As outlined in previous section, there are huge advantages when buying communities collaborate to develop standards for information collection across the industry.
Having collected the information according to these standards, Achilles makes the information available to all subscribers through the system databases.
Different subscribers can use the information in slightly different ways and for different purposes, according to their own business needs and their own level of procurement practices and requirements.
For example, the main advantage of the SMS for some buyers is to investigate alternative sources of supply; while for other buyers the main advantage is to reduce the need to repeatedly collect the same standard information from suppliers during each tender. Still other buyers use the SMS for both; and there are also some buyers who use the SMS to ensure certain contract requirements continue to be met during the life of their contracts.
The document below is a brief summary of a notional procurement process, and outlines how organizations might use the different Achilles systems at each stage. Of course, Achilles does not have a monopoly on procurement systems, and it is expected that our systems will complement other internal and external systems.
Procurement Process Steps and Achilles services
The main service are TSMS, SMS and Audit, as outlined in the diagram below. Our services are explained more fully in the Main Services Summary.
