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Vendor Risk Management (VRM) Implementation Guide

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Written by Shannon DeLange
Updated this week

This guide is your go-to resource for implementing VRM, from setting up workflows to completing your first security review. Designed for companies with 200 or more employees, this guide ensures your team gets up and running confidently and effectively.

By the end of this guide, you will:

  • Understand how to classify and manage vendors

  • Complete a full vendor security review

  • Automate evidence collection and risk workflows

  • Save time and gain confidence with Vanta AI support

Interested in learning more? Attend a live training!

VRM Key Terms Glossary

Term

Definition

VRM (Vendor Risk Management)

A process to identify, assess, monitor, and manage risks associated with third-party vendors. Vanta’s VRM tool streamlines this process using automation, evidence collection, and AI.

Inherent Risk

The level of risk assigned to a vendor based on factors like data sensitivity and vendor category,before any mitigating controls are applied. Drives automation of reviews and settings.

Inherent Risk Rubric

A customizable framework used to auto-score vendors based on the type of data they handle and their business function.

Security Review

A workflow in Vanta used to evaluate a vendor’s security posture by collecting and analyzing evidence, questionnaires, and risks.

Preferred Evidence

Documents (e.g., SOC 2, ISO 27001, penetration test) that are automatically requested from vendors as part of a security review, based on their risk level.

Preferred Questionnaire

A standardized set of security questions is automatically sent to vendors during a review.

Auto-requesting Evidence

A Vanta automation that triggers evidence collection 30 days before a scheduled security review. Requires a vendor contact email and due date.

Trust Center (Vendor)

A public-facing portal where vendors may host their security documentation. Vanta can pull evidence from vendor Trust Centers during a review.

Findings

Identified risks or issues discovered during a security review. Can be tracked internally or followed up using Jira integration.

Residual Risk

The level of risk remaining after mitigating actions or compensating controls have been considered. Set at the end of a security review.

Discovery Tool

A feature in Vanta that helps identify unknown or unmanaged vendors through integrations with IDPs and MDMs.

Shadow IT

Technology, software, or systems used within an organization without explicit approval. Discovery helps detect vendors from shadow IT.

Account Manager (Vendor Contact)

The vendor representative is responsible for receiving evidence or questionnaire requests. A valid email address is required for automations.

Groups (Access Management)

Teams within your organization that are granted access to vendor records in Vanta. Helpful in managing offboarding and ownership.

Jira Integration

Connects Vanta to Jira to automatically create tickets for findings or remediation tasks resulting from security reviews.

API (Application Programming Interface)

Vanta’s programmatic interface allows customers to automate workflows, manage vendors, and integrate with external tools.

AI Answer Extraction

A Vanta AI capability that scans uploaded documents to answer security questions automatically, saving time during analysis.

Needs Review Tab

A table view within the VRM dashboard displays which vendors are ready for analysis based on the completion of evidence collection.

Security Review Cadence

The frequency at which vendors are reviewed, based on their risk level (e.g., annually for high-risk vendors).

Vanta Exchange

A portal experience where vendors can respond to questionnaires and share evidence directly with customers, supporting collaborative security reviews.

Compensating Controls

Measures are put in place to mitigate risks when a vendor fails to meet a specific security requirement. Can be flagged as part of a finding.

30-60-90 Day Plan

Days 1–30: Foundations and Initial Workflows

Goal: Establish operational groundwork and onboard vendor data.

Key Activities:

  • Assign a VRM owner (typically a member of the GRC, Security, or Procurement team)

  • Import vendor data from procurement, legal, IT, or finance

  • Classify vendors by risk level (e.g., high, medium, low) and business criticality

  • Define your vendor review criteria (e.g., access to sensitive data, compliance impact)

  • Build initial workflows for vendor onboarding, due diligence, and approvals

  • Configure notification rules, ownership assignments, and SLA tracking

  • Train internal stakeholders on vendor classification and review processes

Deliverables:

  • Vendor inventory loaded and classified by risk tier

  • Initial workflows created for review processes

  • Stakeholder training completed

Days 31–60: Launch Reviews and Automate Evidence Collection

Goal: Conduct reviews and reduce manual workload through automation.

Key Activities:

  • Launch formal security reviews for high-risk vendors (start with a prioritized subset)

  • Automate the distribution of questionnaires (e.g., SIG, CAIQ) and evidence collection.

  • Use Vanta AI to analyze documentation (e.g., SOC 2 reports, penetration tests)

  • Track remediation tasks and assign follow-ups

  • Refine workflows based on stakeholder feedback

  • Communicate with vendors to ensure smooth participation in the review process

Deliverables:

  • Security reviews completed for high-risk vendors

  • Automated workflows for questionnaires and document analysis in place

  • Review the feedback loop established

Days 61–90: Optimize and Scale

Goal: Scale the process, generate reporting, and embed VRM in your risk posture.

Key Activities:

  • Expand reviews to medium- and low-risk vendors based on available capacity

  • Use dashboards and reporting to track review status, remediation progress, and risk levels

  • Integrate workflows with tools like JIRA, Slack, or GRC platforms

  • Hold a retrospective with stakeholders to optimize the process

  • Formalize your vendor review cadence and update VRM policy documentation

  • Train backup reviewers and build resilience into your review process

Deliverables:

  • Scalable, repeatable end-to-end VRM process

  • Internal reporting package for compliance and leadership

  • Documented VRM policy and review cadence

By Day 90, your team will be able to:

  • Classify and assess vendors confidently

  • Run consistent and automated review workflows

  • Leverage Vanta AI to reduce manual workload

  • Demonstrate defensible vendor due diligence for audits and customer assessments

Stage 1: Discovery & Preparation

Key Questions to Answer with your Team:

  1. Do you have a procurement workflow?

    • Zip: Use Zip integration

    • Task tracker (e.g., Jira): Set up task tracker integrations

    • Coupa or ServiceNow: Use Vanta's API and developer docs

    • No workflow: Use the API to simulate intake forms (e.g., trigger risk scoring from intake data)

  2. Do you use a Shadow IT tool?

    • If yes, skip vendor Discovery.

    • If no, use Vanta Discovery with your IDP & MDM. Discovery article

  3. Do you have a list of vendors to import?

    • Use Vanta's import tool or API. Include:

      • Vendor category / risk level

      • Full URL (used to fetch logos and Trust Center data)

      • Vendor contact email (enables auto evidence requests)

  4. Do you have past security reviews to attach?

    • For now, upload as PDFs to each vendor's “Evidence” section under “Other Security Assessment”.

  5. Want to track findings in Jira?

    • Set up the Jira integration

    • For other tools, use the API for custom workflows

Stage 2: Configuration & Setup

Settings to Configure Before Import

    • Assign risk levels based on vendor category and data type

    • Important: Set this before importing vendors

    • Cadence: How often reviews occur (e.g., yearly for high-risk vendors)

    • Preferred Evidence: Automatically request SOC 2, ISO, etc.

    • Preferred Questionnaire: Auto-send standard forms

    • Automation: Auto-request evidence 30 days before reviews

    • All settings can be overridden at the vendor level

Saving Time with VRM: What Features Matter Most

Feature

Benefit

How to Use

Auto-requesting Evidence

Hands-off collection

Works if the preferred evidence & vendor contact email are set

Pull from Trust Centers

Faster access to SOC2, policies

Automatically pulls from vendor public Trust Centers

Reuse Old Evidence

Saves time

Helpful if the last SOC 2 is still valid

AI + Vendor Answer Comparison

Confident decisions

Use a side-by-side view for clarity

Advanced Configuration (Optional)

  • Templates: Use custom templates for questionnaires, DPAs, and BAAs

  • Metadata Management: Define groups, owners, and account managers

  • Security Owner Assignment: Tag the responsible internal users

  • Findings Workflow: Integrate with Jira for task follow-up

Stage 3: Complete a Security Review

Follow these steps to complete your first review:

Step

Why it Matters

Pro Tips

Add a Vendor

Kicks off the workflow

Vendors added through procurement are 30% more likely to be reviewed

Start a Security Review

Initializes the review process

Add a due date, and you are 13% more likely to complete

Add Evidence

Essential for AI assistance

Pull from the Trust Center or upload manually

Send Questionnaire/Evidence Request

Engages vendors

Reviews with responses are 2x more likely to be completed

Review Answers

AI + vendor answers

Select final answers, flag gaps

Add Findings

Captures risk

Link findings, create Jira tickets if needed

Make a Risk Decision

Final assessment

Set residual risk, add summary

Schedule Next Review

Enables automation

Vanta will auto-request evidence next time

Ongoing Success

  • Monitor Security Review Completion: Use the review table to track progress
    Use "Needs Review" Tab: Focus on vendors ready for analysis

  • Regularly Update Vendors: Add new vendors monthly or as they come in

  • Maintain Automation Settings: Keep global settings current

Best Practices for Success

Action

Why it Works

Start with a strong rubric

Drives automation and consistency

Add vendors through procurement

Improves completion rates

Use due dates and automation

Keeps reviews on schedule

Upload and request evidence

Enables AI and saves time

Make decisions + plan next review

Completes the workflow loop