Achilles has been accredited by Network Rail as an alternative to RISQS as a provider of assurance services to the UK rail industry. Building on a strong 20 year history of working with UK rail and transport customers across the world, the Link-Up community will be relaunching, enabling Buyers and Suppliers to access the Achilles Network.
Originally established in 1997, Link-Up is a supplier registration and pre-qualification system used by buyers in all areas of the transport sector to have up-to-date and validated supplier information, and to procure efficiently in accordance with UK regulations.
Key buyers have already joined the community, and details of these buyers and how to join the Achilles Network are available on the Achilles website. Key features of Link-Up include:
- Membership packages tailored to meet the assurance needs of buyers whilst fulfilling the industry defined requirements
- A multi sector offering for suppliers that encourages innovation and business development
- Market leading technology using the MyAchilles platform
Jay Katzen, CEO, Achilles Information remarked on this announcement “Achilles has a long and proud history working with the UK rail industry, and we’re delighted to be working with this industry once more with the re-launch of Link-Up. By joining this community, and becoming part of the Achilles Network, customers will have access not just to the rail industry but to over 50,000 UK and global suppliers across multiple regions and sectors. The industry has moved on, and with this new platform and community now available, it’s proof that Achilles has too, and we can’t wait to work with rail customers, old and new.”
Katie Ferrier, Senior Vice President Customer Engagement & Quality Assurance, joined Achilles in 2017 after a number of years at Network Rail, and has been working on the Link-Up project, and comments: “This is such a compelling opportunity for buyers and suppliers in the rail industry. Choosing Link-Up over other assurance providers enables suppliers and buyers alike to have a much more personalised approach to supplier assurance whilst ensuring they are fully compliant with specific industry requirements, such as Sentinel, whilst opening up markets in other sectors and geographies.”
Link-Up has significant advantages, in that the platform has the capacity to enable Buyers and Suppliers to capture a range of sustainability measures, as well as ensuring they are visible to other customers who use the Achilles Network, Katie Ferrier continues; “The modern rail industry has an opportunity to learn and share best practice, in terms of carbon reduction, labour practices and health and safety, there will be tangible benefits in measuring and benchmarking cross sector as the industry becomes more complex and diverse. Achilles provides the platform, people, process and program management for a complete end to end supplier qualification and risk management solution, and I’m so excited to be bringing this to the industry.”
