As the industry changed from an attitude that said “they work on commission, they’ll collect everything you give them” to one that understood that innovation and progressiveness could lead to higher recoveries from outside vendors, industry professionals began to look for opportunities to network, strategize and test new theories in the evolving, complex world of vendor management.

In 1994, in response to these changes and requests by many clients to introduce them to other professionals, Judy Hammond, President of Resource Management Services, Inc., developed the Agency Auditor Network organization. This group began with the concept that by evaluating performance of vendors, the members could increase their recoveries and results to their respective companies. As the group grew, and the responsibilities of the members expanded, it was common for members to discuss and be interested in many aspects of the risk management areas, including quality assurance, auditing, vendor selection, management, measurement, strategies and policies.

Soon, it was easy to see that the name was a bit restrictive for the group and its’ goals—providing an educational and networking forum for creditors from various industries with the ultimate goal of increasing recoveries and decreasing net bad debt. Since the members had responsibilities for so many more aspects of the vendor relationships than strictly auditing, the name was subsequently changed to better reflect the scope of the members’ responsibilities — Recovery Management Network^SM (RMN).