(Solutions Provider is an annoying business term and is just one of the 212 Most Annoying Business Phrases Managers Effuse, Confuse, and Overuse detailed in the hilarious must-have guide for every workplace: The 30,000-Pound Gorilla in the Room. Available right now on Amazon.)

Solutions Provider

This irritating phrase is the combination of two unnecessarily verbose words. Neither solutions nor provider is required when we’re just talking about a vendor or a supplier.

Plus, almost no company really buys all that many solutions… they buy stuff. They may think they’re “sourcing the best solutions provider” for a specific need, but they’re really just buying things… without any thought given to an actual solution.

In the past, you were asked to find a good price on copy paper. Today, annoying managers want you to discover a superior office products solutions provider.

Where you once purchased a new phone system; today, you must contract a communications solutions provider.

A couple of decades ago, your company may have used an ad agency, and the person in your role was tasked with managing their invoices. Today, your boss wants you take ownership of the marketing solutions provider.

Ugh… such a waste of words… so unnecessary… and so very annoying.

The good news is there’s a bit of a reprieve we get with this one. If you pay attention, you’ll notice managers will call these companies solutions providers when you’re asked to hire them, and vendors when you’re asked to fire them.

That’s a tiny win… we suppose.

Replacement phrases: Vendor; Supplier

See also: Client Engagement

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The 30,000-Pound Gorilla in the Room is available on Amazon