How to Choose the Best Vendor Management System (VMS)

What is the Best Vendor Management System?

The answer isn't a specific vendor. the best VMS is one that: 

• Fits your workforce complexity

• Provides real-time visibility

• Is easy for your teams to use

• Delivers fast time-to-value

How to Choose the Best VMS

Are you looking for the best Vendor Management System (VMS) for your business?

Choosing the right Vendor Management System (VMS) is critical for organizations looking to optimize their contingent workforce programs.

Whether you're a small or mid-market business just starting to explore VMS options or a large enterprise with complex workforce management needs, the right system can transform how you manage staffing vendors, control costs, and gain visibility into workforce performance.

If you're just starting to explore VMS solutions or ready to switch to a more advanced system, we can help.

Download a copy of our Free VMS Buyer's Guide.

Choosing the right VMS can feel overwhelming - but you don’t have to do it alone. We've created the Ultimate VMS Buyer's Guide to walk you through how to make an informed decision when choosing the best VMS for your organization.

What is a Vendor Management System?

A vendor management system is a web or cloud-based application that acts as a mechanism for businesses to manage and procure staffing vendors, as well as manage their entire contingent workforce program.

By using a VMS, organizations can automate a wide range of contingent workforce processes, including:

• Sourcing and engaging staffing vendors
• Onboarding and managing temporary workers
• Automating time entry, approvals, and invoicing
• Real-time reporting and vendor performance tracking

These capabilities provide businesses with a comprehensive contingent workforce management solution that improves efficiency, saves costs, and enhances decision-making.

Why Businesses Use a Vendor Management System

Organizations turn to VMS platforms because managing a contingent workforce manually is complex, time-consuming, and prone to error.

A VMS helps solve key challenges including:

• Lack of workforce visibility

• Inconsistent vendor performance

• Compliance risks

• Manual processes and inefficiencies

How Your Business Will Benefit From a VMS

One of the most common sayings in the business world is “you can’t manage what you can’t measure”, and this is certainly true when it comes to your contingent workforce.

Due to the complex nature of contingent workforce programs, and the fact these programs involve thousands of data points, hundreds of temps and a wide range of vendors that must all be managed properly, most organizations are failing to gain true visibility into program performance.

The right VMS provides a range of benefits for your business. These benefits include:

• Cost Control: A VMS can help reduce vendor management costs by standardizing rates, improving visibility into spending, and eliminating rogue spend.
• Improved Vendor Performance: With real-time performance tracking, a VMS ensures your vendors meet expectations and deliver quality services on time.
• Increased Compliance: A VMS reduces compliance risks by automating documentation and monitoring worker certifications, vendor contracts, and payment approvals.
• Streamlined Invoicing: Automate invoicing and payment approvals to reduce errors and ensure that invoices match contracts and performance expectations.
• Better Data Insights: A VMS helps you make data-driven decisions by providing insights into vendor performance, worker productivity, and overall program success.

Through the use of a vendor management system, your organization will be able to automate and standardize all of the processes associated with your program and store all data in one centralized location, ensuring your business gains complete visibility into how your contingent workforce management program is performing.

As a result, the use of a VMS solution brings key benefits to your business that result in ROI: Cost control, Visibility, Quality, Process efficiencies and Compliance. 

Learn More at:

• The Benefits of a Vendor Management System

• How a VMS Reduces Contingent Workforce Cost

• How a VMS Reduces Contingent Workforce Risk

• How a VMS Increases Contingent Workforce Visibility

• How a VMS Improves Operational Efficiency
  
• How a VMS Improves Time-to-Fill

What Features Should a Vendor Management Software Have?

When looking for the best VMS solution, it's important to understand the core features that will make a difference in your contingent workforce management. Here are the top features you should prioritize:

1 - Vendor Consolidation

A top-quality VMS should allow you to consolidate all staffing vendors into one centralized platform. This consolidation improves vendor visibility, allows for better decision-making, and simplifies communication with vendors.

2 - Automation of Time-Consuming Tasks

One of the primary benefits of a VMS is the automation of repetitive tasks like time entry, approvals, and invoice processing. This automation reduces human error, saves time, and enhances the efficiency of your contingent workforce program.

3 - Shift Management for Shift-Based Workers

If your business relies on shift-based workers, the best VMS should include built-in shift scheduling and tracking features. This ensures that shifts are accurately tracked, payroll is streamlined, and compliance is maintained.

4 - Compliance Tracking

The right VMS should help you stay compliant with labor laws, tax regulations, and company policies. It should automate the tracking of worker certifications, worker classifications, and vendor compliance to reduce risk.

5 - Reporting and Analytics

An effective VMS should offer powerful reporting tools that provide detailed insights into program performance. This allows for data-driven decision-making and ensures that you can optimize vendor relationships and reduce costs.

You still want a VMS that will enable you to better manage your contingent workforce program and staffing vendors, but, at the same time, you want to avoid paying expensive fees for fancy features that your business will simply never need or use.

Plus: What Special Features Should You Look For in a VMS?

1. Open API

Open APIs allow users to access their raw data and create custom reporting using their own business intelligence platform. Open APIs allow companies to take back ownership of their data, make system integrations easy, fast, and cost-effective and provide greater Operational Efficiency. Open APIs also provide a scalable solution that can grow with the organization and increases Client Satisfaction and Competitive Advantage. 

VMS Trends - Harness the Power of Open APIs

2. Inherent Shift-Based Worker Functionality

Real-time accuracy in shift scheduling is non-negotiable for light industrial and high-volume workforces, MSPs, and staffing agencies. When searching for a VMS, your priority should be to ensure that shift management is an inherent system feature. Many solutions claim to handle shift scheduling but rely on third-party bolt-ons. This often leads to complications such as poor user experiences, a lack of proper visibility, and an increased risk of errors.

By choosing a VMS with built-in shift capabilities, you can streamline how you create, manage, and track shifts in one centralized platform. This simplifies your workflows and gives you confidence that every schedule-related update is captured in real time.

Shift-Based Functionality: 5 Ways a VMS helps manage Shift-Based Contingent Workers

3. White Label

White-label software refers to a software or application created by one company and then rebranded, to align with another company's brand. This software is adaptable, enabling the company to incorporate its own branding elements, such as logos, colors, and company details and even their URL. A white-label VMS lets you launch your own branded, ready-to-go Vendor Management System in a few weeks without the headaches of building from scratch.

White Label: How a White-Label VMS can grow your business

4. Customization

In today’s rapidly changing labor market, flexibility isn’t a nice-to-have - it’s the only way to stay ahead. If your VMS has a rigid, pre-configured system and you are told, “Here are your standard workflows. We can’t really change much without heavy development fees”, then you should be looking for a VMS that provides you with the flexibility and customization you need. You should look for a VMS that can be customized to meet your company's processes, policies, legislative controls and business rules. One that enables adaptation to your specific workflows - not the other way around.

Customization: Why Customization is important when choosing a VMS

How Much Does a Vendor Management System Cost?

Many businesses are surprised to learn that Vendor Management System (VMS) pricing isn’t just for large enterprises. Small and mid-market companies can find flexible VMS options tailored to their budget.

Many vendor management systems require a minimum spend volume for your organization to be able to use them. These technologies have been specifically designed for the requirements of enterprise organizations with huge budgets.

These solutions are fine for large enterprise companies with high non-employee spend, but not for businesses with smaller contingent spend that may have as little as 10 temporary workers at any given time.

Thankfully that has changed over the past year or so. Companies with smaller contingent workforce budgets now have a number of growing VMS options that will allow them to better manage their contingent workers and staffing vendors - no matter how much their non-employee spend is.

A vendor management software for small business or an organization with smaller contingent workforce budgets could range anywhere from a $100 to $500 monthly license, depending on the specific functionalities you are looking for in a VMS.

Learn More at: Cost & ROI of a VMS

5 Steps in Choosing the Best VMS

Choosing the right VMS is a big decision that requires a strategic approach. Here's a step-by-step guide to help you select the best vendor management system for your business:

1. Assess Your Business Needs
   Start by evaluating your current workforce management processes. Identify the areas where a VMS can make the most impact, such as vendor performance, cost savings, compliance, or shift scheduling.
2. Consider the Features You Need
   Different VMS solutions offer different features. Make sure the system you choose offers the key functionalities you need, such as vendor consolidation, automation, and reporting. Don’t pay for features you won’t use.
3. Evaluate Pricing Models
   Determine what pricing model works best for your budget. Some VMS solutions charge a monthly license fee, while others may use a pay-per-user or percentage-of-spend model. Make sure to compare options and look for a system that provides value for money.
4. Get Feedback from Stakeholders
   It’s important to involve key stakeholders, including HR, procurement, and finance teams, in the VMS selection process. Gather their feedback on what features they need and how the VMS will impact their department.
5. Test the System
   Before committing to a VMS provider, take advantage of free trials or demo versions. This allows you to test the system’s functionality and ensure it meets your business needs.

Choosing the right vendor management system (VMS) for your business is a crucial decision. Our Ultimate VMS Buyer’s Guide provides actionable insights, including:

• Key questions to ask VMS vendors
• Assessment checklist to identify your company's needs
• Budgeting tips to ensure you get the best value for your investment

Why Choose Conexis VMS 

Conexis VMS is a flexible, user-friendly, and affordable VMS solution ideal for mid-market contingent workforce programs.

Here’s why you should consider Conexis:

• Advanced Technology: Built on a modern tech stack with AWS microservices and an Open API, Conexis offers unparalleled scalability and performance.
• Affordable Pricing: Our pricing is ideal for mid-market businesses, with no setup or onboarding fees.
• Seamless Integration: Integrate easily with your existing systems, including HR software, ERP platforms, and more.
• Fast Implementation: Get up and running quickly with Conexis VMS. Our implementation timeline is weeks, not months.

Our software has been developed by  contingent workforce experts and was built from the ground up using the latest tech stack. This means we can do more for you at a lower cost, with more flexibility, provide better customer care, and deliver a better user experience. 

Conexis is an award-winning VMS tailored specifically for mid-market contingent workforce programs. Built on the latest tech stack, we are THE most modern, advanced and innovative VMS on the market today. We deliver the expertise, reliability, and security of an enterprise system, while offering the flexibility, user friendliness and tailored service you require. Essentially, Conexis delivers enterprise level software - without the enterprise level complexity and cost. 

Here's why you should choose Conexis as your VMS Partner. 

    Our Expertise

At Conexis, our Leadership Team brings extensive 'hands-on' experience in the Contingent Workforce Industry, particularly in Workforce Management, Consulting, Procurement and Talent Acquisition roles.

Industries: 

This expertise spans across various industries including Consulting, IT,  Manufacturing & Light Industrial, Consulting,   Government,  Pharma, Warehouse & Logistics and Healthcare.

Our Tailored Solutions:

We also bring a tailored solution for MSPs, Staffing Agencies, HR and Talent Acquisition, Procurement, and Contingent Workforce Management Professionals. 

With Conexis, you get dedicated senior leadership to help you succeed.

    Our Advanced Technology

We have the most modern and advanced VMS tech stack available today. It starts with the latest codebase and extends to our lightning-fast AWS microservice infrastructure and our Open API, making Conexis the lights-out leader in VMS technology. Our open APIs and flexible data solutions also allow our customers to create fast, easy, and cost-effective integrations, that can be done in under a week, compared to the legacy systems, which have to custom code each one.

   Our Flexible Pricing

We offer flexible pricing with no set up costs. We offer a range of pay-as-you-go pricing models. In addition, some highlights of our pricing include: Flexible Percentage of Spend or Licence Fee Pricing, free setup and implementation, no cost standard customization and configuration included, no Cost API, and no cost for a dedicated account team. You can save money, not only at set up, but on an ongoing basis with our affordable monthly pricing. 

    Our Work-Shifts, Worker Scheduling & Credentialling

We are one of the only VMS' in the market with functionality designed specifically to support high-volume fluid workforce environments. With our market-leading work shift scheduling, advanced timekeeping, and worker credentialing capabilities, Conexis is the only VMS that can handle all skill categories without clunky third-party add-ons.

  We're Easy to Use

The Conexis user interface was created using system design science. Our goal was to create an intuitive, easy-to-use, and easy-to-navigate interface. And we have succeeded. Our system is easy-to-use and easy-to-navigate. Our customers also report much higher levels of adoption due to our user interface and easy-to-use flows.

Our Clients Highly Recommend Us

According to SIA's 2025 Workforce Solution Buyers Survey, the Net Promoter Score (NPS) for the VMS Industry in 2025 is -28. Yes. That's negative 28, not positive 28. Comparatively, among current users, we report a higher-than-industry NPS score of +71. This means that our clients would highly recommend our system to others.

    Our Unbeatable Customer Care

"91.7% of all user inquiries are resolved within three hours". We are so proud of this statistic. Conexis puts a premium on Customer Care. We are on a mission is to make every customer feel like our number one customer because they are! Our Customer reviews are authentic and market leading. Each customer is supported by a dedicated and highly experienced "We Care" team that meets rigorous SLA levels to ensure the client's questions are addressed immediately.

   Our Advanced Analytics and AI

Our advanced reporting and analytics module gives customers valuable insights into their program’s performance and contingent workforce population. This critical information enables improved decision-making to improve quality, speed, compliance and cost. Combine this data with our impressive set of AI-driven tools, like candidate matching, to put your program into high gear.

    Our Fast Implementation 

No longer does it take 4-6 months to implement a VMS. Conexis is built on the latest tech stack and we can have you up and running within a few weeks. With turnkey solutions, modular design, and streamlined integration capabilities, VMS implementation can now be completed in weeks instead of months.

    Our “Easy Switch” Program

It’s easy to switch your VMS to Conexis with the Conexis “Easy Switch” program. Conexis makes switching your VMS easy. Our dedicated "Easy Switch" Team will take care of every detail for you, ensuring a seamless transition with minimal disruption. We handle all the complexities, so you can focus on your core business activities without any interruptions and be fully operational in just a few weeks.

     Our White Label Partner Program

Because we are built on the very latest tech stack, we  can provide you with a fully White Labeled VMS your own unique URL, for a very affordable rate. The benefit of a white label VMS is that it enhances your product offering and provides a seamless experience for your clients.

Grow Your Business with a Master Vendor Program

If you are looking to increase revenue and grow your business through a Master Vendor Program, we can help. Our White-Label VMS is exactly what you need and can be customized with your brand for a seamless client experience. 

    Our Mid-Market Focus

Leveraging the latest technology, Conexis delivers the expertise, reliability and security of enterprise systems, while offering the flexibility, user friendliness and tailored service you require. Conexis delivers enterprise level software - without the enterprise level complexity and cost for Mid-Market Contingent Workforce Programs.

    Our Client Testimonials

At Conexis, we believe that the true measure of our success lies in the voices of those we serve. Our clients' feedback is invaluable, offering genuine insights into the transformative impact our solutions have on their businesses. By reading our Conexis Client testimonials, you will discover firsthand accounts of how Conexis has revolutionized their operations, enhanced efficiency, and delivered exceptional value. These stories are a testament to our commitment to excellence and our dedication to helping our clients achieve their goals. Dive into their experiences and see why Conexis is the trusted partner for so many.

    Our Native Shift Based Worker Functionality

Unlike other VMS platforms that offer shift scheduling as an afterthought, Conexis was designed with native shift-based workforce management at its core. This means you can manage all scheduling, pay rates, and compliance in one system, reduce payroll and invoicing errors, have real-time workforce visibility with instant access to who is working, who is available, and where gaps exist; and scalability - so you can easily manage shift-based workforces across multiple locations and job types.

   Our Open API

Our VMS has Open APIs which gives you the ability to access raw data and create custom reporting suites tailored to your needs, which enhances the quality of service and drives operational efficiencies and scalability.  

By harnessing the power of Open APIs, you can transform your reporting capabilities, providing users and clients with the insights they need to manage their contingent workforce effectively.  

   Our Nexi AI Support Agent

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is reshaping the future of Vendor Management Systems (VMS) - and Conexis is leading the charge. We've launched Nexi AI, our AI Support Agent built to transform the way users interact with the platform, access support, and manage their contingent workforce programs.

 Our Partnership

At Conexis, our priority is on building partnerships and helping you succeed and grow. We offer many Conexis partner programs, so if you are a Staffing Agency, MSP, Contingent Workforce Consultant or HR Technology Provider looking for a VMS Partner who wants to help you grow your business, contact us!