Is there any element of your IT vendor management strategy that you think is pretty clever or has served you especially well?

We use Strategic Partners strategy that at the end is a vendor consolidation. We started 4 years ago and it helps to reduce cost, reduce the application landscape and speed to market.

Agree with Sonny. A Vendor Managment Framework will help your business to standarize and streamline your process. I use the SGAR Framework, divided into 4 pillars: 
1. Sourcing: Identify and select the best vendors aligned with your organisational needs and goals
2. Governance: Establish a regular and robust review structure to ensure compliance, performance and alignment with business objectives.
3. Asssesment: Regularly evaluate vendor performance, value contributio, and esnure adherence to agreed standards
4. Relationship: Foster and nurture long-term and mutually beneficial relationship with your vendors

A formal vendor/account management framework is beneficial. Helps to categorise your vendors (gold, silver, bronze) depending on the nature of the service they provide, cost, criticality etc. This helps to determine the level of engagement we have with the different type of vendors such as partnership, strategic or just transactional.