How de Bijenkorf efficiently manages supplier risks

Farida Fouad is Head of Legal and Privacy Officer at de Bijenkorf, which is part of the Selfridges Group. De Bijenkorf – meaning ‘the beehive’ – is the most renowned chain of premium department stores in the Netherlands.

With flagship stores in Amsterdam, The Hague, Rotterdam and Utrecht as well as smaller stores, it is a true one-stop luxury shopping experience, since 1870. 



As Head of Legal, Farida is partly responsible for screening and monitoring third parties in the areas of privacy and security. We spoke to her about why she started using the 3rdRisk platform and how things have been going so far.

Manual risk management tasks make collaboration between stakeholders complicated and inefficient

When we asked Farida about the main challenge that led de Bijenkorf to search for a third-party risk management automation platform, her answer was pretty clear.

Farida: “At de Bijenkorf, privacy and information security are held in very high esteem. De Bijenkorf has had a professional organisation for managing supplier risks for some time. The whole process was just quite labour-intensive. In the past, we spent a lot of time on manual tasks, such as sending out questionnaires, monitoring progress, and requesting and checking evidence.

Considering that supplier risks must be assessed from various disciplines and thus different teams, there was also a strong demand for a platform where different teams could have a structured and current overview of each other's findings and progress. The manual processes complicated this and made collaboration between the different teams less efficient.” 


When you’re working with lots of different teams and suppliers, it’s really important to have smooth and effective collaboration. You need to be able to see each other’s activities whenever necessary to be able to manage potential risks. That’s why Farida searched for a software solution that could make this happen.

Automating risk management activities without a long and costly implementation process

De Bijenkorf was looking for a practical solution to automate as many manual tasks as possible without a long and expensive setup. They needed a tool that would let multiple teams work together easily, like when reviewing completed questionnaires. It was also important that the tool would help with following up on improvement plans so de Bijenkorf could manage risks more effectively.

Farida: “The 3rdRisk platform was operational within a few days, designed according to our brand style and connected to our IT infrastructure. In no time at all, we had our key suppliers on the platform and the first questionnaires sent out. We were able to make good use of the best practices developed by 3rdRisk. This allowed us to show results to our internal stakeholders quite quickly.”

The fact that De Bijenkorf was up and running with 3rdRisk in just a few days was a big reason they chose it as their third-party risk management partner. Plus, the platform provides a clear overview, making it easy to proactively screen and monitor supplier risks.

Proactively screening and monitoring supplier risks with a clear overview

For a big retailer like De Bijenkorf, it’s important to have a clear overview of all supplier risks. That’s the only way to optimise third-party risk management and monitor risks as they arise.

Farida: “Thanks to the 3rdRisk platform, we have been able to further professionalise our supplier risk management process, now have a better overview, and can allocate our time more efficiently. Because we spend less time on manual tasks, we can focus more on minimising privacy and security risks as much as possible. Without the 3rdRisk platform, it would not have been possible to proactively screen and monitor so many different suppliers for potential risks simultaneously.”

A big reason 3rdRisk makes screening and monitoring third-party risks easier for De Bijenkorf is because the platform is so user-friendly. Plus, it’s continuously being improved.

"Because we spend less time on manual tasks, we can focus more on minimising privacy and security risks as much as possible. Without the 3rdRisk platform, it would not have been possible to proactively screen and monitor so many different suppliers for potential risks simultaneously." - Farida Fouad, Senior Legal Counsel de Bijenkorf

Quick set-up, ease of use and continuous platform improvement

We asked Farida what she sees as the biggest benefits of managing third-party risks with 3rdRisk. Farida explains: “What appealed to us about 3rdRisk was their pragmatic approach. We were not looking for a long and costly implementation process and wanted to be able to start quickly. Without overburdening our IT organisation.  With 3rdRisk, all this was possible.

Additionally, the ease of use was an important reason for choosing the 3rdRisk platform. You don’t need any training to understand the 3rdRisk platform. Everything is self-explanatory. It operates intuitively and smoothly – appearing as though it was developed specifically for de Bijenkorf.

Finally, we could really relate to the roadmap presented by 3rdRisk. The platform is constantly evolving. You can see that the platform is continuously improving. They listen well to our feedback, and we see in the platform that something is actually done with it.”

In short, Farida is really happy with the 3rdRisk platform because of its quick setup, ease of use, and continuous improvements. Is your organisation also looking into third-party risk management software? 3rdRisk can offer you these benefits too.

"You don’t need any training to understand the 3rdRisk platform. It operates intuitively and smoothly – appearing as though it was developed specifically for de Bijenkorf."

How 3rdRisk can benefit your organisation too when it comes to third-party risk management

As Farida from De Bijenkorf described, 3rdRisk helps organisations automate and simplify third-party risk management. With our platform, you always have a clear overview of supplier risks, making it easy to proactively screen and monitor them. And don’t worry, we’re not into long implementation processes. You’re up and running in just 10 days.

Want to know more about what 3rdRisk can do for your organisation? Our experts would be happy to give you a personal 30-minute demo to explain how our third-party risk management platform works.