How Vendor Management Software Helps Your Mortgage Company

Software, that is not only well-designed but created by experienced vendor risk management professionals, will help you streamline your operation. 

Fewer FTE Costs 

The cost is typically minimal compared to ongoing FTE costs. In the lending industry, when mortgage volumes spike, lenders will go on a hiring blitz to keep pace. Unfortunately, when the volume reverts to a pre-boom level, the finance department begin to look at how they can trim overhead. 

However, if we as an industry have learned anything from Fintech in 2017, there is a definite desire from the C-suite to push technology to become more efficient and make the user experience enticing.  

Examples of this include:  

• Rocket Mortgage from Quicken Loans 
• Online loan apps  
• Day 1 Certainty from Fannie Mae  

Each initiative is designed to drive business, minimize many of the human touches required to push the loan through production and essentially do more with less. 

Why then are we not taking the same approach when it comes to an internal vendor management program? This really is the entire pivot of the discussion that should be on the Vendor Management Board’s notepad.   

Questions to Ask 

• How much I am spending in my vendor management vertical? 
• Is the department under or overstaffed? 
• What is the current expertise level? Are we top-heavy in one discipline? 
• Is our oversight even up-to-date? 
• Why did we miss that contract renewal date? 
• No one else in the organization has any insight into vendor management. Why is that? 

We have established that Excel for reporting purposes is as good as the data input but one key difference is that the Excel relies on the user to perform the input function. A dedicated vendor management software is like having that assistant constantly watching the store. It records the actions and automates functions where excel cannot.  

For a department which has a broad array of vendor partners, but limited staff and strict budgets for additional FTE to supplement the varied oversight activities, leveraging software will enable the VMO (Vendor Management Office) respite from the purely administrative tasks and focus on the strategic oversight required.

For more on how a dedicated vendor management software can help your mortgage institution, download our case study with Meriwest Credit Union.