Vendor Integrity Program (VIP)

Introduction

GTAC’s Vendor Integrity Program (VIP) is designed to help minimize losses from vendor-related fraud at no cost to the client company. Through the VIP program, GTAC screens vendors for potential problems and verifies their integrity, business practices and track records.

VIP Benefits 

  • Vendors must agree in writing to abide by your business practices and ethical standards.
  • Companies learn critical information about their vendor’s capabilities, business history and financial health.
  • The program is tailored to fit the needs of each client company.
  • Vendors pay a nominal screening fee in order to become qualified vendors.
  • The Vendor Final Report will be forwarded to the client via encrypted email.

VIP Components 

  • Vendor Business Practices Statement – detailing standards of conduct and ethical practices expected from vendors.
  • Vendor Questionnaire – customized for you, submitted to your vendors and returned to GTAC.
  • Vendor Hotline– answering vendor questions about the qualification process.
  • Vendor Screening – verifying information provided by vendors and collecting additional intelligence not supplied by vendors.
  • Vendor Final Report– detailing the information we obtain and rating your vendors.

Implementation Process

 GTAC Vendor Screening Program works as follows:

 1) Customize Program

GTAC will work with the client to customize the following program components:

    • Introductory letter
    • Qualification statement
    • Business practices statement
    • Vendor report
    • Rating guidelines
    • Screening check list
    • Program protocol

2) Scrub Client’s Vendor List

GTAC will work with the client to identify which vendors will be asked to participate in the program and assist the client in creating a scrubbed properly formatted list.

3) Program Documents

GTAC sends a packet of information to the pre-selected client’s vendors. In this packet are the following:

    • Introductory Letter

This letter is from the client to the vendor and introduces the vendor to the qualification program and highlights its key components.

    • Qualification Statement

This is a questionnaire that is designed to solicit meaningful information from the vendor about its ownership, management, select financials, litigation and related entities.

    • Business Practices Statement

This is designed to let the vendor know what the client’s vendor-client business practices are.

4) Screening Process

Once GTAC receives a completed and signed qualification statement and business practices statement along with the screening fee from the vendor, GTAC commences the screening process involves a number of checks including:

    • Reviewing the qualification statement for completeness and accuracy.
    • Performing checks of select public, private and proprietary sources to confirm the accuracy of the information the vendor has provided and to obtain additional information.
    • Crosschecking select information provided by the client’s vendors to uncover commonality of information.

5) Vendor Report 

Once GTAC completes its screening of the vendor, a report is created. The report details what checks were conducted, what results were obtained, summarizes any significant findings and if requested, gives the vendor a VIP rating.

6) Report Delivery

GTAC provides a copy of the report via e-mail, online and/or hard copy to the client.

Rating Guidelines

Prior to commencement of the program, we ask the client to, based on their particular needs/concerns, provide us with input on what guidelines GTAC should use when determining when a client’s vendor should receive a red, yellow or green rating.

GTAC’s vendor rating system is designed to provide you with a relative scale to quickly assess the need for further investigation of a particular vendor. GTAC’s standard (non-customized) rating guidelines are as follows:

A red rating indicates that undoubtedly significant information was revealed either through the Vendor Qualification Statement or through our research. A vendor will receive a red rating if our research reveals that the company, a principal(s) and/or affiliates of the company is/was listed on Blocked, Denied, Entity and Debarred Lists, a defendant in a (federal) criminal case, involved in illegal activity, or associated with organized crime.

A yellow rating indicates that some potentially significant information was revealed, either through the Vendor Qualification Statement or through our research.

A green rating indicates that no information requiring further review was revealed, either through the Vendor Qualification Statement or through our research.

Please note:  our rating system is not intended to supplant your decision-making process, but is rather one tool, which you can utilize in deciding whether to engage the services of a particular vendor.

Vendor Fees

All levels of vendor screening include sending both the Business Practices Statement and the Vendor Qualification Statement to the vendor. Also included is vendor access to our Vendor Hotline (Vendor Communications Line).

For more information about this Program, please contact us