How RestFlow Automated Supplier Security Monitoring to Comply with NIS2 for Operations

Operations teams in Milan often face the challenge of managing complex compliance requirements manually, leading to inefficiencies and risks. 📊 For a leading operations department, RestFlow delivered an automation-first solution that transformed supplier security monitoring and risk intake processes to meet the stringent NIS2 Directive compliance mandates.

This case study explores how automating vendor onboarding, risk scoring, renewals, and security attestations helped stop chasing spreadsheets while enhancing cyber risk management, incident reporting, supply chain security, and governance. We will dive into the problem, solution architecture, workflows, results, and best practices. Whether you are a startup CTO, automation engineer, or operations specialist, this article will guide you on leveraging automation to ease NIS2 compliance efficiently and reliably.

If you’re curious about jumpstarting your own compliance automation project, don’t hesitate to Create Your Free RestFlow Account!

Case Context & Problem: Manual Supplier Security Monitoring Under NIS2

The client is a multinational corporation headquartered in Milan, Italy, operating within the Operations vertical. With hundreds of suppliers worldwide, their security team was responsible for ensuring vendor compliance with the newly implemented NIS2 Directive, a European Union regulation designed to enhance cybersecurity resilience across critical infrastructures.

The core challenge involved the Supplier security monitoring & risk intake process, which before automation relied heavily on spreadsheets, email threads, and manual scorecards. This approach was labor-intensive, error-prone, and did not scale:

• Over 60 hours/month wasted updating and reconciling spreadsheets across teams
• Frequent delays in vendor onboarding and security renewal cycles
• Lack of centralized visibility hindered timely incident reporting and governance oversight
• High risk of non-compliance with NIS2’s cyber risk management and supply chain security standards

This friction generated operational drag, elevated cybersecurity risk exposure, and complicated audit readiness.

Given NIS2’s comprehensive themes — cyber risk management, incident reporting, supply chain security, and governance — manual approaches no longer sufficed for effective compliance.

The operations security team sought an automation partner to overhaul the workflow with a compliance-first mindset.

Our Approach: Discovery, Analysis, and Automation Strategy

The RestFlow team began with a detailed discovery phase, mapping out the existing supplier risk intake workflow through stakeholder interviews, process documentation, and system audits.

Key systems identified included:

• Google Sheets for risk scoring and tracking
• Gmail for supplier communications
• Slack for internal notifications
• HubSpot CRM for supplier records

Manual data duplication and missing integrations led to inefficiencies and error hotspots.

Given the complexity and need for robust logic (conditional approvals, scoring algorithms, reminders), RestFlow proposed automating the process using n8n as the orchestration platform. n8n offered flexible open-source workflow automation with powerful integrations, customization capabilities, and hosted SaaS options.

This choice was preferred over simpler, less customizable tools like Zapier due to anticipated scaling needs and compliance control requirements.

The high-level architecture combined:

• Automated supplier data intake via form/webhook
• Dynamic risk scoring and validation
• Automated email and Slack notifications for approvals and alerts
• Centralized logging in Google Sheets for audit trails
• HubSpot CRM updates for supplier profile synchronization

Throughout, the focus was on ensuring each workflow step aligned with NIS2 compliance themes to deliver audit-ready reporting and governance controls.

The Solution: Architecture & Workflow

Global Architecture Overview:

• Trigger: Secure webhook triggered by supplier onboarding form submission or scheduled risk renewal checks
• Orchestration Tool: n8n for workflow automation and integration
• External Services Integrated: Gmail (communication emails), Slack (team alerts), Google Sheets (logging and dashboards), HubSpot CRM (supplier management)
• Outputs: Automated risk reports, approval workflows, notification alerts, and audit logs accessible via centralized dashboards

End-to-End Workflow Walkthrough

The workflow begins when a new vendor submits security details through an online form, triggering an n8n webhook node.

1. Data Collection: Webhook node receives JSON payload containing vendor info, security attestation documents, and questionnaire answers.
2. Validation & Enrichment: Next, a function node validates mandatory fields (e.g., contact info, compliance certificates) and enriches data by cross-referencing HubSpot records via API calls to prevent duplicates.
3. Risk Scoring: Conditional logic applies a scoring algorithm based on vendor responses and known risk factors. Vendors exceeding thresholds trigger escalation flows.
4. Approval Routing: Conditional Slack messages and Gmail emails request security team approval for high-risk vendors. Approval responses update workflow variables.
5. Data Logging: All actions and scores are logged into a Google Sheets document, maintaining a real-time audit trail with timestamped entries.
6. Supplier Profile Update: Approved suppliers’ profiles in HubSpot CRM are updated with the latest security attestations and renewal dates.
7. Renewal Reminders: Scheduled n8n trigger checks upcoming attestation expirations and sends automated renewal requests to vendors via Gmail.
8. Incident Reporting Integration: In case of detected security issues or incidents, Slack alerts inform incident response teams, linking workflows to incident management tools.

This architecture ensures end-to-end automation covering onboarding, continuous monitoring, and compliance reporting under NIS2.

Step-by-Step Node Breakdown 📋

1. Webhook Trigger Node

This node listens for POST requests from the supplier onboarding form. Required headers include an API key for authentication. The payload contains vendor information in JSON format.

Key field mappings include:

• vendor_email (string)
• security_certificates (file URLs)
• questionnaire_answers (nested JSON)

2. Data Validation & Enrichment Node

A function node checks for missing fields and data types, rejecting incomplete requests.

HubSpot ‘Find Contact’ API node searches for vendor_email to avoid duplicate suppliers.

If found, the workflow branches to update the existing record; otherwise, it continues for new onboarding.

3. Risk Scoring Logic Node

Implemented as a set of IF conditions and function nodes, scoring criteria include:

• Certificate validity (e.g., ISO27001)
• Historical incident flags
• Geographical risk factors
• Questionnaire risk answers

The total score determines whether vendor passes, requires manual review, or must be rejected.

4. Approval & Notifications Nodes 📧

Depending on risk score, the workflow sends:

• Slack approval request messages to the security team channel
• Gmail emails with approval/rejection links to responsible managers

Responses update the workflow branching for next steps.

5. Logging to Google Sheets

Using Google Sheets API node, all events — submissions, scores, approvals — are appended to a dedicated sheet with timestamps, enabling transparency and audit trails.

6. HubSpot CRM Update Node

Approved vendor profiles are created or updated via HubSpot API node to maintain synchronized supplier security statuses and compliance documents.

7. Scheduled Renewal Check Node ⏰

A cron trigger fires monthly, querying vendors with upcoming certificate expirations and sending automatic renewal emails via Gmail to suppliers, ensuring continuous compliance.

Error Handling, Robustness & Security

Error Handling & Retries

Each API call includes retry logic with exponential backoff for transient failures. Failures beyond retry trigger alerts to the operations Slack channel and log entries in a fallback Google Sheet for manual oversight.

Logging & Observability

RestFlow integrates centralized logging dashboards with filtering capabilities. Any abnormal workflow runs generate notification emails to system admins for quick action.

Idempotency & Deduplication

Duplicate webhook submissions are identified using unique vendor_email + timestamp keys. The workflow prevents processing duplicates to avoid inconsistent data.

Data Security Considerations

• API keys and OAuth tokens for Gmail, HubSpot, Slack, and Google Sheets are stored securely in n8n’s credential manager with access restrictions.
• All transmissions occur over TLS-secured HTTPS connections.
• PII handled in compliance with GDPR, with minimal data stored outside secure environments.
• Role-based access control limits credential visibility to authorized RestFlow engineers and client admins.

Performance, Scaling & Extensibility

The n8n automation was designed modularly, enabling scaling by:

• Using webhooks to prevent inefficient polling and reduce latency
• Batch processing renewal reminders to handle increased supplier numbers
• Parallelizing approvals with Slack and Gmail to accelerate throughput
• Version control and staged deployments to safely introduce new compliance rules or regional adaptations
• Extending to new teams or geographies by cloning and customizing workflow branches

RestFlow’s managed hosting supports high availability and auto-scaling for peak load periods.

Comparison Tables

n8n vs Make vs Zapier for Supplier Security Monitoring Automation

Option	Cost	Pros	Cons
n8n	Free self-hosted; SaaS from $18/month	Open-source, highly customizable, advanced workflow logic, strong security	Requires technical knowledge for advanced setups
Make	Starts at $9/month	Visual builder, rich integrations, good conditional logic	Complex pricing, limited advanced customization
Zapier	From $19.99/month	Widely known, easy to use, many app connectors	Limited multi-step workflows, costly at scale

Webhook vs Polling for Supplier Data Intake

Method	Latency	Resource Usage	Reliability
Webhook	Real-time	Low (event-driven)	High; depends on source stability
Polling	Delayed (interval dependent)	High (continuous requests)	Moderate; risk of missed updates

Google Sheets vs Database for Supplier Logging

Storage Option	Setup Complexity	Scalability	Audit-Readiness
Google Sheets	Minimal (no DB skills)	Limited with large datasets	Good; visible change history
Database (e.g., PostgreSQL)	Requires DB setup and maintenance	High; handles large volumes	Very good; advanced auditing features

If you want to see prebuilt automations for compliance, Explore the Automation Template Marketplace.

Results & Business Impact

After deploying RestFlow’s automation solution, the client realized dramatic improvements:

• 60% reduction in manual hours spent updating and managing spreadsheets (approximately 36 hours saved monthly)
• 90% reduction in errors related to missed renewals or duplicate vendor entries
• 30% faster SLA compliance for vendor onboarding and risk assessments
• Improved visibility enabling near real-time compliance dashboards and audit trails
• Reduced operational stress on the security team, freeing time for strategic tasks

This transformation aligned perfectly with NIS2 compliance themes, especially improving cyber risk management, incident reporting, supply chain security, and governance.

Pilot Phase & Maintenance Disclaimer

It is important to note that the automation rollout began with a dedicated pilot phase, during which the workflow was tested with carefully controlled live data from a subset of suppliers.

During the pilot, minor bugs, edge cases, and UI improvements were addressed, ensuring robustness and user satisfaction.

Post-pilot, RestFlow assumed full responsibility for managed hosting, real-time monitoring, ongoing maintenance, and periodic compliance audits to adapt to any regulation updates.

This approach guarantees sustainable, scalable automation without adding burden to the internal teams.

FAQ Section

Conclusion

In summary, RestFlow expertly transformed the client’s supplier security monitoring and risk intake process, eliminating manual spreadsheet chasing and enabling full compliance with the NIS2 Directive. By leveraging n8n and integrating tools like Gmail, Slack, Google Sheets, and HubSpot CRM, the operations team in Milan gained a scalable, transparent, and audit-ready automation solution.

This case demonstrates how automation not only simplifies compliance but also enhances operational productivity, cyber risk management, and governance control.

RestFlow acts as a compliance-first Automation-as-a-Service partner, handling everything from design and implementation to hosting, monitoring, and maintenance — enabling your teams to focus on what matters most.

Ready to transform your compliance workflows? Explore the Automation Template Marketplace or Create Your Free RestFlow Account today and start automating your way to compliance!