Vendor and supplier management is the practice of keeping external relationships organized. A supplier may provide software, professional services, materials, hosting, support, logistics, specialist advice, or outsourced operational work.
A useful supplier record should include what the supplier provides, who owns the relationship, key contacts, contract dates, renewal dates, service expectations, access needs, documents, and review notes.
Risk matters because suppliers often touch important information, deadlines, costs, or customer commitments. Some suppliers need deeper review because they handle sensitive data, support critical operations, or affect compliance obligations.
Review routines do not need to be heavy. Teams can check whether the supplier is still needed, whether access is still appropriate, whether contracts are current, whether performance issues exist, and whether any documents need renewal.
Supplier management can combine contracts and evidence, supplier registers, renewals and reviews, contract milestones, and onboarding or offboarding steps.
Related: Working Securely With External Partners, Data Ownership in Collaborative Projects, TableStudio (WSO ↗).