Third Party Risk Management | Supply Chain Security
November 10, 2025 2026-09-08 13:32Third Party Risk Management | Supply Chain Security
Why Third Party Risk Management Matters
Third Party Supply Chain Risk Management | Security | ERPSM
The package includes the following. Third party supply chain risk management is a strategic necessity that protects business continuity. It creates competitive advantage by identifying, evaluating, and mitigating vulnerabilities from external vendors before they lead to disruption, data loss, or compliance failures.
60% of security breaches now involve a third party
Average cost of a supply chain breach: $4.45 million
98% of organizations have relationships with vendors who’ve experienced a breach
Supply chain attacks increased by 420% in the past year
For procurement, supply chain, and logistics professionals across Africa, this means assessing vendor cybersecurity and operational resilience. It also includes compliance exposure, financial stability, and reputational risk. Using risk scoring, remediation, continuous monitoring, and the right ERP software and training partnerships helps secure third-party relationships.
Managing this risk helps reduce exposure across third-party relationships and supports business operations.
Your Vendors Have Access To:
Third-party vendors can introduce potential risks when they connect to internal systems and data.
Your procurement systems, financial data, and sensitive data
Customer data
Intellectual property and trade secrets
Critical infrastructure and operations
Employee personal data
One breach can result in:
Financial losses and legal penalties
Reputational damage
Operational downtime
Loss of customer trust
Regulatory non-compliance
How We Secure Your Supply Chain
A structured, proactive approach to third-party security and supply chain risk management that helps reduce operational disruptions.
Natural disasters and supplier failures can disrupt supply chains, leading to delays, defects, and broader chain risk.
Effective supply chain risk management supports a resilient supply chain and strengthens operational resilience, aligning closely with the need for resilient supply chain management education that builds long-term capabilities in your teams.
Step 1: Discovery & Assessment
We map your entire vendor ecosystem, including fourth parties. We identify high-risk third parties through thorough due diligence and cybersecurity-focused vendor risk assessments of each supplier. This is based on data access, criticality, security posture, and financial stability.
These third party risks can also extend to Nth-party risks through complex supplier networks. We also use this discovery stage as part of a strong third party supply chain risk management program that identifies, assesses, and monitors suppliers.
This supports vendor risk reviews aligned to ISO 27001 and NIST SP 800-53 to help you evaluate risk levels against your risk appetite.
Step 2: Risk Scoring
Each vendor receives a comprehensive risk score based on cybersecurity controls, operational capacity, and compliance status, helping identify significant risks and regulatory risks across third party compliance and broader regulatory compliance obligations.
It also evaluates whether vendor risk aligns with your organization’s regulatory requirements and acceptable risk levels.
Step 3: Prioritization
We help you prioritize third party relationships as one of the key strategies for strategic sourcing and supplier prioritization, managing third party oversight and allocating resources to vendors that pose significant risks. This focus supports risk mitigation and improves managing third party risk across the supply chain.
Step 4: Remediation
Working with you and your vendors, we implement security improvements and controls. This includes cybersecurity measures and monitoring systems. Specialized cybersecurity-focused procurement training for your teams supports this remediation.
This reduces the attack surface and lowers the likelihood of security incidents, security breaches, and compliance failures.
Step 5: Ongoing Management
Continuous monitoring and ongoing management are part of a comprehensive risk management process. This ensures your supply chain remains secure as threats evolve and vendor relationships change.
Keeping an up-to-date inventory of vendors and third-party assets is essential. Teams can monitor vendor performance and security continuously, not just annually, with SCM software and logistics and supply chain management training.
Security Partnership
Trusted SecurityScorecard Partner
We proudly partner with SecurityScorecard to make third party supply chain risk management a strategic capability, giving our clients better risk visibility, stronger security oversight, and more effective chain risk management while complementing specialised supply chain management courses in South Africa that build internal expertise. This partnership supports effective third party risk management, regulatory compliance, and best practices across complex third party relationships, with senior management better equipped to oversee associated risks and to leverage CIPS training and enrollment guidance for their teams.
Risk Areas We Address
Comprehensive Third Party Risk Coverage
Cybersecurity Risks
Data breaches and theft
Ransomware attacks
Malware infections
System vulnerabilities
Weak access controls
Third-party cyber threats can expose sensitive data, and 80% of organizations experienced a data breach from third parties in 2020.
Operational Risks
Service disruptions that can affect business continuity and cause operational delays
Performance failures, where a supplier or partner failure during a major disruption can halt business operations
Capacity constraints
Quality issues
Geographic concentration
Compliance Risks
Regulatory compliance failures
Contract breaches
Data privacy failures
Industry standard non-compliance
Audits and oversight help ensure compliance with third party compliance obligations.
Documentation gaps
Financial Risks
Vendor insolvency or financial instability
Hidden costs
Price volatility
Payment fraud
Insurance inadequacy
Weak financial stability in key suppliers increases risk exposure.
Reputational Risks
Vendor scandals can trigger reputational risk, especially when suppliers are linked to unethical practices.
Ethical violations
Environmental concerns
Labor practices
Supplier unethical practices can damage public perception and create broader reputational risk.
