I believe that building relationships with various vendors is an important part of being a superintendent. As a former technology coordinator I have built many relationships with various vendors that I still lean on today as school principal and that number will expand as i progress into a Superintendant position in future.
Key components that I believe make these vendor relationships important:
Communication: Knowing different people/vendors to contact when various issues arise. It is also important to know that those people will get back to you in a timely manner.
Trust: Working with people that you trust is important. You want a project done once and done right and you don't want to waste district funds on something that isn't going to be utilized or isn't done up to expectations.
Cost Savings: Vendors have many other contacts and people they work with and may be able to bring you cost savings on various projects or connect you with other vendors that they use and trust.
Problem Solving: Having established relationships with vendors can expedite the process of getting issues resolved. If you know exactly who to call for a specific issue or for an upcoming purchase it makes the process smooth and easy. I do understand on larger purchases it is necessary to get multiple quotes on many things however sometimes having the trust with a particular company helps explain to the board of education why we should go with a more expensive price.
Long Term Planning: Vendors know about new products and services that are coming out and can bring those things to you if they think that those products would benefit the school in some way.
To me Vendors are more than just people trying to sell their products. While that may be true in some cases they can be valuable resources for a district when making decisions on purchases, repairs, or renovations. I think it is very important to develop relationships with various vendors who are willing to get to know the district and it's goals and provide the school with the best possible opportunities for the students.