1. Supplier Qualification Questionnaire
The web-based questionnaire, developed by Achilles with input from Link-up members, collects comprehensive qualification information from all suppliers wishing to qualify on Link-up. Please note that each supplier questionnaire will be configured based on the goods, services or works being offered. Subjects include:
- Financial & Legal (last three years of accounts incl. Equifax financial risk score)
- Quality
- Health & Safety
- Environmental
- Professional & Technical
Insurance
- Product & Service specific questions
- References
Each supplier can demonstrate their capabilities by selecting one or more of the available product/service categories (product code) that best match their area of business. Further information and experience is then asked in relation to each specific product code.
Upon receipt of completed questionnaires various quality checks are performed on the information provided. If the supplier has applied for one or more qualification product codes then their questionnaire will be evaluated, scored and the results published on the Achilles Railportal (see below). Some scored evaluation product codes may have a minimum score that must be exceeded in order to achieve a pass or in the case of auditable product codes, move on to the audit stage.
Information collected in the questionnaire can be viewed by Partners and Patrons to varying degrees of detail and used as selection criteria on the Achilles Railportal website at: www.rail.achilles.com
2. Supplier Management Tools and Achilles Railportal
The Achilles rail portal at www.rail.achilles.com is a secure website that has been developed to provide a comprehensive range of services for Link-up members:
- Search and select suppliers by name, product codes or, for Partner level buyers, a configurable search where you can build selection criteria based on any information collected by the supplier qualification questionnaire
- Full on-screen information on qualified suppliers including facility to download information and create mail merge files
- Access to audit report executive summaries for over 1000 suppliers
- Supplier tracking facility to monitor your own suppliers - significant changes that might impact your business operations can be notified to you via email
- Record your specific tender selection criteria for future reference and as an audit trail to demonstrate compliance with in-house procedure and/or EC procurement legislation compliance
- Unlimited number of users within your organisation for the same subscription fee
- Access key rail industry documents and news regarding the Link-up scheme.
3. EC Procurement Legislation
Link-up is operated as a Qualification System under Article 30 of the Utilities Directive 93/38/EEC. Achilles publishes a quarterly Qualification System Notice (QSN) on behalf of all Link-up members, which allows Link-up to be used as the means of sourcing and qualifying suppliers for above EC threshold contracts without the need for an individual call for competition. This can save 37 days off the tender timescale compared to publishing a call for competition in the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU).
Link-up members covered by the Utilities Directive (EC Procurement Legislation) are required to continue publishing an annual Periodic Indicative Notice (PIN) and individual contract award notices. Achilles offers a full range of EC advice services include online support tools to ensure your business remains compliant.
Product and Service Nomenclature
Achilles has developed with Link-up members a rail-industry specific nomenclature for all types of products, services and works. Product codes have been developed to enable procurement and engineering professionals to quickly identify suppliers for specific contracts, and these product codes are regularly reviewed. Each available product code is defined into one of three categories, depending on the business impact to the Link-up members:
Registration - registration product codes are deemed not to be business critical or import any risk.
Scored evaluation – scored evaluation product codes are deemed to be business critical, import a risk and typically be of a higher contract value. Specific questions relating to experience and technical capability will be asked and you questionnaire will be evaluated and scored against a marking scheme agreed by members of Link-up.
Auditable – auditable product codes are deemed to be critical to safety and your business will therefore be required to undergo a Link-up Audit in addition to the Link-up questionnaire. Read more...
Product code booklet
A full listing of the Link-up product codes can be downloaded. This clearly indicates whether each product code is registration, scored evaluation or auditable.
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