Working under an end client's preferred-supplier process

Larger companies often manage suppliers through a process. They may keep a list of approved vendors, ask for documents before the first job, or require an order before work starts. When an agency runs an event for such a client, the photographer falls inside that process, even if nobody has said so.

This page is part of our guide to agency and recurring event-photography commissions. It helps you find out what the process requires without assuming what it contains.

Why not assume a standard list?

Companies set their own rules. One may need a signed agreement, another a purchase order, a third a short form. Some have none for small jobs. Because there is no standard, guessing causes delay or unnecessary work.

The better approach is to ask for the actual requirements and then sort them. Our guide to corporate purchase orders and photographer vendor onboarding explains the common stages and why timing matters.

Questions to ask the client or agency

Ask these in writing, and keep the replies:

1. Is there a supplier list or onboarding process that applies to this event?
2. Which items must be complete before the event, and which can follow?
3. Who is the contact for each step?
4. Does the process apply to the agency's suppliers, or only to the agency?
5. Are there rules about invoicing, such as the name, format or address to use?
6. Are there site, safety or access requirements for suppliers on the day?

Some answers will be "not applicable". That is useful too, because it removes uncertainty.

Agency or photographer: who submits?

There are two common arrangements. In one, the agency handles the client's process and the photographer works under the agency's terms. In the other, the photographer is onboarded directly with the client. Both are workable, and the quotation should say which applies.

Our guide to paying for photography through an agency or event organizer explains how payment and responsibility are usually set out. If the photographer is invoiced to the agency, confirm the exact legal name; see confirming the legal name on a quotation and invoice.

A worked example

For example, an agency is appointed for a 200-guest annual event by a client with a supplier approval step. The agency asks the client what applies to the photographer. The reply names a short onboarding form, a purchase order raised by the client, and a venue induction on the day.

We would then confirm in writing who completes the form and by when, which entity is named on the quotation and invoice, and who raises the purchase order. We would add the induction to the event-day plan. If any item falls outside our ability, we would say so at that point, so the agency has time to adjust.

Timing and the commissioning order

Supplier processes take time, and an event date may be fixed. Starting early helps. Our page on scoping photography before the end client awards the event explains how to prepare a scope that can be used once the award is made.

If your company writes its brief for suppliers, the photography procurement brief builder can help put requirements in one place.

Keeping a record

Keep a record of what was submitted, to whom and when, and what was accepted. When staff or approvers change, the record shows what has already been done. This is especially useful for recurring programmes, where the same paperwork may be needed again.

If the process changes

Supplier rules are updated from time to time. Ask the agency to tell you when the client changes its process, and check before each new cycle whether earlier answers still apply. A short note on the date you last confirmed the requirements saves repeated questions later.

What we confirm with you

We confirm in writing which requirements we can meet, who submits each item and the timing against the event date. Where a requirement is unclear, we ask rather than assume, and we record the answer in the quotation.