Vendor Discovery Checklist: 25 Questions to Ask Before Engaging

The​‍​‌‍​‍‌​‍​‌‍​‍‌ cost of a “bad hire” in the corporate procurement world is not limited to employees only. The same cost applies to vendors as well. If you sign up with a supplier without the required capacity, security standards, or financial stability, you risk months of being completely wasted, getting into integration trouble, and losing a substantial amount of money.

Negligence in negotiation is hardly the reason for most procurement failures. Instead, the main reason is incomplete due diligence during the discovery phase. To be absolutely sure that your team evaluates every partner with the same level of rigor, a standardized vendor discovery checklist is what you need.

If you are the head of a department looking for a new SaaS tool or a procurement specialist deciding on a manufacturing partner, these 25 questions will help you eliminate the factors that might be disqualifying before you put your signature on the ​‍​‌‍​‍‌​‍​‌‍​‍‌contract.

Why a Vendor Discovery Checklist is Essential

Procurement​‍​‌‍​‍‌​‍​‌‍​‍‌ without an organized vendor assessment form turns into a “gut feeling” kind of an activity. As a result, you get:

• Inconsistent Vetting: Different departments operating according to their own standards.
• Late-Stage Disqualifiers: Only after three weeks of the legal review do you find out that a vendor is not meeting the security standards.
• Hidden Costs: You find out that there are implementation fees which were not mentioned in the initial demo.

An all-inclusive supplier evaluation checklist is like your organizational safety net making sure that every vendor – big or small – meets your minimum standard of ​‍​‌‍​‍‌​‍​‌‍​‍‌excellence.

The 25-Question Vendor Discovery Checklist

Phase 1: Pre-Qualification (The “Must-Haves”)

Focus on high-level alignment to filter out non-starters quickly.

1. How long has your company been in operation, and what is your current financial standing?
2. Do you have significant experience serving clients in our specific industry?
3. Can you provide evidence of scalability (e.g., can you handle a 5x increase in our volume)?
4. What is your company’s core mission, and how does it align with our corporate values?
5. Do you have physical presence or support capabilities in our required geographic regions?

Phase 2: Capability Assessment (The “Can-Do”)

Deep dive into the actual product or service performance.

6. Can you share three case studies of clients with a similar use case to ours?
7. What does your technical infrastructure look like (on-prem, cloud, hybrid)?
8. What are your standard support hours and guaranteed Service Level Agreements (SLAs)?
9. What does your product/service roadmap look like for the next 18 months?
10. Do you have the internal resource availability to begin onboarding within our desired timeframe?
11. How does your solution integrate with our existing tech stack (ERP, CRM, etc.)?
12. What is the average “time-to-value” for your typical customer?
13. Are you willing to provide contact information for at least three professional references?

Phase 3: Compliance and Risk (The “Safety Net”)

The most critical phase for modern due diligence checklist vendors.

14. What data security certifications do you hold (e.g., SOC 2 Type II, ISO 27001, GDPR)?
15. What are the limits of your professional liability and cybersecurity insurance?
16. How do you vet and manage your own sub-tier suppliers?
17. Do you have a documented and tested Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity plan?
18. What is your current ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) or Diversity status?
19. Is your company currently involved in any significant litigation or regulatory disputes?
20. How do you handle data privacy and ownership once a contract is terminated?

Phase 4: Pricing and Terms (The “Fine Print”)

Moving beyond the sticker price to understand the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO).

21. What is your primary pricing structure (SaaS subscription, per-user, or fixed-fee)?
22. Are there any one-time costs for implementation, data migration, or training?
23. What are your standard payment terms, and are they negotiable?
24. What is your policy regarding annual price increases or renewals?
25. Do you offer tiered pricing or volume discounts as our engagement grows?

Learn more about Top 10 Vendor Discovery Platforms.

How to Use This Checklist Effectively

A checklist is a tool, not a barrier. To get the most out of these vendor qualification questions, follow these best practices:

1. The Weighted Scorecard

Not all questions are created equal. Assign a weight to each category based on the project. For a software tool, Security (Phase 3) might be 40% of the score. For office supplies, Pricing (Phase 4) might take the lead.

2. Calculate the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO)

Don’t be fooled by a low initial bid. Use the discovery data to calculate the true cost using this formula:

TCO = P + (I + T) + (M \times Y) + R

Where:

• P = Purchase Price
• I = Implementation/Integration costs
• T = Training costs
• M = Monthly/Annual maintenance
• Y = Expected years of use
• R = Risk/Contingency costs

3. Share the Load

Send these questions to the vendor before your first deep-dive meeting. This saves you 45 minutes of “we’ll have to get back to you on that” and allows the meeting to focus on high-level strategy.

Next Steps After Vendor Discovery

Once you have checked every box, the real work begins. You must move from “discovery” to “onboarding.” In an automated world, the data you collect during this checklist should flow directly into your procurement system, pre-populating your vendor profile and triggering the 3-way match logic for future payments.

Is your team still manually managing vendor data?

Start Your Transformation Today

The transition from a manual, paper-heavy process to an automated, AI-driven powerhouse is the most significant step your finance team can take this year. It is time to stop drowning in paper and start driving strategic value.

Connect with Zapro to see the 2026 Playbook in action.

• Website: www.zapro.ai