Vendor Management Software: Why You Need It Now

Vendor Management is certainly not a new topic to discuss but it certainly has been gaining quite a bit of attention lately due to some high profile new articles, namely the Target breach of 2013. In that instance, hackers gained access to Target’s point-of-sale systems to steal the credit and debit card information of tens of millions of individuals. This resulted in numerous lawsuits and settlements, some of which remain ongoing, with banks, individuals and card brands and cost Target millions of dollars. We all need vendors to do business, but how do we manage the risk and what benefits does Vendor Management Software provide? Here are some of the top benefits:

• Centralized Vendor Management – A good software program will provide you with a centralized repository for all of your key vendor information, including but not limited to vendor financials, contracts, security policies (SSAE16), insurance certificates and other information that your organization needs to understand your vendor better.
• Manage Vendor Risk – A good Vendor Management Software program will allow you to perform your due diligence and risk rate your vendors based on the information that you have versus the information that you need. Ultimately at the end of the day, vendors with different risk ratings need to be handled differently but you can’t manage what you don’t know which is why this type of software is so important.
• Renewed Interest from Industry Regulators – After the target breach, numerous industry regulations issued guidance to update their perspective and requirements for managing third parties. Some of these regulators include the FFIEC and the PCI Security Standards Council. This is definitely an area where regulators are paying attention to during their examinations and therefore it makes sense that organizations pay attention as well! 

The Compass Compliance Portal Vendor Management Module provides you with a best in class software system that meets the key components above and allows you to do all of the following:

• Organize vendors for easy review, access and classification
• Gain a detailed picture of your risk by vendor relationship
• Develop a consistent vendor management process across your organization
• Centralize reporting for better decision making and delivering complete information to Sr. Management
• Save time, effort and money by reducing the resources required to gain an accurate picture of the risk your vendors pose to your business