word choice - Contractor vs Vendor


My company is ordering a product and/or service from another company. When stating obligations on paper, would the company doing the work, from our point of view, be better described as Vendor or as a Contractor?


What would be the fine differences between the two?



Answer



A contractor is a kind of vendor.


Vendor is a relatively general term, referring to a company that sells any kind of product or service. ODO:



A person or company offering something for sale, especially a trader in the street



Contractor refers to a vendor that enters into a contract with the customer. ODO:



A person or firm that undertakes a contract to provide materials or labour to perform a service or do a job



So if the business involves independent transactions, the seller is just a vendor; if there's an ongoing relationship described in a contract, they're a contractor.


However, in many business-to-business situations they're used interchangeably, I think because it's understood that certain types of services are usually provided under contract, so the vendor is assumed to be a contractor.


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