In the KCM GRC Vendor Risk Management module, you can add vendor details to create "vendor profiles" for each vendor or third-party organization that your organization works with. You also have the option to use a CSV file to import multiple vendor profiles at once. After creating vendor profiles, you can assess your vendors by sending them questionnaires. For more information about creating vendor profiles, see our How to Create and Manage Vendor Profiles article.

The sections below contain the requirements and instructions for using a CSV file to import vendors into your account.

Jump to:How to Format a Vendor CSV FileHow to Import VendorsHow to Complete Vendor Setup

How to Format a Vendor CSV File

Before you import vendors to your KCM GRC platform, you need to create a spreadsheet that contains information about each vendor. There is no limit to the number of vendors that you can import with a spreadsheet.

When you create your spreadsheet, please follow the formatting guidelines below. 

1. Use the header line below, and remove any optional headers that you do not want to include. 

   name,primary_contact_name,primary_contact_email,mail_address,city,state,postal_code,country,phone,status

   Important:Headers must follow the exact format as the header line above. Headers are case-sensitive and must include the underscore when applicable. The name, primary_contact_name, and primary_contact_email headers are required. The mail_address, city, state, postal_code, country, phone, and status headers are optional. 
   
2. Follow the guidelines in the table below when you enter information into each field.  

   Header	Description	Formatting Requirements	Character Limit
   name	The name of the vendor's organization		1-255 characters
   primary_contact_name	The vendor's primary contact		1-255 characters
   primary_contact_email	The primary contact's email address	Required: Use the following format: youremail@example.com.	1-255 characters
   mail_address	The vendor's street address	Recommended: If you include the mail_address header, use the street address format that does not contain the city, state, or postal code. For example, enter 123 Easy Street.	0-255 characters
   city	The vendor's city		0-200 characters
   state	The vendor's state	Recommended: For US and CA, if you include the state header, use the two-character code format. For example, enter FL for Florida and ON for Ontario.	0-100 characters
   postal_code	The vendor's postal code		0-12 characters
   country	The vendor's country	Required: If you include the country header, use the two-digit country code format. For example, enter US for United States.	0-2 characters
   phone	The vendor's phone number	Recommended: If you include the phone header, use any 11-digit format, including the country code. For example, you can use any of the following formats: +1 555 555 5555 +1 (555) 555 5555 +15555555555 +1 555-555-5555 +1(555)-555-5555	0-20 characters
   status	The vendor's status	Required: If you include the status header, use one of the vendor statuses below. If you leave this field blank, the vendor's status will default to Pending Approval.  Active Inactive Pending Approval Rejected Incomplete

   Note:We recommend that you avoid including the < and > special characters in your spreadsheet. When you import the CSV file into your platform, these special characters can cause fields to import unsuccessfully.
3. Save the spreadsheet as a CSV file.
   Important: If you are using Microsoft Excel, you must save the file in the "CSV UTF-8 (Comma delimited)" format.

How to Import Vendors

After you save your CSV file, follow the steps below to import vendors to your KCM GRC platform.  

1. Navigate to Vendor Management > Vendors from the navigation panel.
2. Click the Import Vendor CSV button in the top-right corner.
3. Click the Click to Upload button in the top-left corner of the Import Vendors CSV window.
4. Select the CSV file that contains your vendor information.
5. Click Save Imported Vendors.

How to Complete Vendor Setup

After you import vendors to your account, follow the steps below to finish creating their vendor profiles. You must complete these steps before you can send questionnaire assessments to vendors.  

1. Navigate to Vendor Management > Vendors from the navigation panel.
2. Click the name of a vendor under the Name column.
3. Click the Update button in the top-right corner. 
4. Under Organization Details, change the Vendor Status from Incomplete to either Pending Approval or Active. 
5. (Optional) Under Organization Details, select an Organization Industry.
6. (Optional) Under Qualifying Questions, answer the questions. See the Qualifying Questions section of our How to Create and Manage Vendor Profiles article for more information. 
7. Under the Contacts tab, add a user account for the vendor contact. We recommend that you read the Adding User Accounts for Vendor Contacts section of our How to Create and Manage Vendor Profiles article before you complete this step.