choose a vendor

Meaning

This expression means to select a supplier, manufacturer, or service provider from a list of options to provide goods or services to your company. It involves comparing prices, quality, and terms before making a final business decision.

Examples

• We need to choose a vendor to supply the catering for our annual conference.

  We need to choose a vendor to supply the catering for our annual conference.

• Our procurement team took three weeks to choose a vendor for the new software.

  Our procurement team took three weeks to choose a vendor for the new software.

• Before we choose a vendor, we should request at least three different quotes.

  Before we choose a vendor, we should request at least three different quotes.

• They decided to choose a vendor that offers both high-quality materials and fast shipping.

  They decided to choose a vendor that offers both high-quality materials and fast shipping.

• Choosing a vendor can be difficult when all the proposals look so similar.

  Choosing a vendor can be difficult when all the proposals look so similar.

Common Mistakes

• ✗ We need to choose a seller for our office supplies.

  ✓ We need to choose a vendor for our office supplies.

  'Seller' is typically used in consumer contexts (B2C). In a business-to-business (B2B) context, 'vendor' or 'supplier' is the correct term.

• ✗ The committee will choose vendor next week.

  ✓ The committee will choose a vendor next week.

  Since 'vendor' is a singular countable noun, it requires an article ('a' or 'the') before it.

Related Expressions

Practice

• It took us a long time to ___ ___ ___ because we had so many good proposals.

  💡 select a supplier

  Show answer

  choose a vendor

• We must ___ ___ ___ that aligns with our company's sustainability values.

  💡 pick a service provider

  Show answer

  choose a vendor