Four Pivotal Categories To Elevate Your Clinical Vendor Management

By Kalyan Obalampalli (KO), Founder and President of Clin.AI

Managing clinical vendors can feel overwhelming, but with the right framework, it becomes far more manageable and effective. Drawing on over two decades in clinical operations, Kalyan Obalampalli (KO), Founder and President of Clin.AI, breaks vendor oversight into four essential categories: time, money, quality, and relationships. Each comes with practical KPIs and data points that help sponsors track performance, anticipate risks, and keep studies on time and within budget.

Discover how to monitor deliverables and milestones, assess cost efficiency and budget adherence, evaluate data accuracy and deviations, and strengthen communication and issue resolution with vendors. The guidance is not about creating layers of complexity—it’s about simplifying vendor management into clear, measurable practices that support better decision-making and stronger partnerships.

Whether you’re looking to tighten budget controls, improve data integrity, or foster more collaborative vendor relationships, this article offers a roadmap you can start applying immediately. For sponsors ready to take vendor management to the next level, technology platforms like Clin.AI make these practices easier, faster, and more transparent—helping you ensure vendors deliver exactly what your study needs.