The Risk Analysis enables portfolio-level assessment of supplier risk across your supply chain. Instead of reviewing individual target profiles, you can select the collections you want to assess, apply a risk perspective, and calculate risk scores for all eligible suppliers within your selected scope. Results are presented in a single workspace, where you can sort, filter, and compare hundreds or thousands of suppliers to identify and assess areas of risk across your portfolio.
This guide covers the end-to-end Risk Analysis workflow for resilience and due diligence use cases. It explains when to use the Risk Analysis, how to create and configure an analysis, how to interpret your results, and how to export your findings for compliance and reporting purposes.
1. WHEN SHOULD I USE THE RISK ANALYSIS?
The Risk Analysis is designed for portfolio-level risk assessment, enabling you to analyse and compare multiple suppliers within a single view.
For an in-depth assessment of an individual supplier, use the Target Profile.
Portfolio reviews
Use the Risk Analysis to assess the current risk profile of your supplier portfolio, identify high- and critical-risk suppliers, and prioritise areas that require further attention.
You can assess your entire network or narrow the analysis to a specific segment, such as:
A business unit (BU)
A region
A commodity category
Prioritising risk mitigation
Use the Risk Analysis to identify suppliers that require further investigation or risk mitigation. Filter and sort your results by risk level, risk type, location, or other relevant criteria to focus on the suppliers that require the most attention.
Compliance reporting
Use the Risk Analysis to support documented supply chain risk assessments for regulatory requirements such as the German Supply Chain Due Diligence Act (LkSG).
Save an analysis as a Snapshot to preserve the results at a specific point in time, then export the analysis together with the relevant reporting metadata. Snapshots are immutable, providing a fixed record of the assessment for compliance and audit purposes.
Identifying data gaps
Use the % Unscreened Targets KPI to identify targets that have not undergone historical screening. You can select these targets directly from the target table and submit screening requests in bulk.
2. INTRODUCTION: THE POWER OF PRE-COMPUTED DATA
Risk Analysis V3 uses a dedicated calculation engine designed to support rapid, portfolio-level risk assessment. Risk metrics are pre-computed and cached, allowing you to analyse large numbers of targets and interact with your results without waiting for each action to trigger a new calculation.
Pre-Computed Analytics
Daily pre-computation: Risk metrics for eligible targets are pre-computed and cached once per day, so results are available when you open an analysis.
Responsive analysis: Because risk metrics are already calculated, you can sort, filter, and adjust your analysis without waiting for new calculations or page reloads.
24-hour session persistence: Your analysis configuration and results remain available for a 24-hour period. You can leave an analysis and return to it later without losing the current session.
Real-Time Data Refresh (Manual Reload)
The analysis data can be refreshed at any time to incorporate the latest changes to target profiles. This ensures that updates made after the analysis was created can be reflected in your current results.
If you update a target's profile—for example, by adjusting a supplier's impact score or adding screening details—and want the changes reflected in your analysis:
Click Reload Data at the top of the analysis view.
The system refreshes the data for your active analysis and applies the latest profile information to the targets in scope.
Note: Reloading the data refreshes the active session and may reset temporary filters that have not been saved.
3. NAVIGATING THE NEW ANALYSIS OVERVIEW HOME
The Overview Home page provides a central view of your analyses, including their historical results, scopes, and current status.
Analysis Status Badges
Visual indicators next to each analysis name show its current status:
Snapshot Badge (blue): Indicates that the analysis has been saved as a fixed historical record. Snapshot results are preserved at the time the snapshot is created and are not affected by subsequent supplier profile updates or changes to the scoring algorithm. Snapshots are suitable for compliance and audit purposes.
Shared Icon (grey): Indicates that this analysis has been made visible to your entire organization's workspace, encouraging seamless collaboration.
Legacy Badge (yellow): Indicates that the analysis was created using the previous Risk Analysis calculation engine. Legacy analyses are read-only and cannot be recalculated or updated in V3.
Note: To ensure stable performance and access to the latest analytical tools, legacy analyses are kept as read-only records. To recreate a Legacy analysis using the V3 calculation engine, use the original analysis as a reference and create a new analysis using the V3 workflow.
Enhanced Overview Columns
To help you evaluate your analyses quickly without opening individual files, the Overview table displays three key metrics:
Collections: Shows how many target collections are included in the analysis.
Targets: Displays the total count of unique, eligible targets.
High-Risk Targets: Surfaces the volume of targets flagged with high or critical risk profiles for immediate prioritization within the scope of this analysis.
4. STEP-BY-STEP: CREATING A NEW COLLECTION-FIRST ANALYSIS
Risk Analysis V3 uses a collection-first workflow, allowing you to define the scope of your analysis before the calculation begins. The selected collections determine which targets are considered for assessment.
Step 1: Select Your Collections
Click + New Analysis to open the creation panel.
Select the target collections you want to include in the analysis.
You can select multiple collections
To include all available collections, click Select All.
Step 2: Automated Target De-duplication
Prewave automatically identifies targets that appear in multiple selected collections and includes each target only once in the analysis.
For example, if a supplier belongs to both a regional collection and a commodity collection, the supplier is included only once. This prevents duplicate targets from affecting your analysis results.
Step 3: Target Eligibility
Entities in Prewave can be assigned a connection type: Supplier, Customer, or Own Business Area.
When you create an analysis, the system checks the entities in your selected collections against the selected scope and includes only entities with a matching connection type.
For example, when conducting a supplier risk assessment, only entities with the Supplier connection type are included. Customers and Own Business Areas, as well as entities without an assigned connection type, are excluded. The resulting number of eligible targets is displayed as Unique, Eligible Targets.
Step 4: Review the Computation Estimator
The Computation Estimator at the bottom of the sidebar provides an estimate of the time required to generate the analysis based on the number of eligible targets.
Click Start Analysis to begin the analysis.
Note: The initial analysis calculation may take longer depending on the number of targets in scope. Once the analysis has been calculated, subsequent access is faster because the results are pre-computed and cached.
5. THE COLLAPSIBLE CONFIGURATION BAR & RISK SPECIFICITY
Once your analysis loads, you can adjust, refine, and focus your parameters at any time using the collapsible Configuration Bar at the top of the workspace.
Dynamic Control Variables
You can update your core configurations dynamically to instantly recalculate your cached view:
Perspective: Switch between different risk lenses (such as ESG, Operational, Financial, or Compliance perspectives).
Date of Analysis: Select historical dates to review what your supply chain's risk profile looked like at any specific point in the past.
Scope: Shift your view to isolate Suppliers, Own Business Areas, or Customers.
Level: Choose whether to analyze risk at the Individual Site level or roll up metrics into broader Site Groups.
Granular Event-Type Risk Specificity
In addition to standard broad perspective scores, RA V3 allows you to dive deep into highly specific risk event types:
Open the "Risk Type" dropdown menu in the configuration bar.
Select the whole risk perspective or a specific risk group, and click Apply.
The entire analysis, including the KPI widgets and the target table, will instantly recalculate.
The table will now display the direct scores and individual event-type breakdowns for your selected risk group, allowing you to benchmark targets side-by-side on very specific risks.
6. UNDERSTANDING YOUR 4 KEY KPI DASHBOARD WIDGETS
The top of your workspace features four crucial KPI widgets that summarize your active analysis and supply chain health.
KPI 1: Targets in Scope
Displays the total number of unique, eligible targets that have been successfully processed in your active session.
KPI 2: % of High-Risk Targets
Represents the percentage of targets that currently exceed your defined high or critical risk thresholds, serving as an executive summary of your risk exposure.
KPI 3: Risk Breakdown
Categorizes your targets' scores from "no risk" to "critical" using a clean visual chart.
KPI 4: % of Unscreened Targets (Data Quality Indicator)
This diagnostic widget highlights how many of your included targets do not have active screening profiles in the system.
Note: A high percentage of unscreened targets indicates a data gap and should not be interpreted as an indication of low risk.
7. THE STREAMLINED TARGET TABLE & BULK ACTIONS TRAY
The target table is designed for pure high-speed analysis, focusing your screen on comparing risks and executing actions in bulk.
Optimized Performance Layout
Clean Data Workspace: To keep your session responsive, administrative target-profile editing has been separated from your bulk review.
One-Click Profile Redirection: To view a target's parent relations, edit spend data, or adjust their impact, simply click the target's name. This opens their details in a separate browser tab, allowing you to make administrative changes without interrupting or resetting your active Risk Analysis workspace.
The "Median" Comparison Column: This analytical tool dynamically compares an individual target's risk score against the entire cohort median. This comparison updates automatically based on whether you are looking at an event, group, or perspective perspective, as well as on the set of targets selected. This way you can compare, at a glance, who the “bad apples” are in the scope of analysis.
The Bulk Actions Tray
Select multiple targets using the checkboxes on the left of the table to trigger bulk processes from the action tray at the bottom of the screen:
Bulk Request Screening: Select unscreened targets and trigger screening requests simultaneously to quickly populate your database with verified details.
Add to Existing Collection: Move selected targets directly into an existing collection.
Note: Creating a completely new collection is handled within our dedicated space for collection management, and not in Risk Analysis, to maintain structure.
8. EXPORTS & COMPLIANCE NOTES
Exporting your cached data is fully optimized to support corporate audits, executive reporting, and national due diligence compliance (such as the German Supply Chain Act - LkSG).
Granular Event-Type Sheets
When configuring your Excel Export, you can enable "Include Event Type Scores". This generates a multi-sheet workbook containing comprehensive worksheets that break down risk scores at the individual event level, providing detailed audit trails.
Compliance-specific Fields
To support legal reporting requirements, you can customize your export using specialized fields:
Reporting Period: Select the specific date range or fiscal quarter that your compliance assessment covers.
The "Findings" Text Block: Input official commentary, due diligence findings, or mitigating actions directly into the metadata header of your exported report.
9. SAVING AND COLLABORATING: SNAPSHOTS VS. SHARED ANALYSES
Every new Risk Analysis session is treated as a temporary draft (live) by default to give you a flexible space to test configurations.
Session Persistence: Unsaved drafts remain available in your Overview list until the end of the day. To keep your team workspace organized and uncluttered, unsaved drafts automatically expire at midnight.
To keep your work permanently, click Save and name your analysis.
When saving your analysis, you can choose to activate two valuable workflow toggles:
Feature 1: Save as Snapshot (Compliance Freeze)
This locks your entire analysis, establishing an unalterable historical baseline.
The Integrity Lock: Once saved as a snapshot, the analysis is static. Any future platform-wide alert score changes, algorithm updates, or supplier profile edits will never alter this snapshot.
Audit-Proof Documentation: You can open or export this snapshot months or years down the line and be 100% confident that the data matches exactly what you observed and verified on the date of the snapshot.
Snapshot Cloning ("Start Analysis from this Snapshot"): If you want to use a historical snapshot (such as a 2025 compliance analysis) as an inspiration template for a new one, simply open it and click the "Start analysis from this snapshot" button. This copies the target list, configuration variables, and perspectives into a brand-new, fully editable live draft.
Feature 2: Shared Analysis Toggle (Colleague Visibility)
By default, saved analyses are strictly private and visible only to the user who created them. This prevents team workspaces from becoming cluttered with dozens of individual test analyses.
Toggling ON: When you toggle Shared Analysis ON, your colleagues can search for, view, and open the analysis inside your shared organizational environment.
Troubleshooting Link Sharing: If a colleague reports they cannot access or find a shared link you sent them, simply navigate back to your saved analysis, click Save, toggle Shared Analysis ON, and hit save again. This instantly makes the link accessible to your entire team.
10. FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS & TROUBLESHOOTING
Q: Why do my target scores keep shifting when I log in?
A: You are likely viewing a live draft or saved analysis that recalculates daily based on active risk feeds. To prevent score fluctuations for compliance reporting, ensure you check the "Save as Snapshot" option when saving your analysis.
Q: Can I build new target collections directly from the Risk Analysis module?
A: No. Collection creation is an administrative data-management task. You can only add targets to existing collections from the actions tray in Risk Analysis V3.
Q: What should I do with my "Legacy" analyses?
A: Legacy analyses run on our retired calculation engine and cannot continue to exist or be recalculated under V3. Use them as visual references to quickly recreate corresponding analyses using our new collection-first interface.