What Is a VDRL? Vendor Document Requirements List

A Vendor Document Requirements List (VDRL) is the list of documents and data a vendor must deliver under a purchase order. The VDRL defines each required document type, its purpose, its review status and when it is due. On capital projects in oil and gas, energy and process industries, the VDRL is attached to the purchase order and becomes part of the supplier's contractual scope.

The VDRL is the starting point for supplier information on a project. It decides what the owner/operator will eventually receive about every procured item, from datasheets and drawings to certificates, manuals and spare-parts lists.

VDRL, SDRL and VDR: what is the difference?

The same concept goes by several names, and the terms are largely interchangeable:

• VDRL – Vendor Document Requirements List: common on international EPC projects.
• SDRL – Supplier Document Requirements List (or Supplier Data Requirements List): common in Norway, the North Sea and with many operators.
• VDR / VDL – Vendor Document Register / Vendor Document List: used by many EPCs and document control teams.

Whatever the name, the purpose is the same: a defined, trackable list of what each supplier owes the project.

What does a VDRL contain?

Each line in a VDRL typically specifies:

• Document or data type – for example general arrangement drawing, datasheet, inspection and test plan, material certificate, installation and operating manual or spare-parts list
• Document code – a reference to the project's document classification, for example based on CFIHOS
• Purpose – for review and approval, or for information only
• Due date or milestone – with the bid, a set number of weeks after purchase order, before fabrication, before shipment or as final documentation
• Format – native files, PDF or structured data templates
• Applicability – which purchase order lines, tags or equipment items the requirement covers

VDRL review codes

Documents submitted for review are returned with a review code. Schemes differ between companies, but a typical set is:

• Code 1 / A – Accepted: work may proceed
• Code 2 / B – Accepted with comments: proceed and resubmit with comments incorporated
• Code 3 / C – Rejected: revise and resubmit
• Code 4 / D – For information only: no review required

A single purchase order can generate dozens of review cycles. Across hundreds of purchase orders, tracking these cycles is one of the most labour-intensive tasks on an EPC project.

Why a complete VDRL is not enough

A VDRL controls whether a supplier has delivered what the contract requires. It does not guarantee that the information can be used once the facility is in operation.

A document can be delivered on time, approved with code 1 and still be hard to use later. It may lack the metadata operations needs, or it may not be linked to the equipment it describes. A maintenance engineer looking for the operating manual for a pump should not need to know which purchase order delivered it.

This is where vendor document control and asset information management diverge. The VDRL belongs to procurement and the project. The information it produces must live on with the asset. Read more in why supplier information gets lost between EPC projects and operations.

Common VDRL challenges

• VDRLs kept in spreadsheets per purchase order, with no consolidated view across suppliers
• Requirements defined after the purchase order is placed
• Suppliers submitting documents by email with inconsistent numbering and metadata
• Approved documents not linked to the tags or equipment they describe
• Final documentation chased manually at the end of the project, delaying handover

How Sharecat connects VDRL deliveries to the asset

Sharecat is a cloud platform where suppliers deliver documents and data directly against the requirements defined for each purchase order. Rather than stopping at whether a VDRL item was delivered, Sharecat connects each delivery to the tags, equipment and purchase orders it relates to, so the information stays usable from procurement through handover and into operations. For the full supplier workflow, see supplier data management and Sharecat's supplier information management solution.

• Supplier portal – suppliers get role- and scope-based access and upload documents, data, certificates and models in bulk. Sharecat does not charge per user, so every supplier can be invited.
• Requirements and quality validation – deliveries are checked against defined requirements and data standards, including CFIHOS, before they are accepted.
• Linked to tags – documents are connected to tags in the Central Tag Register, so each document can be found through the asset it describes.
• Status and completeness – dashboards show what has been delivered against contractual commitments, per supplier and per purchase order.

On the UK North Sea Jasmine project, this approach delivered a £1.32 M saving in information management cost.

Frequently asked questions about VDRL

What does VDRL stand for?
VDRL stands for Vendor Document Requirements List: the list of documents and data a vendor must deliver under a purchase order.

What is the difference between a VDRL and an SDRL?
There is no practical difference. SDRL (Supplier Document Requirements List) is the term used by many operators, especially in Norway and the North Sea. VDRL is more common on international EPC projects.

Who prepares the VDRL?
The EPC contractor or purchaser prepares the VDRL based on the owner/operator's information requirements and attaches it to the purchase order.

What are VDRL review codes?
Review codes record the outcome of a document review, typically accepted, accepted with comments, rejected or for information only.

What is the difference between a VDRL and an MDRL?
A VDRL covers what one supplier must deliver under one purchase order. A Master Document Requirements List (MDRL) covers every document on the project, including those produced by the EPC contractor. See the engineering document management guide for how the MDRL works.

Related concepts

• Supplier Data Management
• VDI 2770
• CFIHOS
• Master Tag Register (MTR)
• Document Handover Package

Further reading: Supplier Data Collection in Industrial Projects: Challenges and Best Practices