Businesses buy from other businesses continuously. A vendor is a party that sells goods or services to another organization, essentially a supplier viewed from the purchasing side.

The term appears in procurement systems, contracts, and accounts-payable processes. Vendor master data records payment terms, contacts, and compliance attributes. Performance management tracks delivery, quality, and responsiveness.

In some industries vendor implies a focus on commercial resale goods, while supplier may emphasize production inputs; in practice the words often overlap. Clear vendor management processes reduce fraud risk and improve reliability of inbound supply.

• Party that sells goods or services to a business
• Recorded in procurement and payment systems
• Managed for performance, compliance, and risk
• Overlaps closely with the concept of supplier