Supplier offboarding is the controlled process of ending a supplier relationship and closing its operational, financial, data and access obligations. It can follow contract expiry, replacement, performance failure or business change.
Which activities are included?
- Confirm termination or expiry terms
- Stop new orders and commitments
- Complete open delivery, returns and invoices
- Recover assets and revoke access
- Return or delete data
- Archive records and update supplier status
Why is offboarding a control risk?
Unresolved purchase orders, active credentials, stored data and reusable bank records can create financial and security exposure after work ends.
What should happen to open transactions?
Identify every order, receipt, invoice, credit, payment, claim and warranty obligation. Assign owners and decide whether each item closes, transfers or remains supported.
How should access be removed?
Revoke user, facility, API and remote access at the approved time. Confirm completion and preserve logs, including access held by subcontractors.
What should be retained?
Keep contracts, notices, performance, approvals, tax records and transaction evidence for the required period. Mark the supplier inactive without erasing history.
