Received a request through IntegrityNext? How to respond as a supplier

When a major customer invites you to IntegrityNext, it is not software that you have to buy – it is the platform through which your customer monitors their supply chain for sustainability and compliance. For you as a supplier, this means: You fill out a questionnaire there, similar to EcoVadis, just with a different provider in the background. This guide shows you what IntegrityNext is, what specifically is being asked, and how you can prepare.

What is IntegrityNext?

IntegrityNext is a platform that large companies use to systematically query and monitor the sustainability and compliance performance of their suppliers. It belongs to the same category as osapiens, Prewave, or Sustainabill – supply chain compliance software on the buyer side. Important for context: IntegrityNext does not evaluate independently like EcoVadis, but provides the corporation that invited you with a tool to review and document its own requirements for you.

Why your customer uses IntegrityNext

Large companies – often in automotive, mechanical engineering, and industry – must increasingly monitor their supply chain systematically: due to their own due diligence obligations, voluntary ESG targets, or next-level customer requirements. IntegrityNext bundles these requests (sustainability, human rights, anti-corruption, and in some cases quality and safety aspects) into a central platform instead of sending them individually via email.

What specifically to expect from an IntegrityNext request

• A structured questionnaire on environmental, social, and governance topics, partially adapted to specific industries.

• Evidence uploads, such as certificates, policies, or consumption data.

• Recurring updates, as many customers require a regular renewal of the information.

• Visibility for the inviting customer, not for the entire IntegrityNext user base – unlike, for example, EcoVadis, where a score can be shared with multiple customers.

What to consider with the first invitation

With the first IntegrityNext invitation, it is worth taking a quick look at three points before you start filling it out:

1. Who exactly invited you? Sometimes, it is not the main contact who invites you, but a central purchasing department – for follow-up questions, it is helpful to know the right contact person.

2. What is the scope of the query? Some invitations only ask for basic data, others for a complete questionnaire including evidence – this influences the necessary lead time.

3. Is there a deadline? IntegrityNext invitations often have an expiration date after which the invitation must be renewed – early processing avoids unnecessary time pressure.

The difference between the initial response and updating

The greatest effort almost always arises with the first response. Follow-up requests – whether from the same customer the following year or from a new customer via the same platform – can usually be processed in a fraction of the original time using a structured database. The strategic mistake is to treat the initial response as a one-off effort instead of building it up as the foundation for all future requests.

Comparing IntegrityNext, EcoVadis, and individual questionnaires

The practical point: Despite differing visibility and reusability, all three formats draw heavily on the same basic data – once you have this structured and ready, you can process any format significantly faster.

An example from the daily life of a supplier

An automotive supplier with 220 employees receives IntegrityNext invitations from two different OEMs within six months. The first request costs – without prepared data – several weeks, because environmental data has to be gathered manually. With the second request, a few months later, a large portion of the already compiled responses can be directly reused – only customer-specific additional questions are added. The time required drops from several weeks to just a few days.

Why IntegrityNext is particularly widespread in the manufacturing sector

Automotive OEMs and large industrial corporations have increasingly invested in systematic supply chain monitoring in recent years – driven by their own due diligence obligations and the ambition to detect sustainability risks early on. Platforms like IntegrityNext bundle this monitoring effort centrally instead of organizing it in a scattered way through individual buyers. For suppliers in metal processing, mechanical engineering, and automotive, this means: An IntegrityNext invitation is now the rule rather than the exception as soon as a certain share of sales is reached with major customers in these industries.

In 4 steps to the IntegrityNext response

1. Classify the invitation. Check which customer invited you and what the scope of the request is – not every invitation asks for the same scope.

2. Collect existing evidence. Policies, certificates, and consumption data that you have already prepared for other requests (EcoVadis, VS report) can usually be reused directly.

3. Supplement environmental data. The environmental section is – as with EcoVadis – usually the most demanding because it requires reliable consumption and emissions data instead of policy texts.

4. Structure response for reuse. Since IntegrityNext requests are recurring and other customers may use the same platform, it is worth creating a structure that can be directly reused next time.

How strait simplifies preparation

The environmental section of an IntegrityNext request – energy, resource, and emissions data – is exactly the part that strait records automatically. Instead of searching for the numbers anew with each new customer invitation, the database is already available in a structured and auditable format – the same one used for EcoVadis, customer questionnaires, and the voluntary VS report.

Multiple requests at the same time? The Sustainability Readiness Check shows you where your database for IntegrityNext, EcoVadis & Co. still has gaps.

Ready for the next platform request?

Take the Sustainability Readiness Check – or book a demo.

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