vendor-review
anthropics/knowledge-work-plugins
Structured vendor evaluation covering cost, risk, and recommendation for procurement decisions.
What is vendor-review?
Evaluate vendors with a comprehensive framework analyzing total cost of ownership, financial stability, security posture, and performance metrics. Use when reviewing new vendor proposals, deciding on contract renewals, comparing multiple vendors, or building negotiation points before procurement sign-off.
- Calculates total cost of ownership including implementation, training, support, and exit costs
- Assesses vendor financial stability, security compliance, and contract lock-in risks
- Produces side-by-side comparison matrices when evaluating multiple vendors
- Identifies negotiation leverage points and mitigation strategies for identified risks
- Extracts pricing, terms, and SLAs from uploaded vendor documents
- Generates structured recommendation with reasoning (Proceed/Negotiate/Pass)
How to install vendor-review
npx skills add https://github.com/anthropics/knowledge-work-plugins --skill vendor-reviewHow to use vendor-review
- 1.Provide the vendor name and evaluation context (new, renewal, or comparison)
- 2.Upload the vendor proposal document or provide contract terms and pricing details
- 3.Include current performance data if evaluating an existing vendor or renewal
- 4.Specify which vendors to compare if doing a side-by-side analysis
- 5.Review the generated cost analysis, risk assessment, and recommendation
Use cases
- Evaluating a new vendor proposal before procurement approval
- Deciding whether to renew or replace an existing vendor contract
- Comparing two or more vendors side-by-side on cost, features, and terms
- Building a total cost of ownership breakdown for budget planning
- Identifying negotiation points and risks before contract sign-off
- Procurement managers and buyers
- Finance and cost analysis teams
- IT and operations leaders evaluating software or service vendors
- Contract renewal decision-makers
- Cross-functional procurement committees
vendor-review FAQ
Vendor name, evaluation type (new/renewal/comparison), contract terms, pricing structure, proposal documents, and any current performance data or spend history.
Yes. You can request a side-by-side comparison matrix covering pricing, features, integrations, security, support, contract terms, and references.
Yes. It breaks down license fees, implementation, training, support, maintenance, and exit costs across Year 1 and multi-year periods.
Financial stability, security and compliance posture, vendor lock-in, concentration risk, contract termination costs, and business continuity capabilities.
Yes. The skill identifies specific leverage points and negotiation strategies based on the evaluation findings.
Full instructions (SKILL.md)
Source of truth, from anthropics/knowledge-work-plugins.
name: vendor-review description: Evaluate a vendor — cost analysis, risk assessment, and recommendation. Use when reviewing a new vendor proposal, deciding whether to renew or replace a contract, comparing two vendors side-by-side, or building a TCO breakdown and negotiation points before procurement sign-off. argument-hint: "<vendor name or proposal>"
/vendor-review
If you see unfamiliar placeholders or need to check which tools are connected, see CONNECTORS.md.
Evaluate a vendor with structured analysis covering cost, risk, performance, and fit.
Usage
/vendor-review $ARGUMENTS
What I Need From You
- Vendor name: Who are you evaluating?
- Context: New vendor evaluation, renewal decision, or comparison?
- Details: Contract terms, pricing, proposal document, or current performance data
Evaluation Framework
Cost Analysis (Total Cost of Ownership)
- Total cost of ownership (not just license fees)
- Implementation and migration costs
- Training and onboarding costs
- Ongoing support and maintenance
- Exit costs (data migration, contract termination)
Risk Assessment
- Vendor financial stability
- Security and compliance posture
- Concentration risk (single vendor dependency)
- Contract lock-in and exit terms
- Business continuity and disaster recovery
Performance Metrics
- SLA compliance
- Support response times
- Uptime and reliability
- Feature delivery cadence
- Customer satisfaction
Comparison Matrix
When comparing vendors, produce a side-by-side matrix covering: pricing, features, integrations, security, support, contract terms, and references.
Output
## Vendor Review: [Vendor Name]
**Date:** [Date] | **Type:** [New / Renewal / Comparison]
### Summary
[2-3 sentence recommendation]
### Cost Analysis
| Component | Annual Cost | Notes |
|-----------|-------------|-------|
| License/subscription | $[X] | [Per seat, flat, usage-based] |
| Implementation | $[X] | [One-time] |
| Support/maintenance | $[X] | [Included or add-on] |
| **Total Year 1** | **$[X]** | |
| **Total 3-Year** | **$[X]** | |
### Risk Assessment
| Risk | Likelihood | Impact | Mitigation |
|------|-----------|--------|------------|
| [Risk] | High/Med/Low | High/Med/Low | [Mitigation] |
### Strengths
- [Strength 1]
- [Strength 2]
### Concerns
- [Concern 1]
- [Concern 2]
### Recommendation
[Proceed / Negotiate / Pass] — [Reasoning]
### Negotiation Points
- [Leverage point 1]
- [Leverage point 2]
If Connectors Available
If ~~knowledge base is connected:
- Search for existing vendor evaluations, contracts, and performance reviews
- Pull procurement policies and approval thresholds
If ~~procurement is connected:
- Pull current contract terms, spend history, and renewal dates
- Compare pricing against existing vendor agreements
Tips
- Upload the proposal — I can extract pricing, terms, and SLAs from vendor documents.
- Compare vendors — "Compare Vendor A vs Vendor B" gets you a side-by-side analysis.
- Include current spend — For renewals, knowing what you pay now helps evaluate price changes.
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