently?
Strategic vendors are those whose product or service is critical to your operations or competitive advantage. They typically represent high spend, unique capability, or deep integration. For strategic vendors, add a collaboration and innovation dimension to this template — whether the vendor proactively brings ideas and improvements. Standard vendors can be evaluated on the nine core dimensions in this template without modification.
How many vendors should I evaluate per cycle?
Evaluate all critical and high-spend vendors annually, with quarterly checks for your top 5-10 strategic vendors. For a typical mid-size organisation with 20-50 active vendors, prioritise the top 20% by spend and strategic importance for formal evaluation. The Pareto principle applies: 80% of vendor risk and value typically sits with 20% of suppliers.
Should vendor evaluations be anonymous?
Internal stakeholder responses to vendor evaluations should be anonymous to encourage honest assessment. Employees may give inflated ratings if they have a personal relationship with the vendor account manager, or deflated ratings if they've experienced a recent incident. Aggregating anonymous responses from multiple stakeholders produces a more accurate performance picture than named assessments.
What happens if a vendor scores poorly on the evaluation?
A poor score triggers a formal vendor improvement plan (VIP) — a documented set of performance commitments with measurement criteria and timelines. Share the evaluation results with the vendor, identify the two or three lowest-scoring dimensions, and agree on specific remediation actions. Re-evaluate at 60 and 90 days. If performance does not improve, the evaluation data supports termination for cause under most vendor contracts.
Can I use this survey for government procurement vendor evaluation?
Yes, with caveats. Government procurement vendor evaluation often requires specific scoring methodologies, documentation standards, and transparency requirements mandated by procurement regulations. This survey can generate the underlying performance data, but you should consult your procurement policy and legal team to ensure the evaluation process meets all applicable public procurement rules in your jurisdiction.
Turn stakeholder opinions into contract evidence
9 questions. Multi-stakeholder. Works for any vendor or supplier.
Use This Template — FreeNo signup required · Free up to 100 responses · Pro from $19/month