What is supplier management in NIS2?

Why NIS2 cares about your suppliers

NIS2 brings stricter cybersecurity requirements for essential and important organizations in the EU. But one part of the directive often gets overlooked: your supply chain.

The law now expects you to take responsibility for your vendors, especially those that impact your IT systems, services, or data.

This is called supplier management, and it’s not just about ticking boxes, it’s about protecting your entire digital ecosystem.

🔗 What is supplier management?

Supplier management means understanding:

• Which third parties you rely on
• What services they provide
• What data or systems they can access
• What risks they introduce
• How you manage those risks

In short: You can’t protect your organization if you don’t know who’s helping you run it.

🧠 What does NIS2 expect?

If you fall under NIS2, the directive expects you to:

• Assess the cybersecurity posture of your suppliers
• Include clear security requirements in contracts
• Monitor critical vendors on an ongoing basis
• Be able to explain how your suppliers could affect your service delivery or data protection
• Prepare for supply chain risks as part of your incident response planning

This applies not only to your IT vendors, but also to cloud services, software providers, consultants. Anyone involved in your operations.

Even if you yourself are not an important or essential business, one of your customers might be. You might even just wanna follow it to be able to show how security-conscious you are as a business.

🧰 What does good supplier management look like?

Even if NIS2 doesn't apply to your business (yet), strong supplier management is a smart move. It helps reduce risk, improve trust, and prepare you for future audits.

Here’s what good supplier management includes:

• A clear list of vendors, what they do, and what data they touch
• Documentation of contracts, security controls, and responsibilities
• Review processes when vendors change their tools or terms
• A way to track who approved what internally

Sound overwhelming? Let’s make it easier.

🛠️ How ToolHive helps

ToolHive helps you stay in control of your vendors by:

• Keeping a central record of all your tools and suppliers
• Highlighting which ones process personal or sensitive data
• Letting you assign tasks and approvals when a tool changes
• Tracking security measures, contracts, and processing purposes
• Giving you visibility when vendors update their terms

NIS2 wants structure. ToolHive gives you the structure, without the spreadsheet mess.

🔒 Your weakest link can’t be a mystery

You’re only as secure as the least secure part of your supply chain. That’s why NIS2 puts pressure on supplier management and why it’s worth getting right, even if the law doesn’t require it yet.

Understanding your vendors is no longer just a nice-to-have. It’s a core part of running a secure and responsible business.

Want to take control of your vendor landscape? Start your free trial of ToolHive and bring clarity to your compliance.