Third-party risk

Vendor Risk & Third-Party Risk Management

Spend deep review effort on vendors that can actually create material exposure, and make every exception an accountable business decision.

Request a conversation Assess vendor risk maturity
When this service makes sense

Common buying triggers

  • Every vendor receives the same questionnaire and review depth.
  • Critical vendors lack clear business owners or exit plans.
  • Security findings are discovered after contracts are signed.
  • Vendor review creates friction but still misses material risk.
Target state

What should change after the engagement?

  • Risk-tiering model
  • Due diligence workflow
  • Minimum evidence expectations
  • Contract security requirements
  • Exception and acceptance process
  • Critical vendor monitoring and review cadence
Illustrative advisory outputs

Tangible records the work should leave behind

The examples below are illustrative advisory outputs and do not represent a specific client.

01

Vendor tiering model

Inherent-risk criteria based on data, access, criticality, connectivity, geography, and substitutability.

02

Evidence standard

Proportionate expectations for certifications, pen tests, policies, architecture, privacy, resilience, and incidents.

03

Decision workflow

Approve, remediate, accept, escalate, or reject with accountable ownership and expiry dates.

04

Critical vendor register

Business owner, service dependency, risk tier, review date, key evidence, exceptions, and exit considerations.

Working model

Truth → ownership → rhythm

1. Tier

Classify vendors by inherent risk before deep review.

2. Review

Collect proportional evidence and evaluate material gaps.

3. Decide and monitor

Record risk decisions, exceptions, renewal triggers, and critical-vendor oversight.

Good fit

Who is this for?

  • Companies with growing SaaS/vendor estates
  • Organizations supporting ISO 27001, SOC 2, DORA, or customer assurance
  • Teams drowning in vendor questionnaires
  • Businesses with critical outsourced services
Not the right fit

What this is not

  • A one-size-fits-all questionnaire program
  • Continuous technical monitoring platform resale
  • Procurement outsourcing
Decision questions

Questions buyers ask before starting

What is vendor risk tiering?

Tiering assigns review depth based on inherent exposure such as data sensitivity, privileged access, criticality, connectivity, regulatory impact, and substitutability. It prevents low-risk vendors from consuming the same effort as critical suppliers.

How often should critical vendors be reviewed?

Frequency should be risk-based and event-driven. High-impact vendors typically need periodic review plus triggers for incidents, major service changes, ownership changes, material subprocessor changes, or contract renewal.