The global vendor risk management market size was valued at USD 11.1 billion in 2024 and is projected to reach from USD 12.79 billion in 2025 to USD 39.7 billion by 2033, growing at a CAGR of 15.21% during the forecast period (2025-2033).
In modern business, the issue of third-party risk management is impossible to be overemphasized. Third-party risk management is essential to financial control management, contract management, operational risk management, audit management, and compliance management because it deals with managing hard situations and means finding solutions to complex problems.
Vendor risk management is the market and a process that involves controlling, recognizing, monitoring, and accessing a wide variety of potential risks. The hazards included operational risk, compliance risk, strategic risk, information security risk, and a great deal of other potential dangers. In other words, all these dangers are potentially brought about by the relationships that organizations have with outside parties.
Financial Impact |
29% |
Reputational Damage |
26% |
Regulatory Scrutiny |
19% |
Biggest impact of a third-party cybersecurity Incident
Cloud-based VRM solutions are increasingly popular due to their scalability and flexibility, enabling organizations to expand their risk management processes without large infrastructure costs. Cloud accessibility also allows remote and hybrid teams to collaborate more effectively with external vendors, streamlining information sharing and automating workflows. Real-time updates in cloud VRM solutions reduce the time needed for risk assessments and compliance checks.
The need for effective management of complex vendor ecosystems is a key driver in the global VRM market. With businesses relying on multiple third-party vendors for critical products and services, VRM solutions streamline the process by assessing vendors’ performance on parameters like delivery accuracy, product quality, and timeliness.
By automating these evaluations, VRM solutions help organizations quickly identify and address risks, saving significant time and resources.
This approach enables them to manage vendor risks proactively, maintain high-quality standards, and reduce supply chain disruptions, thereby enhancing overall operational efficiency.
The complexity of the supply chain further elevates because companies are highly dependent upon a large network of vendors, suppliers, and partners spread over multiple geographies and industries. It becomes difficult to gain oversight in such ecosystems, especially when it is related to risks such as operational disruption, financial instability, and reputational threat.
Politically unstable regimes, regulation changes, and currency fluctuations can increase such risks, necessitating the imposition of more advanced VRM systems that are able to understand various and dynamic challenges.
This highlights the importance of efficient VRM in mitigating such risks.
A significant portion of the global market continues to rely on manual processes to assess and evaluate the risks associated with suppliers. Many organizations remain unaware of the critical need for VRM systems, leading to a reluctance to integrate these technologies into their operations. This lack of awareness prevents companies from effectively assessing supplier performance and managing associated risks. Instead, they predominantly rely on informal practices, which can result in incomplete risk evaluations and inadequate mitigation strategies.
This dependence on manual methods not only exposes organizations to potential vulnerabilities but also limits their ability to respond proactively to emerging risks in an increasingly complex vendor landscape. As the market evolves, it is essential for businesses to recognize the value of implementing formal VRM solutions to enhance their risk assessment capabilities and improve overall supplier management.
Advancements in technology present significant opportunities for the global VRM market. As organizations increasingly rely on digital solutions to manage vendor relationships, technologies like artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning, and data analytics are transforming how businesses assess and mitigate risks. These innovations enable companies to process vast amounts of data quickly, identify patterns, and predict potential vendor-related issues before they arise.
This technological evolution not only improves the efficiency of risk management processes but also helps businesses ensure regulatory compliance and maintain high standards of quality across their vendor ecosystems. As technology continues to advance, VRM solutions will evolve, offering even greater opportunities for risk mitigation and operational excellence.
Study Period | 2021-2033 | CAGR | 15.21% |
Historical Period | 2021-2023 | Forecast Period | 2025-2033 |
Base Year | 2024 | Base Year Market Size | USD 11.1 Billion |
Forecast Year | 2033 | Forecast Year Market Size | USD 39.7 Billion |
Largest Market | North America | Fastest Growing Market | Asia-Pacific |
The most significant shareholder in the global VRM market belongs to North America, mainly due to strict compliance requirements, the presence of large enterprise houses, and a strong IT infrastructure. The region, especially the U.S., has stiff regulatory compliance standards in the form of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX), GDPR, and HIPAA, forcing organizations to invest rigorously in VRM solutions.
With critical sectors such as BFSI, IT, and healthcare concentrated in North America, the requirement for third-party risk management through wholesome VRM systems increases.
Europe is the second-dominant region in the global VRM market, and it is largely driven by the implementation of stringent data protection regulations like the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). European organizations, especially in sectors such as BFSI, healthcare, and IT, are required to maintain high levels of compliance regarding data security and privacy when managing third-party vendors.
The emphasis on data privacy, combined with an increasing focus on ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) criteria, has spurred investments in VRM solutions across the region.
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Services are increasingly outpacing solutions in the VRM market. This trend arises from the essential role of consulting, implementation, training, and support services in helping organizations successfully integrate VRM into their existing systems. Many businesses lack the internal expertise required to navigate complex risk environments, prompting them to seek external services for compliance, risk assessment, and ongoing vendor monitoring.
These services enable organizations to customize VRM solutions to meet specific business needs while ensuring adherence to relevant regulatory frameworks and effectively mitigating associated risks.
Compared to on-premises deployments, the application of VRM platforms is predominantly dominated by cloud-based solutions. Scalability and flexibility, which are in tandem with lower costs as far as front-end expenses are concerned, make it an efficient way for businesses to adjust to ever-changing risk landscapes.
The solution from the cloud comes with flexibility: faster implementation, remote access, and easier integration into existing IT systems. This is where businesses with distributed teams or operating globally find themselves gravitating towards a cloud-based VRM platform.
Large enterprises have much more mature and wide-ranging vendor ecosystems that pose a greater threat from the third party. To effectively govern third-party risk, large companies require robust VRM solutions with the capacity and complexity to support their global operations. Large enterprises are also under more regulatory scrutiny and, thus, are likely to spend on a fully integrated risk management framework to avoid non-compliance and its resultant reputational damage.
The BFSI industry is heavily regulated and involves huge chunks of sensitive customer information; hence, it is more susceptible to risks by third-party vendors. Such financial institutions have to adhere to highly stringent regulations on data privacy, cybersecurity, and even operational risk management under GDPR, CCPA, and various others.
Consequently, robust investment is made by BFSI organizations in strong VRM solutions to ascertain compliance, ensure the safety of data, and minimize vendors' relationship risks.
Key market players are investing in advanced VRM technologies and pursuing strategies such as collaborations, acquisitions, and partnerships to enhance their products and expand their market presence.
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As per our analyst, the vendor risk management market is poised for substantial growth, largely fueled by the increasing need for efficient management of complex vendor ecosystems. Organizations are recognizing the importance of implementing robust VRM strategies to navigate the challenges posed by multiple third-party relationships.
However, the market faces some restraining factors, particularly the reliance on informal and manual processes by many organizations. This dependency can hinder the effectiveness of risk assessments and compliance checks, ultimately affecting overall vendor performance and risk mitigation.
To capitalize on the market's growth potential, organizations must transition to more automated and integrated VRM solutions that streamline processes and enhance collaboration across vendor networks.