Services / 06 · Vendor & SI Management

06 · Vendor & SI Management

Hold partners to the contract.

Selection scorecards, SOW shaping, and the ongoing accountability that keeps your systems integrator delivering the scope and outcomes they were hired for.

Book a partner-governance read See the SI selection scorecard →

Vendor Selection · Weighted Scorecard

Vendor evaluation

The shift I create

SI runs the show

scope creep, you absorb it

→

Vendor governance

scorecards · SOW · accountability

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Partner delivers

scope held, outcomes met

The escalation ladder. Four rungs, each with a decision right and a time limit: workstream lead to workstream lead within 48 hours, client-side PMO and SI engagement manager within 5 business days, steering committee at the next sitting, accountable executive and SI partner immediately. Six conditions that make the ladder work. — Save this for the governance conversation. The full breakdown is in the client-side PMO guide.

On one pageThe escalation ladderFour rungs, four clocks. Agree them before you need them, because deciding what warrants escalation in the moment it is needed is how issues age.

1Workstream

Workstream lead to workstream leadTwo leads resolve it between themselves. Most cross-stream friction lives and dies here, and should.

48 hoursThen it moves up

2PMO

Client-side PMO and SI engagement managerThe plan owner and their counterpart take it. Scope, sequence, and resourcing calls get made at this rung.

5 business daysWith a dated next action

3Steering

Steering committeeAnything touching date, budget, scope, or benefits. Papers out early enough to be read.

Next sittingOr an out-of-cycle call

4Executive

Accountable executive and SI partnerCommercial disputes, contract remedies, and any decision that changes the business case.

ImmediatePeer to peer, matched tiers

What makes it work. Triggers agreed in advance, matched tiers on both sides so peers escalate to peers, a contractual duty to keep working during a dispute, and a culture where using the ladder is not treated as a complaint. More in the client-side PMO guide.

What this covers

Four levers that keep your SI honest.

The SI works for you. Structured right, the contract makes sure it stays that way.

Selection scorecards

Pick on evidence, not the demo

Weighted criteria that compare vendors on what matters, not who presents best.

SOW review

Close the gaps before you sign

Scope, deliverables, and acceptance terms shaped so ambiguity does not become your cost later.

Partner governance

A cadence they answer to

Joint governance that keeps the SI reporting to outcomes rather than hours billed.

Accountability cadence

Green means green

Regular checkpoints against scope and quality, so slippage is caught in the meeting, not the invoice.

How I run it

The SI is a partner, not the pilot.

Someone on your side has to read the SOW like the SI's margin depends on it, because it does.

Select

Scorecards

Weighted evaluation that picks the right partner.

Shape the SOW

Scope and terms

Deliverables and acceptance criteria that leave no gaps.

Govern

Joint cadence

Governance that holds the SI to outcomes.

Hold accountable

Checkpoints

Scope and quality tracked, slippage caught early.

years managing integrators

vendor deliverables ready

Why this holds up

Your SI optimizes for their margin. Someone should optimize for yours.

I have shaped the SOW that saved a client a change order, and chaired the governance that got a stalled SI back on scope. Owner-side leverage is a discipline.

Workday-deep and platform-agnostic. The logos differ. The way integrators protect their margin does not.

Get the SI Selection Scorecard

The weighted scorecard and SOW checklist I use to evaluate and hold integrators. DM me on LinkedIn and I will send it over.

Request it →

Let's talk

Is your SI delivering the scope?

Start with a candid partner-governance read, fast, independent, and pointed at where the contract is leaking. Three complimentary 30-minute reviews open each month.

Book a call See selected work →

Deep dive

Before you sign the SI contract

The statement of work is where you keep your leverage or quietly give it away. The full field guide walks all 10 areas to negotiate, where to push back, and the fixed-fee vs. time-and-materials call, with a free toolkit built for the redline session.

Read the negotiation guide Download the toolkit (PDF) →

Deep dive

What Workday really costs

Workday does not publish a price list, and over 5 to 10 years the subscription is under half of the total. The pricing and TCO guide walks the full cost stack, the FY2026 shifts, benchmarks by size and industry, and the levers, with a free toolkit to sanity-check any quote.

Read the pricing guide Download the toolkit (PDF) →

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