# Vendor management

> Add and manage vendors, request and record data processing agreements, and complete privacy impact assessments. Only an Admin edits vendors.

- URL: https://nextit.tech/docs/vendor-management/
- Language: English
- Other language: https://nextit.tech/fr/docs/gestion-des-fournisseurs/
- Publisher: NextIT (https://nextit.tech/)

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# Vendor management

Add and manage vendors, request and record data processing agreements, and complete privacy impact assessments. Only an Admin edits vendors.

Vendors, DPAs and privacy impact assessments

## Key capabilities

-   A single vendor register
-   Data processing agreements requested and recorded
-   Guided privacy impact assessments

## Learn more

[Open the feature page Vendors, DPAs and privacy impact assessments](https://nextit.tech/features/vendor-management/) [Ask your AI assistant Use this feature from ChatGPT, Claude or any MCP client.](https://nextit.tech/docs/connect-your-ai-assistant/)

## Keep your vendors and their risks under control

Maintain a vendor register, request and record data processing agreements, and complete privacy impact assessments with guided scoring.

Vendor management Live

Vendor register Live

Data processing agreements Tracked

Privacy impact assessments Guided

Data processing agreement requested Pending

Privacy impact assessment draft In progress

## Before you start

-   Only an Admin can add, edit, merge or delete a vendor.
-   An Auditor can open the Vendors page and read the list.
-   A User does not see the Vendors page.

## How to add a vendor

1.  1

    Open the Add Vendor form

    Open the Vendors page and select `Add Vendor`.

2.  2

    Choose a vendor

    Pick a pre-configured vendor from the shared catalog. If the vendor is not listed, create a custom entry.

3.  3

    Save the vendor

    Complete the vendor details, then save.

## Find and filter vendors

-   Search the list with `Search vendors...`.
-   Filter the list by `Category`.
-   Filter the list by status: `Active`, `Cancelled`, `Under review` or `Pending approval`.

Use the statuses to see which vendors are in use, under review or waiting for approval.

## Merge duplicate vendors

If one vendor appears twice, merge the two entries into one. Check both entries before you merge them, because the merge combines them into one record. Admins can also delete a vendor that you no longer need.

## What you see

The Vendors page shows the `Vendor Inventory` in two tabs, one for the compliance view and one for the cost view:

-   `Vendors & Compliance`: the vendors and services, with their compliance information.
-   `Subscriptions & IT Spend`: the subscription costs of your vendors.

## Data processing agreements

A data processing agreement (DPA) sets the rules for the personal information that a vendor handles. NextIT tracks DPAs for each software item in the Privacy & Compliance module, under `Agreements (DPA)`. Use `Bulk request DPAs` to send one request for each software item that is missing an agreement or whose agreement is expiring. The statuses are `Missing`, `Requested`, `Signed` and `Expiring`. See [Privacy & Compliance](https://nextit.tech/docs/privacy-and-compliance/).

## Tips

-   Pick a pre-configured vendor when one exists, so that you do not enter the same vendor twice.
-   Merge duplicate vendors before you compare costs, so that each vendor counts once.
-   Check the DPA status of your software items once a month, so that no agreement expires unnoticed.
-   Review the statuses of your vendors every quarter.
-   Your artificial intelligence (AI) assistant can add a vendor for you. It asks for your approval first.

## Related

-   [Software & cost](https://nextit.tech/docs/software-cost/)
-   [Privacy & Compliance](https://nextit.tech/docs/privacy-and-compliance/)

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