How a Berlin IT Company Reduced NIS2 Compliance Risk by Automating Supplier Security Monitoring

In today’s complex regulatory landscape, staying compliant under the NIS2 Directive can be daunting for IT companies. 🌐 This case study explores how a Berlin-based IT company overcame these challenges by automating their supplier security monitoring & risk intake processes. The result? A substantial reduction in compliance risk, improved governance, and streamlined cyber risk management.

This article will walk you through the company’s initial compliance pain points, the tailored automation approach using RestFlow’s Automation-as-a-Service, and a detailed technical breakdown of the implementation. We’ll also highlight the tangible benefits realized and share practical insights for CTOs, automation engineers, and operations specialists looking to automate their compliance workflows under NIS2.

The Problem: Navigating NIS2 Compliance Challenges in Supplier Security

The client is a mid-sized IT solutions provider based in Berlin, servicing international clients across sectors. Their primary compliance challenge stemmed from the new NIS2 Directive, a European regulation tightening rules around cyber risk management, incident reporting, supply chain security, and governance.

Before automation, supplier security monitoring and risk intake was manually handled by the Compliance and IT Security teams. Processes involved:

• Onboarding new vendors via email and spreadsheets
• Manual risk scoring using inconsistent criteria
• Tracking renewals and security attestations in disconnected tools
• Submitting periodic reports with incomplete data

This manual approach created significant friction:

• Time-consuming: approx. 60 hours per month spent on vendor risk administration
• High error rates: 15% data inconsistency between systems, risking underreported supply chain risks
• Lack of real-time visibility: delayed incident reporting and governance oversight
• Compliance risk: Increased exposure to penalties or operational disruptions

Ultimately, this threatened revenue streams and put stress on IT Security, Procurement, and Compliance teams, undermining customer trust.

Our Approach: RestFlow’s Compliance-First Automation Strategy

RestFlow began with a thorough discovery phase, mapping end-to-end supplier security monitoring workflows. Key stakeholders from Compliance, IT Security, and Procurement were engaged to identify pain points, bottlenecks, and integration needs.

The team uncovered that the main systems involved were:

• Vendor data stored in Google Sheets and internal CRM
• Email communications managed via Gmail
• Risk scoring was manual without a central source
• Incident and attestation reporting required consolidation in SharePoint

Given these tools, RestFlow proposed an automation architecture leveraging n8n as the orchestration platform for its flexibility, open-source nature, and REST API integrations. n8n offered the ability to connect Gmail, Google Sheets, Slack for alerts, and the CRM seamlessly.

The high-level architecture focused on automating vendor onboarding, risk scoring, renewals, and security attestations — precisely addressing the compliance themes of cyber risk management, incident reporting, supply chain security, and governance as defined by NIS2.

Ultimately, RestFlow’s Automation-as-a-Service model means design, implementation, hosting, monitoring, and maintenance are fully managed, ensuring sustainable compliance.

Solution Architecture & Workflow

The automated supplier security monitoring workflow is triggered by two main events:

• A new vendor onboarding form submission (Google Forms connected via webhook)
• Scheduled monthly checks for risk renewal and attestations

Core components:

• n8n: Central workflow orchestration
• Google Sheets: Vendor database and risk scoring records
• Gmail: Sending onboarding instructions, renewal notifications, and incident alerts
• Slack: Real-time team notifications and escalation alerts
• Custom CRM API: Vendor identity verification and record synchronization
• SharePoint: Automated report uploads for governance auditing

Outputs: Audit-ready compliance reports, incident logs, workflow dashboards, and alert channels for governance teams.

End-to-End Workflow Walkthrough

1. Trigger: Vendor submits onboarding data via Google Forms.

2. n8n receives webhook with vendor info, validates mandatory fields.

3. Lookup vendor records in CRM and Google Sheets to check for duplication.

4. Automated risk scoring logic executed based on criteria (e.g., vendor location, service type, past incidents).

5. Generate onboarding packets emailed to vendor with security questionnaire.

6. Vendor responses fed back and updated in Google Sheets and CRM.

7. Monthly scheduler triggers renewal checks; sends automatic reminders to vendors nearing attestation expiry.

8. Incident reports triggered by security alerts sent automatically to Compliance Slack channels and governance teams.

9. Compliance reports are consolidated and uploaded automatically to SharePoint monthly.

Step-by-Step Node Breakdown 🔧

1. Google Forms Webhook Trigger

The webhook node listens for vendor onboarding submissions. It captures JSON payload with fields such as vendor name, contact info, service type, and region.

Key fields mapped: vendor_email, vendor_company, service_category. Validations ensure mandatory fields are not empty; malformed entries trigger Slack alerts.

2. CRM Vendor Lookup & Deduplication

Using the CRM API node, the workflow searches the CRM database for existing vendor_email matches.

If a match is found, an update node appends records; if not, a create-node initializes a new vendor record.

3. Risk Scoring Logic Node 🤖

A Function node executes risk scoring rules:

• Assigns risk scores based on service type sensitivity
• Flags vendors in high-risk regions
• Incorporates previous incident history

The output risk score is stored in Google Sheets with timestamp and risk category.

4. Email Onboarding Packet

The Gmail node composes and sends an email with onboarding instructions and a link to the security questionnaire. Dynamic fields personalize the email content.

5. Response Intake & Update

Vendor questionnaire submissions trigger another webhook. Data is parsed, verified, and updated in CRM and sheets. Notifications sent to compliance team Slack channel.

6. Monthly Scheduler & Renewal Notices ⏰

A Cron node triggers on the first of each month. It queries the sheets for expiring attestations (risk renewals), sending reminder emails automatically. Late responses generate escalations.

7. Incident Report Automation

Security tools push incident data to a webhook, triggering formatted Slack alerts and updated incident logs in Google Sheets. Governance dashboards reflect incident trends in near real-time.

8. Compliance Report Upload to SharePoint

A final workflow collates monthly data into Excel reports and uploads securely to SharePoint via API, ensuring audit readiness.

Error Handling, Robustness & Security

Error Handling and Retries

Retries with exponential backoff are configured on all API calls. Failures trigger alerts in Slack and fallback logging in Google Sheets for manual review.

Logging and Observability

Every workflow execution creates logs with timestamps, statuses, and error messages. These logs are accessible via the RestFlow monitoring dashboard.

Strict Idempotency Controls

Checks prevent duplicate vendor creation by querying by email prior to adding new records. Retry logic respects idempotent operations to avoid double emails or alerts.

Security and Data Protection

API keys and tokens are stored encrypted within n8n credentials. Least-privilege scopes are enforced. Personally identifiable information (PII) is handled with GDPR compliance in mind. Access to workflows is role-based with audit trails.

Performance, Scaling & Extensibility

The workflow supports scaling to hundreds of vendors monthly through:

• Webhook triggers over polling for efficient event-driven data intake
• Batch processing steps for bulk score calculations where needed
• Parallelization of email sends
• Modular workflow design enabling reuse for different teams or compliance extensions

RestFlow manages staging and production environments with safe deployments and version control, supporting agile iteration as compliance requirements evolve.

Comparisons of Key Automation Choices

Tool	Cost	Pros	Cons
n8n	Free & Paid Plans (Self-hosting available)	Highly flexible, open-source, strong API support, self-hosting option	Steeper learning curve than some SaaS tools
Make	Tiered Subscription Plans	Visual builder, extensive app integrations, good for complex scenarios	Costs rise quickly with increased operations
Zapier	Subscription-Based	Ease of use, large app ecosystem, fast to deploy	Limited for complex branching workflows, expensive at scale

Method	Latency	Resource Use	Use Case Fit
Webhook Trigger	Sub-seconds to minutes	Low (event-driven)	Real-time event workflows, timely compliance actions
Polling	Minutes to hours depending on interval	Higher (continuous queries)	Legacy systems without webhooks, batch updates

Storage Option	Cost	Pros	Cons
Google Sheets	Free up to limits	Easy to use, widely accessible, quick setup	Limited concurrent use, scalability issues, no relational data
Database (Postgres/MySQL)	Hosting & maintenance costs	Scalable, supports complex queries, transactional integrity	Requires DB expertise, higher setup time

Interested in automating your compliance workflows? Explore the Automation Template Marketplace for ready-to-use workflows tailored to NIS2 compliance.

Results & Business Impact

Following deployment, the client realized significant improvements:

• Reduction in manual work: Compliance team saved approximately 50 hours per month on vendor risk management
• Error rate dropped: Data inconsistencies reduced below 2%
• Faster incident reporting: Automated notifications enabled SLA improvements by 40%
• Complete audit readiness: Monthly reports generated automatically with zero manual intervention
• Improved governance: Real-time visibility into supplier risks via dashboards and Slack alerts

Procurement and IT teams have experienced calmer, more reliable operations with less firefighting due to timely security attestation reminders and risk scoring automation.

Process time to onboard new suppliers reduced by 70% with correspondingly lower compliance risk exposure. Confidential data is managed securely aligned with NIS2 governance principles.

These results exemplify how automation not only reduces workload but strengthens compliance posture.

Pilot Phase & Maintenance Disclaimer

The automated workflows were initially launched in a pilot phase, running controlled onboarding and renewal cases with parallel manual validation. This period—lasting approximately six weeks—allowed fine-tuning for edge cases, error flows, and throughput optimization.

Since the pilot’s success, RestFlow continues to provide managed hosting, monitoring, maintenance, and updates to ensure stability and adapt workflows to evolving NIS2 requirements.

Clients benefit from ongoing compliance-first partnership ensuring automation remains a robust and scalable asset rather than a one-off project.

FAQ

Conclusion

This Berlin IT company’s transformation from manual compliance management to fully automated supplier security monitoring under the NIS2 Directive illustrates the power of digital workflows. By automating vendor onboarding, risk intake, renewals, and incident reporting with RestFlow’s Automation-as-a-Service, the client significantly lowered compliance risk, improved data quality, and enhanced governance.

Our approach leveraged robust orchestration with n8n and seamless integrations with Gmail, Google Sheets, Slack, and CRM systems, delivering a scalable, audit-ready solution. Crucially, RestFlow continues to provide ongoing hosting and monitoring, ensuring the automation adapts and thrives as regulation and business needs evolve.

If you’re a CTO, automation engineer, or operations specialist tackling compliance friction, explore how RestFlow can help you automate critical processes and reduce operational risk.

Explore the Automation Template Marketplace or Create Your Free RestFlow Account to get started with compliance-first automation today.