Managing supplier assessments and risk management poses significant challenges for many organisations today. Business supply chains are more comprehensive than ever, involving intricate networks, with multiple layers of third, fourth, fifth, and sixth parties beyond, often overwhelming internal teams tasked with gathering vast amounts of assessment data and conducting comprehensive risk management assessments from start to finish, for each party they work with. The scope of risk now extends beyond just IT service providers, who are traditionally prioritised in risk management, encompassing a broader range of suppliers. Coupled with manual processes such as spreadsheets, this creates additional workloads, leading to bottlenecks at the assessment review stage. The most important stage, remediation, becomes particularly affected by these inefficiencies. 

According to the 2023 EY Global Third-Party Risk Management Survey, organisations that adopt centralised third-party risk management strategies enjoy tangible business benefits, such as faster control assessments and enhanced risk comprehension. Yet, managing these assessments internally demands extensive resources, specialised knowledge, and a robust handle on complex data and regulatory compliance. As businesses grow, these challenges only amplify, along with the costs of developing effective internal risk management capabilities.

In response to these challenges, C2 offers its managed service called ProAssure. This service manages and administers the assessment process using the award-winning C2 platform, ensuring your business can accelerate its vendor assessments with the utmost accuracy. You can be confident that your vendor risk management is comprehensive and under control. 

Our focus here at C2 is fostering collaborative partnerships, not just providing solutions. We consider our resources an extension of your own. Whether you’re engaging with our Vendor Risk Management, Privacy Toolkit, ESG Assessment, or Project Risk Management solutions, C2 is dedicated to providing expert resources and guidance at every stage.

How ProAssure works: 

Centralising Supplier Data and Workflows

At the core of ProAssure lies our robust SaaS-based platform designed to centralise and gather supplier data and assessment workflows. Gone are the days of navigating cumbersome spreadsheets and managing disjointed email communications with a plethora of stakeholders. Our solution efficiently manages every aspect of the assessment within a single, user-friendly solution. Our team works alongside yours to gather the required information, identify potential risks, prioritise and categorise actions, manage communications, and implement effective remediation and mitigation strategies, ensuring no aspect of your supply chain goes overlooked or remains a risk.

Quick Risk Assessments

We start with “quick risk” assessments, focusing on crucial data points like financial status, compliance weaknesses, legal standings, leveraging open-source intelligence (“OSINT”), to deliver high-risk ratings promptly and accurately. This crucial early indication allows you to prioritise the next steps. Suppliers you felt were low risk are often highlighted as high risk (and vice versa), or areas of risk are spotlighted due to the Quick Risk Assessment, enabling you to laser focus on remediation via a more detailed assessment.

Collaborative Approach

Our commitment continues after assessments. Once Quick Risk Assessments are complete, we facilitate full assessments based on identified inherent risks, often based on the results of the Quick Risk Assessments. This involves engaging and supporting suppliers in 1) collecting detailed assessment information, 2) gathering documentary evidence to support the information, and 3) conducting a deep dive OSINT assessment. The results are compiled using the solution, and remediation suggestions are generated using automation and AI. This comprehensive and robust process provides you with the best defensible position.

What sets us apart is our collaborative approach. Where a typical managed service is akin to an outsourcing model, we prefer to collaborate closely with you and work hand-in-hand with you to ensure transparency and accountability throughout the process, providing ongoing support every step of the way. 

Advanced Analytics and Reporting

Furthermore, our platform offers advanced analytics and reporting capabilities, empowering you to make informed decisions based on data-driven insights. Whether it’s identifying trends, benchmarking performance, or prioritising remediation efforts, our expert analysts deliver actionable intelligence that drives business success. With ProAssure, you can rest assured that your risk management processes are in capable hands, allowing you to focus on what you do best while we handle the rest.

Cost-effective and Efficient

Our ProAssure services offer benefits beyond efficiency and accuracy. By entrusting the burden of supplier assessments to experts, you can redirect your focus towards your core business activities without compromising on risk management. This not only ensures thorough risk assessment but also reduces the need for additional staff dedicated solely to vendor risk management, saving you on operational costs. One of the best things about ProAssure is it’s nearly 80% cheaper for C2 to do than handling it internally. 

Whether you’re a large enterprise or a small to medium-sized business, we provide tailored models to meet your specific needs. Leveraging our expertise and cutting-edge technology, you can unlock new levels of efficiency, confidence, and resilience in vendor risk management.

Don’t just take our word for it, have a read of what our clients had to say about our ProAssure services:

“With their collaborative approach, it’s felt like we’ve had a partner standing with us shoulder to shoulder, making the integration of their managed services a positive experience across the business. Keep up the good work C2!” 

Glen Hymers, Head of Data Privacy & Compliance and Information Assurance Cabinet Office, UK Government

 

“It was immediately clear that C2 Risk went above and beyond all others in what they delivered for the budget, in their in-house expertise, and in their ability to engage with persuade suppliers to complete the information needed for risk evaluation. It was not just C2’s attitude, but how they adapted the VRM platform for our specific needs and gave us realistic advice on our messaging to suppliers that improved their cooperation. For me, it is always about building a relationship, and C2 were a partner invested in making the journey a success for us.” 

Global Director of Information Security Strategy, Global Retailer

Are you ready to simplify your supplier assessments and fortify your risk management strategies? Reach out to our team today.

About C2

C2 is a UK risk management scaleup on a mission to help businesses survive and thrive in the digital economy. C2 helps organisations manage security and compliance in a way that’s unique to their business and that does more than simply ticking off digital checkboxes. C2’s industry-leading platform supports the public and private sectors in managing their threat landscape and improving vendor controls, project, privacy, and ESG risks.