Services for professional procurement. Be better informed, make better decisions. Trading House Qualification System (THQS)

Transcription

1 Services for professional procurement. Be better informed, make better decisions. Trading House Qualification System (THQS)

2 Improving supply chain management Increasing globalisation has had a significant impact on the way we all do business. It has created a more competitive and connected economic environment, offering both opportunities and threats to organisations. In particular, globalisation has made the supply chains for many products more complex and challenging to manage. Key to this is effective supply chain management, including maintaining accurate and comprehensive information across the global supply base. Having access to up-to-date and standardised supplier information underpins cost-effective and low-risk sourcing activities and enables Trading Houses to objectively assess the capabilities and compliance of their suppliers on behalf of their clients. What is a Trading House? Trading Houses are procurement organisations that consolidate the buying and delivering of typically low value, low risk goods and services from many vendors on behalf of their clients. What is THQS? THQS is a supply chain management community developed by Achilles on behalf of Trading Houses and their clients. It provides a single qualification system for suppliers working with Trading Houses. It enables Trading Houses and their clients to reduce supply chain risk through an impartial and rigorous evaluation and validation of their supplier data. Better information supports better decision making and drives efficiency. THQS enables Trading Houses to ensure that the suppliers they work with meet the contractual requirements of their clients. It enables clients of Trading Houses to audit their Tier 2 sub-suppliers to ensure critical compliance. It saves time and reduces the costs and risks of procurement activities. THQS has been developed in partnership with Trading Houses in the global Oil & Gas sector. How does it work? THQS brings Trading Houses, their clients and suppliers together in a controlled and professionally managed environment that standardises and streamlines the way they engage with each other. It supports better buyer-supplier relationships and underpins a more cost-effective, efficient and low-risk procurement process. Data is collected using a standardised online questionnaire that is completed by all suppliers. This includes information related to the company and the products and services supplied. Trading Houses only have access to information on their own suppliers within THQS; they do not have visibility of suppliers working with other Trading Houses in the Community. Registered clients will have access to the supplier data for those suppliers that the Trading House has contracted with on their behalf. They will not have visibility of any other supplier information. 02

3 The THQS Community Model THQS is based on a successful and proven supply chain Achilles community model that benefits Trading Houses, their clients and suppliers. Trading Houses only have access to information on their own suppliers within THQS; they do not have visibility of suppliers working with other Trading Houses within the THQS Community. Once your supplier profile has been published, those Trading Houses that you work with will have access to your information. It is important that you keep your information up-to-date to ensure that the Trading Houses have your latest Company information to hand when undertaking sourcing activities. Who else sees my Company information? THQS is also used by the clients of Trading Houses to audit their Tier 2 suppliers. Only those client organisations where a Trading House has contracted with you on their behalf will have access to your data. How can THQS benefit your Company? Benefit from efficiencies and save time, effort and money Registering in THQS takes the hassle out of an important aspect of procurement and cuts down the associated administration time and costs with just one simple supplier evaluation questionnaire. How do Trading Houses use THQS? Trading Houses use THQS in two ways - firstly, to manage existing contracts more effectively and efficiently on behalf of their clients and secondly, to source reliable suppliers for new contracts. Once complete, your questionnaire is quality checked by Achilles. Achilles also ensures that your questionnaire details are kept up-todate by you with timely reminders. The Trading Houses and clients that that you are working with will be able to easily access your information through the THQS Community. One single data entry point eliminates the necessity of having to provide duplicate information multiple times to the same Trading Houses for different contracts. This avoids repetition and frees up valuable resource that can be better utilised in those areas of your business that add real value. All you have to do is to keep the information up to date.

4 Ensure Trading Houses have access to your latest Company information As the data is owned by you, you can make sure it is up-to-date and accurate at all times. Ensuring that Trading Houses have your latest Company information to hand when undertaking sourcing activities, increases your chances of contract award. Achilles uses an alert system to notify you when important certifications are due to expire. Automatic reminders will also be sent to remind you when your subscription is up for renewal. This is the perfect time to make sure that your Company information is completely up-to-date to make sure you don t miss out on any new business opportunities. Identify gaps and improve your business performance A rigorous evaluation and assessment of your Company s credentials undertaken by an impartial third party for a nominal fee is a valuable asset with a high consultative value. Providing you with some unique insights into your business, it enables you to identify gaps which will drive important business improvements. Demonstrate compliance and increase the likelihood of contract award More and more buyers are coming to realise that they are increasingly accountable for the behaviour of their suppliers and regulatory compliance is featuring high on their strategic agenda. They need to protect their reputation and avoid loss of business confidence through the association with suppliers who may damage their corporate reputation. Trading Houses need to safeguard the reputation of their clients by ensuring that the suppliers they work with meet their compliance requirements. THQS helps them to do this. What is the registration process? Registration in THQS is by invitation only. 1. The Trading House sends a personal invitation to the supplier to join THQS. 2. Achilles sends a follow-up invitation with a link to start the application process 3. The supplier completes the initial application. This requires provision of contact and company information; confirmation of the Trading Houses the supplier works with; and the product codes of the products and services they currently supply. The initial application determines the fee payable to join THQS. The amount payable is based on annual revenue. 4. The supplier confirms the data entry and submits the application. An invoice is then automatically generated. As soon as payment has been received, the supplier is given access to the full THQS questionnaire. Payment can be made via credit card over the phone or via bank transfer. Please note: a credit card payment will allow instant access to the THQS questionnaire. 5. The supplier completes and submits the THQS questionnaire to Achilles. 6. Achilles validates the information. Once this has been validated, the information is published and can be viewed by all the Trading Houses and clients associated with that supplier. 04

5 Trading House Qualification System (THQS) Registration Process Client Trading Houses Achilles Suppliers Application Trading House sends a personal invitation to the supplier to join THQS. Achilles sends a follow up invitation with a link to start the application process. Supplier completes the initial application process. This determines the level of subscription fee payable to join THQS. Fees are based on annual revenue. Once payment is received, the supplier is given access to the THQS questionnaire. THQS Registration Supplier completes the THQS questionnaire. Data submission and validation Achilles validates the information. Supplier submits the THQS questionnaire to Achilles for data validation. Several iterations may be required before a questionnaire is fully validated. Data publication Client is able to view supplier data where a valid contract is held. Trading House is able to view supplier data for their own suppliers. Achilles publishes the data. How is THQS funded? The THQS Community is jointly funded by Trading Houses, their clients and suppliers. This requires payment of an annual subscription fee, which covers data validation, maintenance of the system, on-going administration and support as well as any future system upgrades. Depending on the information you provide in the initial application, fees to join THQS may vary. Annual subscription fees $ Annual Revenue (GB Pounds) (Euros) (US Dollars) Level 1 ($0 - $499K) Level 2 ($500 - $2.9M) Level 3 ($3M+) Find out more If you have any questions about THQS or your Company registration, please contact one of our dedicated advisors at THQS@achilles.com About Achilles Achilles is one of the world s largest service providers of global supply chain risk management solutions with more than 950 people working in 22 countries. We work on behalf of over 790 buying organisations, from 11 industry sectors, to collect, validate and maintain essential data about more than 90,000 suppliers. This allows buying organisations to gain visibility of their suppliers capabilities and compliance before making important sourcing decisions. With an understanding of their supply chains, buying organisations can proactively identify and mitigate potential risks to protect people, planet and profit. We operate unique supply chain communities where steering groups, comprising leading buyers from each industry, work collaboratively to agree the common standards suppliers need to meet in order to be eligible to do business with them. With one, standardised approach per industry, buying organisations can raise standards consistently in any geographic location in which they operate, and easily connect with credible and qualified suppliers worldwide. Suppliers gain a dedicated shop window where they can promote their services to some of the biggest buying organisations in the world. They also gain a clear understanding of the steps they must take in order to qualify for work. Our solutions enable businesses to make informed, strategic decisions to minimise cost and turn common industry challenges into sources of competitive advantage. 05

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