COMMENT
LINK-UP PROVIDES AN ESSENTIAL REGISTRATION AND QUALIFICATION SCHEME FOR ORGANISATIONS WISHING TO SUPPLY TO BRITAIN’S RAIL INDUSTRY, REPORTS RICHARD MACKILLICAN
T
he Link-up scheme was established in the early nineties in the days of
British Rail to ensure that rail organisations were compliant with European procurement legislation. That was the primary reason for its development but it was quickly identified as delivering improvements to procurement practice in general.
Andy Harrison
“However times change and British Rail ceased to be, so Achilles were asked to take over the Link-up scheme by Railtrack in 1997 as a commercial concern,” says Andy Harrison, Director of Rail and Transport for Achilles Information, the company which now operates the scheme. “The scheme then continued to operate in much the same way until the audit scheme was launched in 2000.
“Then in 2006 a decision was made to fundamentally change the system to reflect the really big changes in the railway at that time. This included Network Rail having taken maintenance back in-house and the perceived need for a more rigorous audit regime to address assurance issues. The new system also needed to be related to Network Rail’s structure and assets.
“So the new scheme – which was called Link-up v.2 and was configured to address these issues – was launched in 2007 and has been running very successfully ever since.”
In an era when time is money, the Link-up system offers organisations a straightforward
approach towards improved and more effective procurement and, where necessary, ensuring EU Procurement Directive compliance.
Andy Harrison says:
“Organisations such as Network Rail, the Train Operating Companies and London Underground, regulated by the EU rules, use Link-up because it simplifies and can shorten the procurement process. This means their buyers can save significant time for each purchase which falls above the EU threshold.
“There are currently over 110 buyer organisations in Link-up, including around 80 organisations which are not driven by European legislation but still use Link-up because it enables them to save time and money by getting validated information about potential suppliers at their desk top.
“There are over three thousand individual users within all of these organisations who are using Link-up to qualify suppliers and to gather information about current existing and potential suppliers.
16 | rail technology magazine Dec/Jan 11
“From a buyer’s perspective it is important to know that the information which you have on a potential supplier is accurate.
“The Link-up system offers buyers validated information about suppliers. This
information comes in to us via questionnaires completed by suppliers – we validate some information as part of the questionnaire process and some is validated by the audit process – which means that you can trust the information.
“For many buyers that presents the opportunity to make some very significant savings, because they can effectively cut down on their own audit requirement, because that information has already been made available to them through Link-up – this is also better for suppliers because it can reduce the number of times they are required to be audited.”
There are also many other benefits to suppliers from being part of the Link-up scheme, not least that their information is visible to approximately 3,000 individual buyers across the UK rail industry.
Andy Harrison says: “Because the questionnaires are developed on behalf of the buyer community, it means that the information which suppliers are asked to give is exactly the information which the buyer is looking for. This allows suppliers to effectively demonstrate their capabilities in the terms which best meets
the buyer’s requirements. So from a supplier point of view, it means that they are not posting random information – rather it is specifically targeted at the buying community’s needs.
“It also means that they are on a level playing field with other suppliers, which is incredibly important for buyers who fall under regulated procurement, but also from a wider buyer’s perspective. This ensures that they are comparing the same information for each potential supplier.
“Suppliers also benefit from becoming part of a rail community - which includes the communications which are sent out by Achilles via the Link-up system on behalf of various organisations. As a Link-up qualified supplier, a company is then also on the route to becoming a Sentinel sponsor.
“The Link-up scheme is run as a commercial concern so there is a joining fee. However, the potential benefits – not least the reduction in the amount of auditing which a supplier may have to go through – means this represents excellent value for money. Link-up can play a key role in a supplier’s broader marketing strategy and so add even further value for the supplier.
“In terms of cost, what a buyer pays is dependent on whether or not they fall under EU legislation – with the lowest rate being £6,150 a year. Suppliers all pay the same basic membership fee
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