Getting Started with Vendor Pulse

Getting Started with Vendor Pulse

Overview

Vendor Pulse is Zeron's third-party risk management product. You add the vendors you work with, send them assessment questionnaires, review what comes back, and track the risks you find through to closure.

This guide takes you from your first sign-in to your first vendor.

Prerequisites

  • An active Zeron account with Vendor Pulse access
  • A role that includes at least vendor:view and dashboard:view
  • A list of the vendors your organisation works with

Step 1: Sign In

  1. Open your organisation's Vendor Pulse address in a browser.
  2. You are redirected to the Zeron sign-in page to authenticate. If your organisation uses an identity provider, you are passed on to it automatically.
  3. Once you have signed in you are returned to Vendor Pulse and land on the Dashboard.

Step 2: Learn the Sidebar

SectionPurpose
ZIN Advisor (chat)The ZIN AI chat assistant. This entry appears only when ZIN AI is deployed for your environment.
DashboardPortfolio-level view of vendor risk, assessments and compliance
VendorsYour vendor list — add, edit, review and track vendors
Master DataAssessment templates, and the product and service categories used to classify vendors
ZIN AdvisorThe ZIN workspace: Checklist, Knowledge Base and Questionnaire tabs
DocumentsCentral library of vendor documents and evidence
ReportsGenerate and download vendor risk reports
AdminExpands to Management and Settings

> Two sidebar entries are both labelled ZIN Advisor. The one at the top opens the AI chat; the one further down opens the Checklist / Knowledge Base / Questionnaire workspace.

> The sections you can see depend on your role and permissions.

Step 3: Add Your First Vendor

Navigation: Sidebar → Vendors → Single Add

  1. Click Vendors in the sidebar.
  2. Click Single Add at the top of the vendor list.
  3. Work through the four steps of the wizard, shown across the top as Vendor Name → Vendor Details → Contact Details → Review:
  • Vendor Name — the vendor's company name and company domain. Start typing the name and the platform suggests matching companies from an external profile database; picking one pre-fills details for you.
  • Vendor Details — service details (purpose of engagement, outsourcing, core/critical, technology-related, back office, data classification, impact, category) and registration details (CIN, GSTIN, contract date).
  • Contact Details — the vendor's SPOC, plus your internal business owner and assigned vendor manager.
  • Review — check everything and click Add Vendor.

For the full field-by-field reference, see *How to Add a Vendor*.

Step 4: Read the Dashboard

Navigation: Sidebar → Dashboard

The dashboard opens with four summary cards across the top — Total Vendors, Active Assessments, Average Compliance Rate and Average Risk Score — followed by panels for Assessment Status, High Risk Vendors, Risk Matrix, Open Risks and Vendor Industry Concentration.

Everything is empty until you have vendors and assessments. See *Understanding the Vendor Dashboard* for what each panel means.

Step 5: Work Through the Core Flow

StepWhat you doWhere
1Add your vendorsSidebar → Vendors → Single Add or Bulk Upload
2Build or pick an assessment templateSidebar → Master Data → Templates
3Send an assessment to a vendorVendors → [vendor] → Assessment Process → Create Assessment
4Review the answers that come backVendors → [vendor] → Assessment Process
5Record and work the risks you findVendors → [vendor] → Manage Risk
6Generate reportsSidebar → Reports

Troubleshooting

I cannot see the Single Add button → Creating vendors needs the vendor:add permission. Ask your administrator to grant it.

The Dashboard shows no data → The panels fill in as you add vendors and assessments. Add a vendor first.

Company suggestions do not appear when I type a vendor name → Suggestions come from an external profile database and not every company is in it. You can always type the name in yourself and continue.

Sidebar sections are missing → Sections are permission-controlled. Ask your administrator which permissions your role has.

The ZIN Advisor chat entry is not in my sidebar → That entry only appears when ZIN AI is deployed and reachable in your environment. The separate ZIN Advisor workspace (Checklist, Knowledge Base, Questionnaire) is unaffected.

Need more help? Contact support@zeron.one

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