Mark van de Meulenhof and Janneke Coopmans are respectively the Manager of Internal Audit & Risk and Internal Auditor at Jumbo.

The challenge

Mark: "Before we started using 3rdRisk, the discussion about internal controls was often about the technique: the clumsy tools, the difficulty in quickly creating an overview of the findings, and the amount of time needed to send people reminders to record their activities and justifications – when it should really be about the content. The justifications for controls in self-assessments were stored in different ways and locations. This often made the process feel like administrative hassle, which led to frustration more than once. Also, recording activities was energy-consuming. This needed to change. And preferably soon."

Janneke: "We used Excel before. It was a manual and especially time-consuming process. Moreover, it was prone to errors. It took us a lot of time to chase colleagues by email and collect evidence. Additionally, we had a poor view of the status and progress of all self-assessment activities, and deadlines were not always clear."

"Before we used 3rdRisk, we lacked an overview and spent too much time on administrative tasks – when it should really be about the content." Mark van de Meulenhof, Manager Internal Audit & Risk

Our solution

3rdRisk developed an internal control module for Jumbo's entire Internal Control Framework (ICF) at their request. The ICF within Jumbo consists of about 250 controls, spread over eight portfolios, and contains three cross-sections. This module builds on and is part of the 3rdRisk platform already used by Jumbo for third-party risk management. The 3rdRisk team, together with Jumbo, documented the ICF process within Jumbo. During multiple workshops, various stakeholder groups were brought together. Together with experts from, among others, Deloitte and Protiviti, the requirements, wishes, and pain points were translated into a generic design and a minimal viable product (MVP). The MVP was then further developed in an intensive process with Jumbo into a powerful and user-friendly solution for internal control and risk management.

The result

Mark: "The speed and efficiency of the process have greatly improved. We get feedback from the business that we save them a lot of time, which they would otherwise spend on administrative tasks. Additionally, the platform takes tasks off our hands, like sending reminders and performing certain checks. Finally, we have a much clearer insight: into the risks we face, the status of the controls, and the progress of the improvement actions."

Janneke: "The quality of the self-assessments has also increased as colleagues are forced to provide evidence, and we can ask much more specifically what we expect in terms of test activities. Furthermore, you can easily link tasks to colleagues, so ownership is clearly established, and the system also enforces timely follow-up."

Mark: "In addition, the whole internal control process has now become much easier and more user-friendly. For example, due to the different ways you can communicate with colleagues within the platform. As a result, all information remains within the platform, and you maintain an overview."

Janneke: "For us, it's essential that the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd lines are helped to take their role in the process. The 3rdRisk internal control module helps enormously with this. Additionally, we now have a much clearer view of our internal control environment. Thanks to 3rdRisk, we now have a clear link between our risks, control measures, and action plans. You can also show stakeholders much more clearly what happens to a risk when a control measure is not or insufficiently executed.

The internal control framework felt too much like something of our own for too long. Thanks to 3rdRisk's technology, risk management and the execution of controls have become something for the entire organization. Our stakeholders in the business are now much more involved in executing and testing controls. Risk awareness has improved. That's a huge gain."

Why 3rdRisk

Mark: "Our collaboration with 3rdRisk truly feels like a full-fledged partnership. When we have an idea for new functionality or spot a potential improvement, it's almost immediately addressed and implemented. We genuinely feel heard and understood by the 3rdRisk team."

Janneke: "The 3rdRisk platform truly stands out because of its user-friendliness. You don't need training to use it properly. With 3rdRisk, people are central, not technology. The platform thinks along with you: for example, you never have to set reminders in your calendar yourself, the platform ensures you never forget anything and helps you set the right priorities.

"Thanks to 3rdRisk's technology, risk management and the execution of controls have become something for the entire organisation. Our stakeholders in the business are now much more involved in executing and testing controls. Risk awareness has improved. That's a huge gain." Janneke Coopmans, Internal Auditor

"Finally, what I really appreciate about collaborating with 3rdRisk is that they always think in solutions. I don't have to worry about whether something is possible or not, but we convey our wishes, and the 3rdRisk team pragmatically gets to work. 3rdRisk genuinely thinks along with us and challenges us when necessary. While many providers offered a very comprehensive "one size fits all" solution, we feel very comfortable with a clear tool that can be flexibly set up. 3rdRisk responded well to this, listened well to us, and helped develop a pragmatic tool. This makes our partnership incredibly strong."