Last updated · By ApTask Editorial Team
Definition
Managed service provider(MSP) — A managed service provider (MSP) is a firm that runs a company’s contingent-workforce program, managing suppliers, rates and compliance on the company’s behalf.
Staffing suppliers compete for requisitions inside the MSP’s program. See VMS / MSP Specialization.
How does an MSP program work?
The enterprise appoints the MSP as prime contractor for contingent labor. The MSP onboards approved suppliers, publishes the rate card and SLA matrix, releases requisitions through the VMS and audits compliance. Suppliers submit candidates, the MSP and hiring managers select, and time, invoices and reporting flow back through the same program.
ApTask calibrates to each program at the start — mapping the rate card, requisition routing, SLA matrix, certification requirements and diversity-spend targets with the program owner and MSP partner — then reports fill rate, time-to-fill, candidate quality and diversity-spend contribution in a quarterly business review (VMS / MSP Specialization).
What is the difference between an MSP and a staffing supplier?
The MSP runs the program; the supplier fills the requisitions. ApTask is a supplier into MSP programs, not an MSP operator: it operates as a Tier-1 supplier under whichever MSP the client has already selected, delivering against the rate card, SLA and compliance rules already built into that program.
| Role | MSP | Tier-1 staffing supplier (ApTask) |
|---|---|---|
| Contracts with | The enterprise, as prime contractor | The program or its MSP |
| Responsible for | Supplier management, rate cards, compliance, program reporting | Sourcing, screening and submitting candidates inside the rate card |
| Measured on | Program cost, compliance and supplier performance | Fill rate, first-submission acceptance (ApTask: 92%), rate-card compliance (98%), time-to-fill |
| Diversity spend | Attributes and reports it by supplier | Spend through ApTask counts as Tier-1 MBE spend |
Is Managed Solutions the same as an MSP?
No, despite the shared initials. ApTask’s Managed Solutions is a Statement of Work delivery model for a defined project outcome at a fixed price, with ApTask carrying the delivery risk. An MSP manages a client’s entire contingent-workforce program across many suppliers. ApTask sells the first and supplies into the second.
See Managed Solutions and the definition of a statement of work.
What does Tier-1 mean in an MSP program?
A Tier-1 supplier contracts directly with the program or its MSP rather than through another vendor, so its hours and spend are attributed to it directly. ApTask holds Tier-1 supplier status with most major MSP-led programs it works in, and spend through it counts as Tier-1 MBE spend for supplier-diversity reporting.
Tier numbers mean something different in diversity reporting, where Tier 1 and Tier 2 describe who paid the certified supplier — see the MBE certification guide.