A step-by-step guide to mapping vendors in Cerivo

Once your systems are mapped, the next step is to map your vendors.

Vendors are typically providers of systems or services. Many will process data on your behalf, making them a key part of your compliance and risk setup.

Mapping vendors helps you:

• understand your supply chain
• track data processors
• manage agreements and audits

Step 1 — Go to Vendors

Navigate to System & Vendor Management and select Vendors.

Here, you’ll see all vendors currently mapped and their key details.

Step 2 — Add a new vendor

Select Add vendor in the top right.

• Enter the vendor name
• Save the vendor

You can use Save & create new to add multiple vendors in sequence.

Step 3 — Open and complete the vendor

Open a vendor to access the detail page.

Here, you can add and manage information about the vendor.

Key information to include

Focus on the most important details first:

Base information

• Status — track progress (Not started, In progress, Done)

• Responsible — who manages the vendor internally

• Vendor type — e.g. data processor, consultant, software provider

• Criticality — how important the vendor is to your operations

Data processing

If the vendor processes data on your behalf, document:

• whether they are a data processor
• whether a data processing agreement (DPA) exists
• whether the DPA is up to date and compliant

This helps you maintain control over your data processing relationships.

Add context and connections

To build a complete overview, you can add:

• Description — what the vendor provides
• Labels — categorize vendors in a way that fits your setup
• Connected systems — link vendors to the systems they support
• Contacts — key people at the vendor
• Locations and sub-processors — including third-country transfers

This ensures your vendor setup reflects how your organization actually works.

Support audits and risk management

From the vendor page, you can:

• view and create risk assessments
• send questionnaires to vendors
• manage tasks such as audits and reviews

This helps you maintain a consistent and documented audit process.

Attach documentation

You can store relevant documents directly on the vendor, such as:

• data processing agreements
• contracts
• audit documentation

Attachments can also link to external sources.

Next step

Once your vendors are mapped, you can move on to mapping your Processing Activities.

Read more about mapping your Processing Activities.

Any questions? Contact us at support@cerivo.com!