Staffing Industry Analyst defines a Vendor Management System (VMS) as an internet-enabled application that acts as a mechanism for business to manage and procure staffing services through third party staffing suppliers (temporary help as well as, in some cases, permanent placement services) as well as outside contract or contingent labor. Typical features of a VMS include supplier management, order distribution, consolidated billing, risk mitigation, headcount tracking and significant enhancements in reporting capability over manual systems and processes. VMS systems now often include the management of Statement of Work (SOW) consultants and outsourced services within their scope of coverage. Because of this broader scope of services, a number of VMS vendors have adopted the term Extended Workforce System or Extended Workforce Platform to describe their services.
