To ensure a good relationship with vendors we need to keep the following points in mind:
1. Explain your business goals making sure the vendor understands your vision.
2. Pay your bills on time.
3. Assign a dedicated vendor manager.
4. Find out what the vendor needs from you.
5. When mistakes happen, don’t point fingers.
6. Refer a trusted vendor to others.

Having a good relationship with supplier is extremely important. I have worked in Supplier Quality for the last 7 years. I think what @ap962 posted is a great start but one of the most important things is making sure that you select a supplier carefully who can meet expectations and also making sure that goals are aligned between the your company and the supplier. Some misteps I have seen are when we have taken a supplier and asked them to make something they don't usually make. They may be a great supplier, but when given a more complex part or device the supplier's systems can't handle it. The other mistep I have seen is when we go into business with a company that has a certain expectation and it is not the same as our expectation. Avoiding those issues early (along with the items listed by ap962) will go a long way in making sure you have a good relationship with the suppliers.

One thing that I would like to expand on from ap962's post is assigning a dedicated vendor manager. It is good to have a single person designated as the contact person with a vendor in order to avoid sending the vendor an overwhelming amount of emails. I once was involved in a project that included sending information requests for components that were used in our products. Multiple engineers were emailing the same suppliers requesting similar information, and the supplier became annoyed with the amount of emails he was getting from our company. The project involved hundreds of components, and it was decided to try to redistribute the components to the team in a way that only one person was dealing with a single vendor.

When dealing with vendors communication is a large part of what your relationship will be in the future. The fact that a company that supplying us did not speak english is a major concern. If you are not able to speak to a vendor you are waiting for their to be a major issue. no matter how good of a vendor the company is you will eventually run into a problem. If you cannot communicate with the company a little problem will become a very large problem.

Some orders from vendors are also made to order to certain specifications. This means there is usually some delay between ordering and receiving from a vendor as they need time to fabricate the order. In cases such as this communication and managing orders to the vendor is even more important as the production of your product may depend on that vendors component. Having proper management of your own supply of the competent can prevent things like rush orders and being out of stock for extended periods of time, and vendors may not always be able to facilitate expedited production of your component.

An important aspect is proper communication via email or video conferences. communication can remedy many issues and also help strengthen a relationship to begin with. One thing I have noted with suppliers is ensuring that the expectations of the product ordered are very clear. Each and every vendor probably supplies to multiple different clients all with different points of view on quality. By communicating to the supplier the correct expectations in terms of supply demand and quality this can help strengthen the relationship with the supplier. Essentially, everything leads back up to the communication front and ensuring the vendors get paid in a timely manner.

To add to the conversation, I think its important to select a good vendor. In selecting a vendor, you should meet with them and see if they have a client that would be willing to speak with you to discuss their experience with that vendor. In some situations you can start by asking other what vendors they have already worked with that was successful or unsuccessful. As we learned in the simulation you should considered 1. Responsiveness and Communication 2. Location/Country

In this article "6 Keys to Choosing a Medical Device Contract Manufacturer" they also include:
3. Size
4. Vertically integrated vs. singular focus
5. Quality focus
6. Internal goals

meddeviceonline/doc/keys-to-choosing-a-medical-device-contract-manufacturer-0001

I agree with most of you. Also, it is very important to be clear and specific on what's your need for the project. Make sure you do a good research and comparison before you chose your vendor. Also, for the major component of the project, we have to approve more that one vendor to back-up for any mistake. From my experience, validation and approval for vendor take a lot of time so it is good to do your testing and approval all at one time., and then prioritize your list accordingly. Product training is a good idea for vendors and suppliers as well. It is good that they have a solid understanding of your product. visits from time to time and meeting help to improve the relationship better than just emails and phone calls.

Maintaining a good relationship with vendors requires effort, like everything else that is good. On-time payment to vendors is definitely a priority because you are doing business with them and this is the best way to show that you are taking things seriously and are capable of fulfilling your word. Great things come from great communication, so it's important to establish a mutual understanding of what this relationship entails and what your long-term goals are. It's important to note that this relationship is a two-way street so you should also ask what specifications the vendor needs from you. Additionally, it is helpful to bring business to your trusted vendors by referring them to others and will further enhance the loyalty of the partnership.

To maintain good relations with vendors the manager should keep in touch with them regularly at the first place. Contacting them at regular intervals and often meeting them in person. Checking on the status of the resources that vendors is providing and confirming that there is no problem with supply of resource or with our company. This way we can manage the relationships with the vendor and be sure all the resources are available to the manufacturing department of the company on time.

Having good relationship with the vendors is very important for the project. Explaining the business goals by communicating. Explaining the business vision and expectations. When vendor understands the importance of the customer service for the company, they will be encouraged to work harder in that area. There should be an assigned manager to keep track on each vendor. This manager should check in with frequent phone calls and site visits to solicit feedback from the vendor. Following up with verbal communication and emails will help to avoid any misunderstanding or miscommunications. Requesting progress report such as periodic and detailed progress reports from the vendors. This will give a clear insight into how the business is growing. It will bring to light any glitches and problems early and allow to resolve any issues. Planning in advance is important since delays at the last minute or alterations can affect the profit margin and strain the relationships. Training vendors to meets the needs is important since vendors may not know the project’s needs. Showing loyalty towards vendors by giving them business and giving them referrals may return the favor by offering discounts. It is one of the ways to keep good relationship with the vendors.

Establishing a good relationship with a vendor starts with communication of expectations. If there are different expectations, there will be unavoidable conflict between you and the vendor. The next step, in my opinion, is paying your invoices on time. At the end of the day, the vendor has to run a business and overdue invoices puts stress on them.

Letting a vendor know that you value their service is the most important part of maintaining a relationship with them. I have worked with a vendor that felt unappreciated with their service. When I had asked for a new quote, they felt that we were just asking around for the best price. Our purchasing department tried to patch up the relationship, but the relationship was already severed. It took a while until we were able to find a vendor who would create that part.

The most difficult part is to get a good vendor and to maintain a good relationship with them.
First maintaining a good relationship with vendor:-
1) The one should atleast should make 5-6 orders.
2) should pay bill on time.
3) if other vendors gives the discount on the product the business man can buy the product but at the same they should order with old vendors or else you may lose it.