How to Add a Vendor

How to Add a Vendor

Overview

There are two ways to get vendors into Vendor Pulse: add them one at a time through a four-step wizard, or upload many at once from an Excel template.


Prerequisites

  • The vendor:add permission
  • The vendor's company name and primary domain
  • Optionally: business owner, industry, tier, SPOC contact details and registration numbers

The Vendor List

Navigation: Sidebar → Vendors

Three buttons sit at the top of the list:

  • Single Add — opens the add-vendor wizard
  • Bulk Upload — imports vendors from an Excel file
  • Export — downloads your vendor list
ColumnDescription
Company NameThe vendor's name
Vendor StatusOnboarding status, with the remark and who changed it
Assessment ProgressHow far the vendor's assessment has got
Last Assessment DateThe date of the vendor's most recent assessment that has actually started or completed. Assessments scheduled for a future date are not counted here.
Risk ScoreThe vendor's average risk score
Impact / MaterialityThe impact level recorded for the vendor
Risk ManagerThe assigned manager
Last UpdatedWhen the vendor record last changed
Updated ByWho changed it

You can filter by Status, Impact, Industry, Risk Manager and Created On, search the list, and choose which columns are visible.

The row actions menu offers Delete, and only appears if you have the vendor:delete permission.


Adding a Single Vendor

Navigation: Sidebar → Vendors → Single Add

The wizard has four steps, shown across the top: Vendor Name → Vendor Details → Contact Details → Review.

Step 1: Vendor Name

Heading: Enter Company Name & Domain.

  • Company Name — start typing and the platform searches an external company database. Pick a suggestion to pre-fill the vendor's profile details, or choose the Add "…" option to keep exactly what you typed.
  • Company Domain — the vendor's primary website domain, for example example.com. Do not include https:// or a trailing slash.

Both fields are required. Click Continue.

Step 2: Vendor Details

Service Details

FieldDescription
Purpose of EngagementWhy you use this vendor
OutsourcingYes / No
Core/CriticalYes / No
Is Technology (IT) Related ?Yes / No
Is Back Office Vendor ?Yes / No
Data Classification LevelsThe data classification levels that apply to this vendor
Impact / MaterialityThe potential impact this vendor has on your operations — Low, Medium, High or Critical
Risk Assessment RequiredWhether a risk assessment is required for this vendor
CategoryThe product or service category the vendor supplies
SubcategoryNarrows the category. Choose a category first.
IndustryThe vendor's industry or sector
TierTier 1 (highest priority) to Tier 4 (lowest priority)

Vendor Registration Details

FieldDescription
CIN NoCorporate Identification Number, for Indian vendors
GSTIN NoGST Identification Number, for Indian vendors
Contract DateThe date the contract was signed

Click Continue.

Step 3: Contact Details

Vendor SPOC Details

FieldDescription
SPOC NameYour contact at the vendor
SPOC EmailThat contact's email address
Additional Vendor EmailsAny other vendor contacts to copy in
SPOC Contact NumberPhone number

Organisation Details

FieldDescription
Business OwnerThe internal user who owns this vendor relationship
Additional Business Owner EmailAn extra business owner not in the platform
Business Owner DepartmentThe owning department

Assign Vendor Manager

FieldDescription
Assign ManagerThe internal user who will manage this vendor's risk

Click Continue.

Step 4: Review

Check the company name, domain and every section you filled in. You can still edit fields here. Click Add Vendor to create the vendor. While it saves, the button reads Adding....


Bulk Uploading Vendors

Navigation: Sidebar → Vendors → Bulk Upload

  1. Click Bulk Upload.
  2. Click Download Template to get the current Excel template.
  3. Fill in one row per vendor. Keep the header row exactly as downloaded.
  4. Click Upload Template and choose your file. Files must be no larger than 15 MB.
  5. Click Submit.

The template's header row must contain all of these columns:

Company Name, Company Domain, Description, Employee Count, Revenue, City, State, Country, Industry, Tier, Impact/Materiality, Contract Date, CIN, GSTIN, SPOC Name, SPOC Email, Extra POC Emails, SPOC Contact Number, Assign Manager Email, Purpose, Core/Critical, Outsourcing, Tech Related, Back Office.

Notes:

  • Company Name and Company Domain must have a value on every row.
  • There is also an optional Business Owner column. Leave it blank if you do not need it. If you do fill it in, use the email address of a user who already exists in your organisation.

After the Vendor Is Created

Click a vendor in the list to open its detail page. It has seven tabs:

TabPurpose
ProfileVendor profile details
Digital RiskExternal digital risk findings for the vendor
Manage RiskThe vendor's risk register and risk lifecycle
Assessment ProcessAssessments sent to the vendor and their progress
DocumentsDocuments and evidence held against the vendor
Vendor AnalysisAI-assisted analysis of the vendor
TeamInternal team members assigned to the vendor

Fields with no value show Not provided rather than a blank.

Editing a vendor

On the Profile tab, click the pencil icon next to the vendor's name (tooltip: Edit Vendor Details). Update the details and save. Back to Profile Details returns you without saving.

If you change the SPOC email, Vendor Pulse warns you before saving and tells you what happens to any assessment already in progress.


Troubleshooting

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

Continue does nothing on the first step → Company Name and Company Domain are both required. A message appears asking you to fill them in.

My domain is rejected → Enter the bare domain, for example example.com. Do not include https://, a path, or a trailing slash.

Company suggestions do not appear → Not every company is in the external database. Use the Add "…" option to keep the name you typed and carry on.

CIN or GSTIN is rejected → These validate against Indian registration formats. Leave them empty for vendors registered elsewhere.

Bulk upload is rejected as not a valid vendor template → Download a fresh template with Download Template and re-enter your data into it.

Bulk upload says required columns are missing → The message names each missing column. Download the latest template and keep the header row unchanged.

Bulk upload says a business owner was not found → The Business Owner value must be the email address of a user who already exists in your organisation. Leave the cell blank if the vendor has no business owner yet.

My file is too large → The bulk upload file must be 15 MB or smaller.

There is no Delete action on a vendor row → Deleting vendors needs the vendor:delete permission.


Need more help? Contact support@zeron.one