Third-Party Risk Management Automation: Tools, Benefits, and Done-for-You Solutions

Third-party vendors play an important part in helping businesses to scale. Each new vendor brings experience and expertise to you team. But they can also increase your exposure to cybersecurity risks throughout the supply chain.

To mitigate cyber risks and the chance of data breaches, organizations turn to third-party risk management (TPRM) processes like security questionnaires and compliance checks. Unfortunately, these can create bottlenecks.

Third-party risk management automation is used to speed up processes, improving the scalability and efficiency of TPRM.

This guide shows how businesses use TPRM automation to improve scalability and stay ahead of security risks without adding headcount or slowing down deals.

What is Third-Party Risk Management Automation?

Third-party risk management automation replaces manual spreadsheets with platforms like Vanta or Drata and AI workflow automations to streamline your entire TPRM process whilst also mitigating risks across areas like: Cybersecurity, data privacy, and operational resilience

Traditionally, a TPRM program can be a time-consuming and costly process, especially if your business is growing fast and onboarding a high number of new partners.

Vendor risk management (VRM) software automates key risk management processes including:‍

• Risk Assessment Automation: Automatically evaluate standardized security questionnaires and external data sources to accelerate vendor onboarding.
• Continuous Monitoring: Track security posture, vendor compliance status, and emerging threats with automated tools and analytics.
• Workflow Automation: Automate repetitive tasks like approvals, reminders, and vendor evidence requests to eliminate manual follow-ups on vendor risk assessments.
• Reporting and Analytics: Generate automated dashboards, relationship visualizations, and audit-ready reports for clear visibility across your vendor ecosystem.

4 Key Benefits of Third-Party Risk Management Automation

Automation transforms third-party risk management from a time sink that distracts your team from their day-to-day roles into a growth enabler helping you to scale and close enterpise deals without delay.

Key benefits of third-party risk management automation include:

1. Cutting down the hours spent on vendor risk assessments, updating documents, and waiting for approvals, so you compliance team can focus on strategic work rather than administrative tasks.
2. Faster vendor onboarding by automating questionnaire response workflows and auto-filling responses.
3. Automation standardizes data collection, reduces human error, and prevents subjective scoring.
4. Finding vendors and service providers already in your infrastructure that haven’t been through procurement.

Manual vs Automated Third-Party Risk Management

Businesses working managing hundreds of vendors find manual TPRM processes increasingly inadequate. Manual data entry and follow-ups create errors, delays, and risk exposure that automation eliminates.

Time Spent

• Manual TPRM requires constant chasing of questionnaires and approvals.
• Automated TPRM runs workflows automatically, freeing teams for strategic work.

Scalability

• Manual processes break down as vendor counts grow.
• Automation handles hundreds of vendors without additional headcount.

Accuracy

• Manual scoring creates inconsistencies and compliance gaps.
• AI-powered automation delivers standardized scoring and regulatory alignment.

Monitoring

• Manual reviews happen periodically and require extensive coordination.
• Automation offers real-time vendor risk scoring, with early detection preventing contract delays and operational disruptions.

Reporting

• Manual data collection delays critical insights.
• Automated dashboards deliver instant, audit-ready reports for faster decision-making.

How AI and Real-Time Monitoring Powers Third-Party Risk Management Automation

AI and real-time monitoring are two central aspects of third-party risk management automation, helping turning manual processes into proactive actions that support business growth.

Here are three ways AI and real-time monitoring help to deliver efficient and effective risk management:

1. AI analyzes vendor data and external intelligence to quickly identify risks like poor cybersecurity and compliance issues.
2. Continuous monitoring pulls data from security databases, newsfeeds, and internal systems to track vendor financial, cyber, and operational risks in real-time, eliminating manual check-ins.
3. AI and monitoring tools instantly alert stakeholders when vendor risk profiles change.

Best Practices for Automated Third-Party Risk Management

Vendor risk management automation strengthens your GRC program while reducing risks and helping your team stay focused on their roles, rather than getting pulled away to focus on tasks like questionnaires.

Here are my tips for getting the most out of automated VRM:

1. Spot your bottlenecks: First, figure out what manual processes are slowing down your team. Then you can see where automation can create the most value.
2. Find the right VRM tool: Every third-party risk management software is different. Choose a platform that matches your organization's specific needs and requirements. And if you’re unsure or don’t have in-house security leadership, it might make sense to bring in a vCISO to help you choose and get set up. Popular VRM tools include: Vanta, Drata, and Secureframe.
3. Centralize your evidence: Keep all security and compliance documentation (SOC 2, ISO 27001, GDPR) in one place for instant audit readiness and easier policy updates.
4. Plan for growth: Select a scalable automation tool and use its dashboards to track efficiency metrics and continuously improve your VRM program.

Third-Party Risk Management Automation Done for You

Vendor Risk Management is one of our specialities at Workstreet. Our automated third-party security monitoring reduces supply chain vulnerabilities without overwhelming your team.

Ready to stop thinking about third-party risk management? Schedule a call.

Third-Party Risk Management Automation FAQ

How do I calculate the ROI of automated third-party risk management?

The easiest way to judge ROI is time saved. Without automated TPRM, your senior leadership team and engineers could be spending hours managing spreadsheets, responding to audit requests, and completing security questionnaires. Another thing to look at is the speed of your enterprise deals. Without automated TPRM, security can become a bottleneck for closing deals.

To calculate the true dollar ROI of automated third-party risk management, track metrics like deals won and engineering time spent closing deals.  

How quickly can a growing business implement third-party risk management automation?

The speed at which a company can implement TPRM automation varies depending on the complexity of their vendor ecosystem as well as the resources you can dedicated to getting things up and running.

If you want to move fast, outsourcing to a team like Workstreet could help you move much faster, getting TPRM automation and VRM software set up in weeks, not months.

Will third-party risk management automation integrate with my existing security and procurement systems?

Yes, a good third-party risk management solution will integrate directly with your current security systems, procurement tools, and GRC platforms. This ensures vendor data flows into the tools your teams already use, reducing manual entry duplication.