ABB s supplier qualification process: Achilles and Power &Tech Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) June 2013
Overview Why is ABB introducing Achilles? ABB operates in approximately 100 countries. This means that our buyers are purchasing from tens of thousands of suppliers worldwide. ABB is introducing Achilles to provide access to up-to-date and accurate supplier information in one standardized system for all their suppliers around the world. Who is Achilles? Achilles is a company that identifies, pre-qualifies, evaluates and monitors suppliers so that procurement specialists have access to accurate and up-to-date information on their suppliers. For more information on Achilles you can visit their website www.achilles.com. What will it involve for me? Registering on the Achilles system will require you to provide information about your company, including information on the products and services which your company currently supplies and/or wishes to supply to ABB. I don t have a contract in place with ABB, do I need to register? Yes, if you have done business with ABB in the past and wish to do business with ABB in the future, you will be invited to register with Achilles. What happens if I don t take part? If you do not register with Achilles, your company will not be considered compliant with ABB s procurement policies and may miss out on future opportunities to work with ABB. Don t forget that if you complete the registration process, you will no longer need to provide basic qualification data to different ABB business units multiple times. The process will collect and keep your company information in Power&Tech and will allow you to update your company profile annually, or whenever there are relevant changes in your business. All the provided information will be accessible globally by ABB SCM organizations. We have always worked for ABB, why should we register now? The Achilles system is designed to collect and store data on current and prospective suppliers to ABB. The system is an integral part of the supplier qualification process at ABB and it will serve as a global up-to-date register of suppliers and contractors for future sourcing activities. How will this benefit my company? Registering in the ABB Supplier Registration System and Power&Tech Prequalification System will allow your company to be qualified to work with ABB. You will no longer need to provide standard qualification data to different ABB business units multiple times. We anticipate that Achilles will help your company to avoid duplication of effort which will save time. It will also give your company greater visibility by making your company information available to the ABB Group. ABB business units with which you are not currently doing business will be able to view your company s profile. In short, it increases your opportunities of business with the ABB Group. What is Power&Tech? Power&Tech is the new centralized online supplier registration and qualification system for the power, technology and automation industry, worldwide. Joining as a supplier enables your organization to become pre-qualified and to demonstrate that you comply with the minimum criteria determined by the buyers in this industry. With up-to-date, accurate and validated information; multiple purchasers can use Achilles Power&Tech to search a database of relevant suppliers who provide the products and services they want to buy, and understand the capabilities of companies supplying them.
Registration Process How can I register? If you are currently doing business with ABB, you will receive an invitation letter or email and a brochure about Power&Tech. To begin with your ABB registration, you will need to follow the link specified in your invitation letter. If you have not received an invitation or if you are a new supplier, you can visit the Supplying to ABB website to start your registration. When do I need to start registration for my company? We would recommend starting the process as soon as you can. The sooner your registration is completed, the sooner your company s details will be available to ABB to evaluate for future business opportunities. How long will my registration be valid? ABB Supplier Registration and Power&Tech subscriptions are annual and run for 12 months. Once you have registered, your subscription expiry date will be visible when you log in. You can log into your questionnaire at any time throughout this subscription period and update or amend your details. Each time your information is updated, Achilles will validate this information, and your updated profile will be visible to ABB. Do we have to register each of our legal entities separately? Yes, companies with multiple subsidiaries (legal entities) who are all doing business with ABB will need to register individually. What happens if I forget my login details? If you have forgotten your password and have supplied sufficient security evidence to us, you will be able to change your password by clicking on I do not remember my password link on the login page. If you cannot provide your evidence or have not yet supplied any, you can request a new password notification email. If you are still having problems logging in, you can contact Achilles and they will assist you. How many users can have login details? The main contact registered will have administration rights for other users and can control who has access to the system within your company. There is no limit to the number of users that the administrator can give access to. My contact at ABB said that my company does not need to register; is this true? With a few exceptions, all ABB suppliers should be registered, if they wish to do future work with ABB. Please Contact Achilles if you are unsure. What information will I need to provide for Supplier prequalification ABB (Power&Tech) Supplier Qualification? If you are required to continue to the ABB (Power&Tech) Supplier Qualification, more detailed information will be required about your company, including but not limited to health and safety management, quality management, financial information, anti-bribery and corruption policies, and insurances. For full details, please refer to Supplier prequalification Quick User Guide. Who has access to my information? The information you provide to Achilles will be visible to ABB users globally. What happens if I have registered at the wrong level? If you have not provided all of the information that is required from your company, there is an option to go back and complete this information. Your company profile will be visible to ABB buyers after your initial registration, once your information has been checked by Achilles.
Can I complete registration in languages other than English? No, while the questions can be viewed in multiple languages, you must provide your answers in English. However, please note that Achilles call center support is available in multiple languages. Can I update my details during the year? Yes, once your registration is complete and your information is visible to ABB, you can update the questionnaire at any time when your company s information changes. It is our recommendation that you keep your information up-to-date by checking your company profile regularly. Can I provide any pricing information on my company s products and services? No, you cannot provide any pricing information in your registration. You may be asked to provide detailed product pricing information if you are invited by ABB to submit an offer for a contract. This process is managed by ABB. Can I choose more than one product or service to supply in the questionnaire? Yes, you can choose as many products and/or services that are applicable to your company. If you need to join Supplier prequalification, the annual subscription fee will depend on the number of products and/or services you select, and you will be asked to pay this fee before joining Supplier prequalification. How long does it take to complete the Supplier prequalification questionnaire? The Supplier prequalification (Power&Tech) Qualification questionnaire will take approximately 3 hours to complete. How do I attach a document? To attach a document you will need to first save it on the PC that you are using to fill in the questionnaire. You can then attach this saved document to the relevant section in the questionnaire by clicking on the upload a document button and navigating to the document you wish to attach. Supported document formats include:.jpg.jpeg.png.rtf.pdf I don t have all of the information being asked for; what do I do? You can only submit the questionnaire once all fields marked as required have been completed. If the information you do not have is not required, then you can continue with the rest of the questionnaire. If you need to source the required information from elsewhere, you can save the details that you have completed and return to complete the rest at any time. Remember, that until your information has been fully completed, submitted and successfully passed the quality checking process of Achilles, it will not be visible to ABB. Can I view other suppliers information? No, suppliers are not able to search the system and view other suppliers profiles. Only ABB users have this capability. What happens if the information I provided goes out of date? You will be informed by Achilles before the data you have provided expires. We recommend that you update this information as soon as possible to ensure that ABB has access to the most up-to-date information. How can I contact Achilles? Achilles head office is in Abingdon, UK, and they have offices globally. Please see Achilles contact details below: Achilles Information Limited Email: powerandtech@achilles.com Website: www.achilles.com
ABB Website: Supplying to ABB website Europe/Africa: (Enquiries +421-2-2099-2320), (System Support +421-2-2099-2370) Indian Sub-Continent/Middle East: (Enquiries +852-3996-7317) (System Support +91-22-2832-40-79) South East Asia/Australia/New Zealand: (Enquiries +852-3996-7317) (System Support +852-2815-7154) North America: +1-281-809-4400 Central and South America: +56-2-585-9690 Subscription & Fees How much will it cost to register? If you are required to continue to Supplier prequalification ABB (Power&Tech) Supplier Qualification, the fee will depend on your level of subscription which is determined by the number of product codes that you select. Stage Number of Product Codes $ Registration level All FREE FREE FREE Basic*** 250 350 400 Tier 1 (1 to 5 product Codes**) 590 650 800 ABB Qualification level Fees* Tier 2 (6 to 15 product Codes**) 680 750 950 Tier 3 (16 to 25 Product Codes**) 770 850 1100 Tier 4 (26 or above Product Codes**) 890 975 1300 * Fees (and currency exchange rate used) are correct at time of publishing and may be subject to change. ** Product Codes describe a category of product or service provided by a supplier and allows buyers to search for suppliers capable to match their sourcing requirements *** Criteria. Why do I have to pay? You are only required to make an annual subscription payment if you are asked to join Supplier prequalification ABB (Power&Tech) Supplier Qualification. The payment is required for the validation and data checking processes that Achilles must complete, the system maintenance, the running and resource of the service and support desks, enhancements, maintenance and future developments that SQS requires. Can I pay by credit/debit card? Yes, this is the quickest and most efficient way of providing payments. Please contact Achilles for details. Can I pay by a different method? Yes, payment methods accepted by Achilles are either by Electronic Bank transfer or credit/debit card. More details of these payment methods can be found on your invoice, or you can contact Achilles.
What currency can I pay in? You can select to pay in British Pounds, US Dollars or Euros, by using the drop down menu after you have selected that you wish to join Supplier prequalification and before you click to generate your invoice. The invoice generated will then automatically be calculated in the currency you have selected. If my company has registered multiple legal entities, does each have to pay separately? Yes, if a legal entity has been identified as important and is required to continue to Supplier prequalification, then a fee is applicable.