Is it equally important to know your vendor same like to know your customer?

YES…!!!  It is equally important to know our vendors same like we know our customers.

Vendors are our business partners and contribute to company success, it is important to know and understand our vendors, Also important is that we communicate our expectations and values to them, By doing so we assign responsibility to them and designate them as a critical facilitator of success.

Also by knowing them we can build a better professional relationship, it also helps in anticipating their issues/ concerns and provide viable solutions for the business.

By knowing and managing them properly, they shall be able to perform on time and up to our expectations.

Initially, we need to know our customer best. Once we know exactly our customers requirements and tolerances then we can better evaluate the vendors for that particular customer. Conversely, if we know our vendors very well, then we can match them up with best customer that desires particular goods and/or services from  specific vendors from our vendor list.

Correct! 

 We need to know our customer through analysis of consumer behavior first and then design product accordingly. Only then, customers will come to buy our product. 

Just in the reverse thinking, we need to know our vendors; coordinate, collaborate and support them to deliver the best product /items/ raw material at right time.  Thereafter, we provide value addition to the product/ items through business processes and again sell to our customers. So, vendors shall be considered as our business partner

It is of utmost importance that one know the vendors whom the firm or company is working with. It is important to take the vendor along with the organisation growth story and make them a part of the success and growth.The vendor should be nourished such that they are part of the success and failure of the project undertaken and have financial and emotional dependency on the buyer. 

Yes, build a strong and long term relationship with the vendors. For that you should tell the truth and take the hit and never ever lie. 

Yes......we have to know more about vendor  than customer, since execution of work is depends on the quality of work and services provided by vendor with their skill and potential.

I think it is equally important you know your suppliers as they are reputable and most important.The same financial risk as the supplier does when dealing with your business.

Vendor is the strategic partner of the any business or company. Vendor is selected based on their qualified staff, capability, skilled, specialization and trustworthy to add more business value in the company so we must to give same importance to like customer.

Yes, it is very important to stay close to the market in order to optimize the bids and be competitive not only from cost angle but from delivery and quality angles too.In order to achieve this, it is imperative to stay close to the vendors and develop a strategic-partner type of interest with them. This helps better Inventory Management, JIT concepts, plus we come to know the challenges vendors face in a ever-changing global scenario. 

I will echo the same comments what many folks have said here. Think in terms of vendor managing your inventory/services/supplies. They collaborate with organizations who are retailers/distributors or even OEMs and they become your customer.

The same way you want to manage your customer relationship you want to administer the same. The confusion stamps in that customer brings revenue  to you and organization provides business to suppliers. Its a 2 way process and have to manged carefully just like sales manager provides account management to its customers.