Written by Liz DeMarco, Senior Client Services Specialist and Josh Layne, VP
A unique aspect of Maple Street’s revolutionary Vendor Advantage System® is our Street Smart due diligence monitoring services, which help our clients easily stay on top of the due diligence refresh process. Here are some ways our due diligence process and timing can help you maximize the efficiency of your due diligence reviews internally.
Due Diligence review frequency: 1-Critical and 2-Important ranked vendors
The overall risk rank of a vendor plays a major role in the review of due diligence. If the vendor is risk ranked as a 1-Critical, examiners expect you to review these vendors more often and due diligence should be reviewed on an annual basis. Unlike your 1-Critical vendors, 2-Important vendors don’t require an annual due diligence review because the risk is generally not high enough. To align with regulatory guidance and industry best practices, Maple Street recommends targeting and reviewing 2-Important vendors prior to a multi-year contract renewal or at least every three years. This is where our Open Enrollment period comes into play to help our clients with this process (we’ll cover this later in the article). 3-Exempt vendors are exempt from periodic due diligence review and ongoing monitoring requirements. Only review these vendors as needed if you identify significant performance or risk issues.
Open Enrollment periods for 2-Important vendors
Maple Street’s due diligence process can help you save time and avoid confusion. To assist our clients, we conduct an “Open Enrollment” to allow them an opportunity to direct us to what 2-Important vendors need due diligence reviews each year. Maple Street then provides a targeted list of important vendors and recommends which Important vendors should have multi-year renewals. Our clients can review the list and add or remove vendors they want to target. Maple Street uses this final list in targeting due diligence gathering for the Important vendors our clients want reviewed for the year.
We have 2-Important Open Enrollment periods each year in spring and fall that coincide with our due diligence refresh schedule. Our spring Open Enrollment generally begins in the middle of January and ends the middle of February with due diligence being available at the beginning of June. Fall Open Enrollment generally begins in the middle of July and ends in the middle of August with due diligence available at the end of November.
We recommend clients provide their selection during the spring enrollment period that way Critical and Important vendor due diligence will be available at the same time in Q2.
Street Smart Vendor Review Kits (SSVRK) make short work of due diligence
Maple Street’s Street Smart Vendor Review Kits contain summaries of all available SOC reports and a financial analysis, which includes three-year trending and insurance comparison and an OFAC search. They’re built to assist business owners with due diligence assessments and can significantly speed up the time it takes to review each document.
A SSVRK for a 1-Critical or opted-in 2-Important vendor can be ordered at any time throughout the calendar year and will be available in the next due diligence release cycle. This means any SSVRKs ordered from October through March will be available in June and SSVRKs ordered April through September will be available in November. If you are ordering SSVRKs to use in preparing for an exam, let us know by emailing VendorCompliance@maplestreetinc.com and we will work with you to have them ready sooner.
The costs for the Street Smart Vendor Review Kits are $200 per vendor. The kit can be ordered in CADi under the Vendors tab in the Due Diligence sections.
Maximize the efficiency of your due diligence reviews
To maximize the efficiency of your due diligence reviews, make sure to get your list of 2-Important vendors to Maple Street prior to the February cutoff and confirm the provided list aligns with your SSVRK order. Doing this will allow everything to be ready and available come the beginning of June. This means all current Critical vendors and 2-Important opted-in vendors due diligence, as well as their corresponding kits, will all be ready for review as the same time.
More information on Maple Street’s Vendor Advantage System®
In addition to its due diligence monitoring services, Maple Street goes beyond the vendor management paper chase to deliver a complete vendor relationship management program, incorporate supply chain management principles and manage vendor lifecycles. It’s the only company with a vendor management system that guarantees to make our clients more competitive, improves vendor performance, reduces risk and generates a positive ROI.
Maple Street can make this promise with the help of our unique Vendor Advantage System®, which is proven to deliver the following results:
- Reduce expenses
- Improve vendor performance
- Manage risk
The Vendor Advantage System® combined with our services has already saved clients over $110 million to date. It’s the only system designed to hold vendors accountable. The Vendor Advantage System® comes with two guarantees – You’ll pass your vendor management exam and you’ll save more money than you spend. It does this by offering:
- Vendor planning
- Contract management
- Due diligence monitoring services
- Qualifying, selecting and onboarding vendors
- Negotiating best prices and terms
- Measuring vendor performance and scorecarding
Our due diligence reviews, Street Smart Review Kits and the Vendor Advantage System® are just a few examples of how Maple Street strives to partner with you for the long term to transform your vendor management to vendor relationship management. To learn more about how we can work with you, give us a call at (321) 257-3930 or email info@maplestreetinc.com.