This is your tool to find Suppliers and check their compliance status and data. Search is also central to the Request Information process and to ‘following’ Suppliers and Commodity Codes. Start by accessing Supplier Search in the main menu under the three-line icon in the header bar. There is also a link on the Buyer Dashboard. You can view a Supplier’s Profile and access their questionnaire by clicking a row in the Search results.
Network Switch
If you belong to more than one Network, you will be able to set which are visible via the Network Switch in the header bar. The switch helps larger Buyer organisations who have different users focused on different procurement sectors. The switch is accessed by clicking on the crossed lines icon at the top of the screen.
Saved Searches
If you plan to run the same search regularly you may wish to save it. To do this, run a search using keywords and/or filters and then go to the Actions button top right. There you will be able to save and name your search. The search will then become available from the keyword search box, listed when you click into it. You can delete saved searches from that list as well. Note that there is a maximum of ten saved searches; you will be asked to delete one if you try to save an eleventh.
For some Networks, Achilles has created a recommended search that is pre-saved to your account. These searches pre-select some key parameters that ensure you are finding valid Suppliers. Once you have run the search you can then add the additional filters you require for your Request Information event.
Keyword Searching
The text you enter in the keyword search box will be matched against company name (registered, trading), Achilles ID, commodity code/name, incorporation number, sales tax number and internal IDs/ERP numbers your company uses for Suppliers (if set up for your account). You can use the dropdown to the left of the box to limit your search to one of these fields. To match a whole phrase, use inverted commas as follows: “steel pipes”. If you do not use inverted commas the system will return all suppliers who match any of the words you enter.
There is also an auto-suggest feature which proposes supplier matches as you type. If found, matches are returned for trading name, registered name, Achilles ID, identification number, incorporation number and internal ID (if you have that enabled).
Filters
The filters shown down the left of the screen can be used to narrow your results. They are expanded or collapsed by clicking on their headers. Click ‘Clear All’ at the top if you want to reset all filter selections. The search results on the right will be updated as you add and remove filters. You can track the changing total with the animated counter, top left. Note that the filters you see will be affected by your subscription and any Buyer-specific content. The latter is not covered in this guide. Note that not all filters are compatible with regulated industry searches. Please seek separate guidance.
Commodity Codes
Filter Suppliers by the products/services they provide. Click the ‘Select codes’ link to open the selector and then drill down to find the entries you need. You will see multiple code selectors if you have access to multiple Networks/Communities. Use the ‘ANY’ button to find Suppliers of any of the Commodity Codes selected. If you select the ‘ALL’ button, only those who supply all the specified codes will be returned. These options equate to the ‘OR’ and ‘AND’ Boolean operators. Note that you should use the ALL setting if you need to find Suppliers of a specific level 4 code – choosing ANY when you have selected a level 4 code will also return Suppliers of the parent level 3 code.
You will see underneath the Commodity Code selectors there is the option to choose ‘Supply Type’. This allows you to specify what type of supply you are interested in for your selected product codes. You can choose between Manufacturers, Agents and Stockists. Note this distinction does not apply to service-type codes.
Region of Supply
Narrow the Supplier list by specifying which geographies Suppliers must be able to serve. The ‘ANY’ and ‘ALL’ buttons work in the same way as for Commodity Codes above. Note that the system cross-checks any codes you have selected to ensure they are supplied to the regions you have selected.
Country of Trading
This filters by the country that a Supplier has declared in their trading address. You can make multiple selections from the drop-down list. In contrast to Regions of Supply, each Supplier will only have one Country of Trading.
Financial
Depending on your subscription access you will see some or all of the following filter options in this filter drawer.
- Sales Revenue: Use the min and max boxes to set the required range of sales revenue. The currencies used by Suppliers will be converted to match the currency selection you make. Revenue is shown for the last financial year recorded.
- Liquidity – Current Ratio: This figure is sourced from third-party providers and is calculated as Total Current Assets / Total Current Liabilities. It is an indication of a company’s ability to meet short-term debt obligations. The higher the ratio, the more liquid the company is.
- Equity in %: This is also sourced from our third-party providers and is calculated as Shareholder Funds / {Total Current Assets + Tangible Fixed Assets) * 100. This ratio shows the worth of the company (shareholder funds) as a percentage of total current and tangible assets.
- Credit Score: Where we have a numeric Credit Score available for Suppliers from our third-party provider, this can be filtered using the red-amber-green slider.
- Credit Rating: Where we have a four-level Credit Rating available from our third-party provider, this filter can be applied. Multiple ratings (4-1) can be selected at the same time.
Company Size
This is a simple min/max filter for employee count.
Management Systems
Filter for Suppliers who have either documented or certified Management Systems in place. Certification will be to a recognised international standard. Three principal options are available – Quality, Health & Safety, Environment. For each of these there are three selections to choose from. Document/Certified covers suppliers who have declared a documented or certified system; Certified covers suppliers who have demonstrated valid third-party certification; IAF-Standard Certification covers those whose certification is issued by a body recognised by the International Accreditation Forum. For certain Networks there will also be a filter available for certified CSR Systems.
Tax and Insurance
In specific Networks (active in Spain) there are filters for compliance with Spanish tax obligations (AEAT and Social Tax).
The Insurance type filter allows you to filter for Suppliers who have uploaded valid insurance certificates. All the available types can be selected from.
Environmental
This is only visible for specific Networks and currently consists only of a filter for companies who are registered under the European Union’s chemical industry REACH system. Find out more here: https://echa.europa.eu/regulations/reach/understanding-reach
Supplier Level/State
Use the Supplier Level filter to narrow your selection to Suppliers who have a specific subscription level. This equates to the degree of Achilles assurance they have undergone, and you may have a required threshold for procurement. Available Supplier Levels can vary by Network/Community.
The Supplier State filter allows you to distinguish Suppliers who have up-to-date versus expired questionnaires. These expire one year after the last date of publication. Note that out-of-date documents loaded via the questionnaire are not considered in this calculation.
For certain Networks based in the Nordic region, there will also be a D&B Nordics status option to exclude Suppliers flagged by D&B as bankrupt. For the Repro Network there is a special filter to choose suppliers who have both active membership and an up-to-date questionnaire published at the required level.
QUDM
For regulated Networks in the UK there is a filter for suppliers who have opted into or out of a Qualifying Utility Dynamic Marketplace.
Audits and Screening
You can filter by the (valid) audits held by Suppliers. These provide a higher level of assurance than the questionnaire data.
If Watchlist Screening is available as part of your subscription you will see filter options for different Watchlist Screening statuses: Screened and no issues, Screened and issues, Screening new data and Not screened.
ESPD Compliance
This is only available for specific Networks and allows Buyers to filter for whether the Supplier has declared themselves compliant with the European Single Procurement Document (ESPD).
Sustainability
This filter is only available for specific Networks and allows Buyers to filter for those Suppliers who have declared a commitment to the UN Global Compact. Click here for more: https://www.unglobalcompact.org/
Nuclear Utility Requirements
This filter is only visible to Buyers who are part of the UNCE Network and covers pre-qualification requirements for Swedish nuclear utilities. There are six individual factors that can be filtered on, as well as an overall filter.
My Relationships
This allows you to see only Suppliers who have a defined ‘Buyer-Supplier Relationship’ with your organisation set up. Please contact your Account Manager if you would like more information. Suppliers who you invite with the ‘Invite a Supplier’ feature will automatically have this relationship set up.
Scoring
This filter is only available for specific Networks that have access to the custom Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) ratings or the ECIX ratings. The latter are provided by ECIX, a partner of Achilles.
Qualification and Compliance
These filters are only available to Buyers who have the Qualification/Compliance features set up as part of their subscription.
Qualification allows Buyers to tag Suppliers as Qualified, Conditionally Qualified, Not Qualified or Under Assessment. The status is not visible to Suppliers, only to the Buyer organisation making the selection. The status can also be viewed within the Supplier Profile.
Compliance is a status calculated by Achilles based on the Supplier’s data. Compliance models are set up with specific Buyers and Networks, using bespoke rules. Once set up the filter will allow you to choose between Compliant, Partially Compliant and Not Compliant.
Please contact your Account Manager if you are interested in adding these capabilities to your subscription.
Panel View
By default, you will see the Supplier results laid out in ‘Panel View’. This brings together key data about each Supplier and is designed to be easy to browse. If you wish to see more data and download you should switch to ‘Table View’ with the button top right.
Aside from core information such as address, website and Annual Sales Revenue, the ‘Panel View’ view includes marketing information. Suppliers are encouraged to fill out an ‘About Us’ section that fills the main body of the panel. They can also add social media handles.
Network Requirements
In the right-hand panel you will see a module which indicates the Supplier’s status regarding Network/Community requirements. The module has tabs for each Network/Community that you have in common with the Supplier. The three indicators work as follows:
Questionnaire
- Blue tick: When the required questionnaire for this network has been published in the last 12 months.
- Yellow exclamation mark: When the questionnaire is more than 12 months old or not published at required network level.
- Grey tick: Unable to calculate.
Audit
- Blue tick: When an audit related to the selected Network has been completed and is in date.
- Yellow exclamation mark: When an audit has been completed and has expired.
- Grey tick: No audit has been completed.
Membership
- Blue tick: When the supplier has the correct up to date subscription for the network.
- Yellow exclamation mark: Either when a membership upgrade is required or when the subscription expiry date has passed. Suppliers who fail to pay remain in this state and are searchable in the network for 30 days after the expiry date. After 31 days they are removed from search.
- Grey tick: Unable to calculate.
Management Systems
This module shows whether the Supplier has a documented or fully certified Management System in the published version of their questionnaire for quality, environment, and health and safety. The three states are ‘Certified’, ‘Documented’ and ‘None’. You can see details of the standards in place and review uploaded certificates by opening the Supplier’s full questionnaire. Note that Suppliers will only show as ‘Certified’ if they have uploaded a valid, in-date certificate.
Table View
Toggle to Table View using the button top right.
The same Suppliers will be shown, but this time with columns containing their data. Each column can be sorted by clicking on the header. There is a cog icon at the top left of the table which opens the Column Chooser. Here you will find additional data that is not shown in the default view. The column selections you make will be carried through to the PDF and Excel downloads. There is a Key included in the downloads providing definitions for each data point. Selected columns will also be included in Request Information event downloads when the search has been used (see Request Information article for more).
Available columns are as follows. Only those relevant to your Networks/Communities will be shown. Note that additional columns created for specific Buyer organisations are not listed here.
Key Information
- Organisation Name: Trading name
- Questionnaire State: Whether the Supplier’s questionnaire is Current or Out of Date. questionnaires are valid for one year.
- Network: The Networks (or Communities) the Supplier is a member of.
- Internal ID: Any supplier identification codes set up that your business uses.
- Relationship to My Company: This will show whether the Supplier has a Buyer-Supplier Relationship set with your organisation.
- StartBANK Filter: Shows Supplier status according to this calculation. Only visible to StartBANK buyers. There is also a column for the latest update to the Filter.
- Transparency Act Applies?: Shows whether Supplier is covered by the Norwegian Transparency Act.
- Valid Transparency Act Self-Declaration?: Whether the Supplier has a valid declaration for the Norwegian Transparency Act.
- Qualification Status: The Qualification status of this Supplier as set by your organisation.
- Overall Compliance Status: The compliance status of this Supplier as calculated on behalf of your organisation or Network. If you have more than one compliance model, the worst of the Supplier’s results under those models will be shown here.
- Subscription Expiry Date: This shows the expiry dates for each Network subscription the Supplier has.
- Supplier Registration Level: The highest level of Achilles assurance that the Supplier has obtained.
- Expected Achilles Assurance Level: The minimum Supplier subscription level required to be compliant within the Network.
- Products and Services: Supplier’s level 3 product and service codes (commodity codes) in the named Networks. These are shown just as codes for reasons of space.
- Core Products and Services: Products and Services registered as core by the Supplier.
- Audit Status: The validity status of the latest Achilles audit received by the Supplier.
- Valid Audits: A list of valid audits that the Supplier has undergone and that you have access to (with dates of expiry in each case).
- Watchlist Screening Status: Whether the Supplier has been screened for sanctions and other risks, and whether any issues have been discovered.
- Number of Employees: Number of employees
- Hours Worked per Employee per Year: Average hours worked
- Incorporation No: Organisation’s official incorporation number
- Identification Number: Organisation’s identification number (only applies for certain countries)
- Sales Tax Number: Sales tax number (used in some countries as an alternative to Incorporation Number)
- Registered Name: Organisation’s registered name
- Town or City of Registration: Where organisation is registered
- Year Registered: Year of organisation’s original registration
- Ultimate Parent Company: Organisation’s parent company, where supplied
- Previous Company Name: For organisations that have changed names
- Questionnaire Last Updated: Date of last update (for the published version of the questionnaire)
- Questionnaire Expiry Date: When the questionnaire will expire (12 months after last publication)
- ESPD Compliant: Whether the organisation has declared compliance with the European Single Procurement Document rules.
- Italian Chamber of Commerce Document?: Whether the Supplier has provided a document
- Website: The Supplier’s company website
- Achilles ID: The Achilles ID number of the Supplier
Financial
- Credit Score: The Supplier’s overall credit risk score (supplied by third parties)
- Credit Rating: The Supplier’s overall credit risk rating (supplied by third parties)
- Credit Risk Last Updated: Date of last update to credit risk score
- D&B Nordics Rating: The Supplier’s overall credit risk rating (D&B Nordics type). There is also a column available for the last update date.
- D&B Standard Rating: The Supplier’s overall credit risk rating (D&B standard type). There is also a column available for the last update date.
- Annual Sales Revenue: Annual sales revenue
- Currency: Currency that Annual Sales Revenue is shown in
- Pre-Tax Profit: Note that this is shown in originally reported currency
- Financial Year-End: Financial year end date for last reported data
- Liquidity – Current Ratio: Total Current Assets / Total Current Liabilities. This is an indication of a company’s ability to meet short-term debt obligations; the higher the ratio, the more liquid the company is.
- Equity in %: Shareholder Funds / (Total Current Assets + Tangible Fixed Assets) x 100. This ratio shows the worth of the company (shareholders’ funds) as a percentage of total current and tangible assets.
Scores and Ratings
- Achilles Score: The overall Achilles Sustainability Score calculated for the Supplier. This is out of 100, with 100 being the best possible score. Note that only Suppliers with Silver level subscriptions or above are scored.
- Environmental, Social and Governance Rating (ESG): These are scores specifically generated for the Repro Network.
- Overall Risk (ECIX): This is a rating provided by our third-party provider ECIX for valid Networks.
My Questions
- This will show any filters set up specifically for your organisation. They will usually relate to Buyer-Specific Questions.
Health and Safety
- Health & Safety Management System: Documented: Is there a documented Health and Safety Management System (HSS)? Certified: HSS has undergone any third-party assurance or certification to OHSAS 18001, ISO 45001 or equivalent? Note that Certified will only show if a valid certificate has been uploaded.
- IAF Health and Safety System: Whether the certification is issued by a body recognised by the International Accreditation Forum.
- Accident System – Doc.: Does the Supplier have a documented accident, dangerous occurrence and near miss reporting system?
- Lost Time Accidents: Total number of lost time accidents in the latest reported financial year.
- Number of Accidents Causing Fatalities: Total reported fatal accidents.
- Formal Risk Assessment Process: Does the Supplier have a formal risk assessment process to identify hazards, risks and the associated control measures?
Quality Assurance
- Quality Management System: Documented: One or more documented Quality Management Systems (QMS)? Certified: QMS has undergone any third-party assurance (for example audit) or certification to ISO 9001:2015 or equivalent? Note that Certified will only show if a valid certificate has been uploaded.
- IAF Quality Management System: Whether the certification is issued by a body recognised by the International Accreditation Forum.
Environmental
- Environment Management System: Documented: One or more documented Environmental Management Systems (EMS)? Certified: EMS certified to an international standard (for example ISO14001:2015) or equivalent? Note that Certified will only show if a valid certificate has been uploaded.
- IAF Environment Management System: Whether the certification is issued by a body recognised by the International Accreditation Forum.
- Environment Impact Assessment: Does the Supplier identify the environmental impacts of operations?
- Environmental Notices: Number of environmental improvements, prohibition or abatement notices served
- Environmental Breach Convicted: Has the Supplier been convicted of any breaches of the environmental laws in the countries in which it operates within the last five years?
- Environmental Convictions: Number of convictions for offences under environmental legislation.
- Carbon Footprint Measured: Whether the Supplier has calculated their carbon footprint.
- Environmental Incident Reporting: Does the Supplier have a formal environmental incident or near miss reporting system?
- Environmental Regulator Notice: Has a notice served by an environmental regulator or authority in the countries operated in, within the last five years?
- Hazardous Waste Producer: Does the Supplier generate waste that is classified as hazardous waste?
- REACH Registration?: Whether the supplier is registered with under the EU REACH system for hazardous chemicals.
- Biodiversity Action Plan: Does the Supplier carry out Biodiversity Action Plans (BAP)?
- Ecological Management Plans: Does the Supplier carry out ecological management plans?
Ethical Business Practices
- UN Global Compact Committed: Whether the Supplier has declared a commitment to the sustainability and social responsibility-focused UN Global Compact.
- Bribery Prevention Policy: Documented policy in place to prevent bribery, corruption and fraud?
- Corruption Conviction: Convicted of a breach of any bribery or corruption laws in the countries of operation within the last five years?
- Tax Evasion Policy and Controls: Written policy and supporting controls detailing how to prevent the facilitation of tax evasion under Criminal Finances Act 2017?
- CSR System for Own Organisation: Documented Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) system?
- CSR System is Certified?: Whether certification has been provided to prove a system is in place.
- CSR System for Supply Chain: Separately documented CSR policy applied to supply chain?
- CSR Universal Across Locations: CSR policies apply equally to all locations regardless of country?
- Operations Outside EU: Operations outside the European Union?
- Labour Law Breach Conviction: Convicted for any breach of ethical labour practices laws in countries of operation within the last five years?
- Irish Labour Law Compliant: In compliance with current labour laws in Ireland? Data specific to Supply-Line Network.
- Slavery Policy Within Organisation: Documented policy to ensure that neither slavery nor human trafficking takes place within organisation?
- Slavery Policy Within Supply Chain: Documented policy to ensure that neither slavery nor human trafficking takes place within supply chain?
- Slavery Conviction: Convicted for breaches of any slavery laws in the countries it operates in within the last five years?
- Forced Labour Conviction: Convicted of the use of forced, bonded or prison labour and harsh disciplinary measures within the last five years?
- Child Labour Conviction: Convicted of a breach of any child labour laws in the countries of operation within the last five years?
- % Disabled: Percentage of workers with disabilities
- % Exclusion Risk: Percentage of workers who are at risk of exclusion (minorities, convicted felons etc.)
- % Non-Nationals: Percentage of workers who are non-native
- % Women: Percentage of workers who are female
Insurances and Tax
- Public Liability Insurance Document Uploaded?
- Public Liability Insurance Currency Code: The currency code associated with the value of cover for public liability insurance
- Public Liability Insurance Value of Cover: The value of cover associated with the public liability insurance policy
- Public Liability Insurance Provider: Public liability insurance provider’s name
- Insurance Type: Insurance types uploaded
- EU Airside Insurance: Do you operate airside at airports within the EU and hold the appropriate insurance?
- Tax Obligations Up to Date?: Is the Supplier up to date with its tax obligations?
Business Continuity
Supply Chain Manager: Manager responsible for the management of the supply chain, or a supply chain focal point?
Approved Suppliers Register: Maintains a register of approved Suppliers?
Supply Chain Assessment / Audit: Assess or audit supply chain?
Primary, Secondary, Other Business Contacts
- Primary details refer to the designated Primary Business Contact in the Supplier organisation. Additional contacts are available within the questionnaire.
- Secondary details refer to the designated Secondary Business Contact in the Supplier organisation. Additional contacts are available within the questionnaire.
- Other details refer to the designated Legal Representative in the Supplier organisation.
Company Addresses
Registered and trading addresses for the Supplier.
Downloading
Select Suppliers using the radio buttons to the left of each row or select all using the radio button at the top of the list. The Download button at the top will become active. In the next modal choose your filename and file type. The downloads will contain the same columns visible in Table View. Add more columns to see more data in the downloads. The downloaded files will include details of the search including the filter criteria applied. The Excel file will include a Key tab with definitions of the included data.
PDF download allows up to 4,000 results to be downloaded at one time, if your results are higher than 4,000, you will only be able to download using Excel.
If you have access to Watchlist Screening, you will also see an option to ‘Download watchlist screening reports”. This will download a zip file containing available Watchlist Screening Reports as well as an Excel file listing the Suppliers and their statuses. Note that there is a maximum of 25 Suppliers who can be selected.
Following Suppliers and Commodity Codes
The Search interface allows you to select specific Suppliers and Commodity Codes that you are interested in tracking. There are four types of alert:
- Follow Supplier State changes: Select Suppliers using the radio buttons to the left of each row and then choose ‘Follow selected Suppliers’ under ‘Actions’ top right. Once set you will receive Notifications in your Dashboard when any of these Suppliers’ published status changes.
- Follow Supplier Credit Score/Risk changes: Follow steps described above, and if available you will also receive alerts when followed Suppliers’ credit scores change. You can turn off these alerts by going to your Dashboard and clicking through to Manage Notifications.
- Follow Compliance changes: Follow steps described above, and if available you will receive alerts when followed Suppliers’ overall Compliance statuses change. You need to have a Compliance model set up for your organisation/Network first. This is also available for the StartBANK Risk Filter (for that Network).
- Follow Commodity Codes: Run a search that includes Commodity Code filter selections. Choose “Follow selected commodity codes] under ‘Actions’ top right. Once set you will receive Notifications in your Dashboard when any Supplier starts or stops supplying the followed codes.
Request Information
You can use the search results to initiate a Request Information Event and add Suppliers to an existing Event. Please see the dedicated Request Information article for more details.