Third-party risk · Suppliers · Processors

Vendor risk management software that keeps one risk picture for the company

Tier every vendor, send questionnaires they answer without a login, track certificates and contracts, and let high-risk vendors flow into the company risk register automatically, with approval at every step.

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Why vendor risk is maintained twice

ISO 27001, SOC 2, GDPR, DPDP and IATF 16949 all expect you to assess the suppliers and service providers you depend on.

Purchasing keeps a supplier list, IT keeps a list of cloud services, and the risk register keeps a third list. They disagree, and nobody updates all three.

Zefron keeps vendors in one register linked to the risk register: a vendor risk score updates the linked risk, suspending a vendor closes it, and supplier audits link to the same vendor.

Vendor risk features

Register

Tier: low, medium, high, critical
Category and owner department
Re-assessment interval per tier
Supplier audits linked to the vendor

Assessment

Questionnaire link without login, valid for a set number of days
Answers scored automatically
Certificates (ISO, SOC 2) with expiry reminders
DPA status for data processors

Approval and risk

Department-head approval of every assessment
High and critical vendors create or update a linked risk
Inactive or suspended vendors close the linked risk
Health score shows overdue reviews

Reporting

Vendors by tier and status
Expired certificates
Board report summary
Read-only auditor access

Spreadsheets vs enterprise QMS vs Zefron

How the three common approaches compare.

	Excel and shared folders	Enterprise QMS suites	Zefron QMS Portal
Set-up time	Ready today, but rebuilt for every audit	Months of project work and consultants	Configured for you; most go live in two to four weeks
Approvals	E-mail threads, signatures on paper	Fixed workflows, changes need IT	Review and department-head approval on every action
Version control	Old copies stay in use	Yes	Only the current version is visible; full history kept
Audit trail	None	Yes	Every action with name, date and time
Reminders and overdue tracking	Manual	Yes	Automatic e-mail reminders and dashboards
Data entered once	Copied between files	Often separate modules	Linked across documents, 8D, audits, PPAP and quality tools
Cost	Low licence cost, high staff time	High licence and implementation cost	Priced for small and mid-size companies

Free downloads: 8D, CAPA, PPAP and audit checklist templates →

Standards and laws that ask for vendor control

Use the questionnaire templates as a starting point and adapt them to your requirements.

Requirement	How the portal supports it
ISO/IEC 27001 A.5.19-A.5.22	Information security in supplier relationships and cloud services.
SOC 2 CC9.2	Vendor and business partner risk.
GDPR Art. 28 / DPDP Act	Processors and data processing agreements.
IATF 16949 8.4 / ISO 9001 8.4	Control of externally provided processes, products and services.

Live in three steps

Configure

We import your vendor list and agree tiers and review intervals.

Migrate

Questionnaires go out by link; answers, certificates and approvals are recorded.

Train & go live

Reviews come up automatically; high-risk vendors stay visible in the risk register.

Frequently asked questions

Do vendors need a login?

No. They open a secure questionnaire link that expires after a set number of days.

How does it connect to the risk register?

High and critical vendors create or update a linked risk. When the vendor is suspended or made inactive the risk is closed, so the register stays current without double entry.

Can we track supplier certificates?

Yes. Certificates and DPAs are stored with expiry dates; the portal reminds the owner before they expire.

Who approves?

The department head of the owning department, as for every change in the portal.