Vendor onboarding is where good enterprise deals go to die
Many enterprise deals stall after technical validation, not because the buyer lost interest, but because onboarding a new vendor is slow.
Vendor onboarding can take weeks or months and often includes:
- supplier registration
- vendor master setup
- banking and tax paperwork
- compliance and risk checks
- security questionnaires
- procurement approvals
- finance payment setup
Your champion cannot always push this faster. It is a system with queues, policies, and multiple reviewers.
AWS Marketplace helps eliminate onboarding delays by changing the transaction path.
Quick takeaway: Marketplace reduces onboarding friction because the customer is often buying through AWS, a supplier they already have approved, governed, and operationalized.
What “vendor onboarding delay” really is
Vendor onboarding delay is not one step.
It is a chain of steps where each step can pause the deal:
- Procurement waits on finance
- Finance waits on documentation
- Legal waits on contract language
- Security waits on questionnaires
- Teams wait on internal approval meetings
The buyer may want to move. The internal machine slows them down.
Marketplace works because it reduces the need to start that machine from scratch.
Marketplace reduces the “new vendor” event
When you sell direct, the customer sees:
“New vendor, new contract, new workflow.”
That triggers onboarding.
When you sell through AWS Marketplace, many enterprises treat the purchase as:
“AWS purchase path, AWS billing, known process.”
This can reduce or bypass parts of the new vendor setup process because AWS is already established as a supplier in the customer’s systems.
That is why Marketplace is often the simplest way to eliminate onboarding delays.
Marketplace keeps billing under AWS, which reduces finance setup
Finance is a major driver of onboarding delays.
Direct purchase requires:
- adding you as a vendor
- setting up payment terms
- configuring invoice workflows
- ensuring compliance with accounts payable rules
Marketplace reduces this because billing is consolidated through AWS.
For many enterprises, AWS billing is already set up, already approved, and already reconciled through existing processes.
Less finance setup means fewer onboarding steps.
Marketplace fits into cloud governance, which speeds approvals
Large enterprises often have cloud governance programs.
These programs define:
- how cloud purchases are approved
- how spend is tracked and allocated
- which procurement routes are allowed
- how finance reconciles spend
Marketplace fits neatly into these governance frameworks because it is part of the AWS ecosystem.
So onboarding becomes less about “approving a new supplier” and more about “purchasing through our AWS path.”
That reduces the approval burden.
Marketplace makes internal champions more effective
A stalled onboarding process often defeats the champion.
They cannot keep chasing procurement, legal, and finance for months while still doing their job.
Marketplace makes the champion’s internal message simpler:
- “We can buy this through AWS”
- “This follows our existing procurement route”
- “Billing stays consolidated under AWS”
- “This reduces new vendor work”
When the internal message is simple and aligned to existing policy, champions can move faster.
Private offers eliminate the need for “direct contract exceptions”
Sometimes enterprises still want custom terms, scope, or pricing.
In direct deals, customization can restart onboarding because procurement treats it as a new exception-heavy contract.
Private offers allow customization while keeping the transaction within Marketplace.
That is important because onboarding delays often get worse when the deal becomes “non-standard.”
Private offers keep customization clean and approvable.
Mini example: onboarding delay vs Marketplace route
A buyer wants to purchase, but onboarding the partner as a vendor will take 8 to 10 weeks due to procurement backlog and finance setup.
The partner proposes a Marketplace private offer.
The buyer routes the purchase through their AWS procurement path and keeps billing consolidated under AWS.
Result: the deal avoids the longest onboarding steps and closes in the quarter.
This is how Marketplace eliminates onboarding delays: it reduces new supplier setup work and shortens the approval chain.
Signals that onboarding will slow your deal
If you hear these phrases, onboarding delay is coming:
- “We need to onboard you as a vendor”
- “Procurement has a queue”
- “Finance needs vendor setup”
- “Supplier registration takes time”
- “We need to run vendor risk checks”
- “Legal needs to finalize the vendor agreement”
These are process signals. Marketplace is your process solution.
Practical checklist: how to eliminate onboarding delays using Marketplace
Use these steps as a repeatable motion.
- Introduce Marketplace early in enterprise deals
- Ask: “Do you prefer purchasing through AWS Marketplace to avoid vendor onboarding delays?”
- Default to private offers for enterprise scope, pricing, and term requirements
- Provide the champion a forwardable internal message: “This can be purchased through AWS, keeping billing consolidated and reducing new vendor setup work”
- Build an internal workflow so your private offer is issued quickly
The goal is to avoid onboarding delays before they start, not fight them once the deal is stuck.
Closing thought
Vendor onboarding is one of the biggest hidden costs in enterprise sales.
It adds weeks, increases deal risk, and drains champion momentum.
AWS Marketplace helps eliminate onboarding delays by reducing the need for new supplier setup, keeping billing consolidated under AWS, aligning with cloud governance policies, and enabling private offers that keep enterprise customization clean.
If you want predictable enterprise closes, eliminate onboarding delays early. Marketplace is one of the most effective levers to do it.
Marketeering helps AWS partners remove onboarding friction by designing Marketplace-ready offers, building private offer workflows, and enabling sales and co-sell motions that keep deals moving from intent to purchase.
