The Results
Four years after onboarding Nvendor, Maura and her team continue to see transformative benefits across every aspect of their vendor management program:
Significant time savings through centralized communication.
"100% we're saving time because we can do everything in the system rather than having to send multiple emails back and forth to vendors. Not only do we track it and it's already there, but we also don't have to go searching through our email. The centralized approach reduces the risk of lost documentation and ensures relationship managers can quickly access the information they need.
Streamlined vendor onboarding.
Nvendor’s risk-based workflow has eliminated bottlenecks. "The onboarding process has really helped us ensure we're gathering all of the information needed based on the risk for that type of vendor. We're not collecting or requesting documents that we don't need to request and holding up that process."
Enhanced performance reviews.
Performance reviews have evolved from simple yes-or-no questions to assessments with real depth. "We can really understand how our vendors are performing, hold them accountable, and track our incidents."
Improved collaboration across departments.
While relationships with business units were already strong, Nvendor has helped address communication and context gaps, so that other departments understand the rationale for vendor management requirements. "They understand why we ask for what we ask — not just because we want to request a bunch of different processes and procedures to be followed, but the why behind it."
Better visibility for management.
The transparency Nvendor provides brings vendor risk into clearer focus for senior leadership, reinforcing shared accountability, and elevating the program’s importance across the organization. "Even with our senior leadership — for them to understand and for us to have that accountability from the top down, that's also been a big improvement.”
Uncovering hidden vendor relationships.
Improved processes uncovered unknown vendors and services, exposing overlap across departments and opportunities to consolidate and manage risk. "We are still in the process of discovering some of those services that multiple units could use."
Ongoing product improvements.
Ongoing enhancements ensure the platform continues to evolve with the credit union’s needs, driven by close collaboration and continuous refinement over time. "They've asked for additional feedback, which means everyone really cares, and that goes a long way with me."
Looking Ahead
As UFCU advances its growth strategy, Maura expects its partnership with Ncontracts to deepen, with a focus on breaking down data silos by bringing risk, compliance, and vendor management together in a single, connected system.
"Having a system that can grow and mature with us is important and having all the data in one place rather than all the other systems is super important to us."
Nvendor Implementation Tips from University Federal Credit Union
Maura recommends that institutions evaluating Nvendor should:
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Talk to existing customers. "Do other demos and research, but get references, talk to people that have been in the system and utilizing it because you are going to quickly realize the value not just with the [Ncontracts] products, but with the people." Products can be great, but without strong backend support, you'll never get what you really need.
- Engage with the community. Through ongoing engagement — including Ngage, Ncontract’s annual user conference — Maura has built practical working relationships with the Ncontracts team and other users, enabling peer collaboration beyond the conference itself. "It's not just about learning more about the system, what's coming, and asking questions to the staff. It's about being able to collaborate with others in the industry. We're even planning to have a monthly collaboration session in the future — and that, in itself, is worth every dollar."
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