Altius VA have worked with RSSB to deliver a newly improved and modernised Railway Industry Supplier Qualification Scheme (RISQS) platform, which launched on May 1st.

The new RISQS portal will act as the single entry point for suppliers to the rail industry, giving suppliers the platform to demonstrate their capabilities as providers of rail industry products and services.

With the ongoing support of key players Network Rail and Transport for London, Altius VA Ltd will operate the front end of the RISQS IT platform and verification services.

The early, and expected, impact

The new RISQS platform has made an instant impact by offering scheme members a quicker, smarter, easier interface to the only recognised scheme run by and working for the rail industry.

The scheme supports rail giants Network Rail and Transport for London, as well as passenger and freight operating companies, main infrastructure contractors and various buying organisations to manage their supply chain risk.

RISQS is crucial to the safe and cost-effective procurement of railway products and services, assuring that 110-plus buyers can confidently do business with over 4,300 suppliers.

How it works

Although RISQS remains the single-entry point for suppliers and buyers, the new platform addresses many issues with its predecessor, such as an inflexible IT system and the inability to access data to use for learning and improvement.

The new RISQS software platform has the potential to more easily integrate with buyer systems, and includes time-saving features such as pre-population of templates, and free value-adding tools like notice of EU tenders for suppliers.

The power of advanced software on the rail industry

As a cutting-edge IT and compliance service provider, we are delighted to have been part of a project to modernise and digitise the rail industry, saving on costs and significantly benefiting both suppliers and buyers through software.

Our experience working with supply chains to reduce cost and risk means RISQS is now smarter, more accessible and quicker than ever before.

Graeme Cox, RSSB Head of Supplier Assurance, said: “We strongly believe that the improvements meet the long-standing demands of our industry for a modern, effective and efficient supplier assurance system, and crucially one that can – and will – keep changing to meet industry demands.

“RISQS ‘oils the wheels’ of the GB rail market, saving the 110-plus buyers from auditing individually each of the 4,300-plus suppliers, creating substantial economies of scale and ensuring consistency. Today we have enhanced it significantly for both buyers and suppliers.”

Assess your own supply chain performance

The rail industry is now reaping the benefits of modern software, which will enhance supply chain transparency and make processes safer and more efficient for years to come.

Not sure if your own supply chain is up to scratch? Take our 12 question self-assessment quiz and learn:

• Your supply chain performance score
• Areas for improvement
• Recommendations to improve supply chain performance

Find out your supply chain performance score by downloading the self-assessment today.

Thick snow, gale-force winds, and flooded roads are all inevitable throughout the year.

And unfortunately, all spell trouble for supply chains across the country.

However, in an effort to save money, it is not uncommon that management can cut costs by reducing supply chain risk management. In turn, this will compromise their supply chains when bad weather strikes.

A recent report by PwC and MIT revealed that companies with mature supply chain and risk management capabilities are not only more resilient to disruptions, but also have a higher EBIT (earnings before interest and taxes) margin than those who don’t make these investments.

Avoiding the domino effect

Smaller, more frequent supply chain disruptions can have a knock-on effect that impacts business revenue. The aforementioned report also reveals that only 44% of the companies with mature processes suffered a 3% or more decline in their revenue compared to 57% with immature processes.

Production issues, delayed transportation, and absent staff can all have an impact that, if you’re not prepared for, can damage your credibility and challenge your resources.

However, having a full understanding of the complexity of your supply chain, as well as simply being aware of the likelihood of bad weather risks, can considerably improve the chances of overcoming these challenges. A company’s ability to adapt to potential risk, including bad weather, is a reflection of its supply chain management sophistication, preparation, and flexibility.

So what should companies bear in mind the next time bad weather threatens to affect their supply chain?

Be proactive, not reactive

Companies that have a detailed plan to respond to potential supply chain disruptions are at a distinct advantage.

Sure, investing the time and resources into something you’ll rarely, if ever, need is difficult. But if you do need it, that plan could be the difference between sinking and swimming.

It’s important to be analytical and flexible to mitigate risk. Ask yourself: What effects could the elements have on the business?

Create alternative routes for transportation, if possible. Plan communications within your organisation, (including your salespeople) about the possibility of the weather influencing your services, to avoid unmet expectations. Test your plans practically with drills and tabletop exercises.

Having a plan at the ready will save you time and manpower to keep your supply chain afloat.

Have complete supply chain visibility

In order to create a plan of action, it’s essential that you have full transparency with your supply chain operations in the first place.

In a survey conducted by the Business Continuity Institute (BCI), 69% of organisations claimed  that they don’t have full supply chain visibility. This gap in communication between suppliers and clients can lead to complete disaster when a disruption, such as bad weather, strikes.

As well as this, 22% claim that they do not analyse the source of disruption and are, therefore, unable to learn from it and prepare for next time.

Altius’ supply chain performance framework emphasises the importance of monitoring, capability, and management working in synchronicity to encourage full visibility of your supply chain, and ensure it is both reliable and performance-driven at all times.

Take a look at our best practice guide to find out how the framework is put into practice.

Utilise the right technology

In order to ensure a secure, safeguarded and transparent supply chain no matter what Mother Nature throws at you – selecting the right software is key.

In the aforementioned BCI report, 63% of organisations did not use any technology to analyse, track or monitor the performance of their supply chains, with a full 41% still reliant on spreadsheets to keep track of supply chain disruptions.

Having a more robust, all in one platform for all of your supply chain needs is essential to respond quickly to potential disruptions.

Software such as Exigo will also give a real-time view of your supplier’s status, so you can see at a glance where the potential risks are. Exigo also has automated features that removes irritating manual processes when all hands are needed on deck.

A better grasp of technology within your supply chain means you’ll be more aware of potential problems before they happen, so you can deal with them efficiently.

Understanding vulnerabilities

In the UK, we are lucky enough that natural disasters aren’t a common enough occurrence to cause billions of pounds worth of damage to supply chains.

However, the next time bad weather has the potential to cause disruption, it’s important that you are aware of your supply chain vulnerabilities, capabilities, and transparency to mitigate risk and weather the storm.

It’s not just the end-users that want clarity from suppliers and contractors.

Many reports, including our own future insight into the retail industry in 2020, claim that end-users are growing more concerned than ever about transparency with the products they are buying.

It is essential for brands at the top of the supply chain too, that they can trust suppliers and contractors. This trust starts by suppliers being able to prove accreditation to stringent health, safety and regulation guidelines.

Can you prove to be trustworthy?

When appraising suppliers, brands may take into account some, if not all, of Dr Ray Carter’s ‘10 Cs of Supplier Evaluation’. When taking supplier compliance into account, clients may consider their:

• Competency: Does the supplier have the ability to deliver the required products?
• Capacity: Does the supplier have the equipment, human resources and materials to provide the required products?
• Commitment: Does the supplier have the commitment to maintain suitable quality performance?
• Control: Is the supplier in control of their policies and procedures?
• Consistency: Does the supplier deliver a consistent product?
• Cleanliness: Does the supplier have a sustainability policy?

Introducing the Altius Supplier Network

Consistent monitoring of internal processes is essential, but it is difficult for suppliers to stay on top of everything, especially when trying to assure client satisfaction at all times.

As one of the most highly-respected accreditations available, the Altius supplier network is used by thousands of suppliers and has consistently provided 90% of suppliers with their assessment report within two working days.

Here’s a snapshot of the Altius Supplier Network…

What makes Altius different?

Altius work on a ‘live profile’ system which allows consistent compliance throughout the year. This innovative approach helps members to keep fully up to date with their own compliance, which reduces their annual burden.

Clients choose to work with the Altius suppliers because they trust the information is consistently monitored and up to date, something that similar schemes can not offer. Clients within a range of industries have spoken about the many benefits of the Altius live profile system, as well as the customer service we have been able to deliver to improve their supplier compliance.

“With this system, we have, for the first time ever, a real-time holistic view of the compliance status of our service supplier base,” said the supplier manager of a Fortune 150 consumer packaged goods company.

A world-leading advertising agency in the US also said: “Altius has helped us create efficiencies in the way we assess the security and compliance of our suppliers. By utilising the Altius portal we can create automated touch points with our suppliers, as well as generating reports, as needed, on various data points.”

Testimonials such as these demonstrate the importance of having a system that enables suppliers and clients to keep reporting and communication watertight, a clear advantage of joining the Altius Supplier Network.

To learn more about the Altius Supplier Network, take a look at our dedicated page.

You may already be familiar with the term ‘blockchain’ as the system behind Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, along with news of the growing impact it is having on the world of finance. 

But the potential influence of this technology is stretching far and wide, with supply chain industry leaders becoming more aware of the possible benefits, which include reliable monitoring, better traceability, and increased transaction security too.

This begs the question: how could blockchain technology change the supply chain industry? In their report, When two chains combine, Deloitte explores the advantages that blockchain technology can bring to supply chains across the world.  

This blog takes in the key points of the Deloitte report and looks at the biggest benefit blockchains could have on the supply chain industry, namely, better traceability of the product, from seed to shelf.

What is blockchain?

Blockchain is a continuously growing list of records that operates using a global peer-to-peer network.

Whenever a record or transaction is added to this computer database, also known as a universal ledger, it is copied and added to a ‘chain’ of computer code. Any transactions recorded within the blockchain will be fixed there permanently, with thousands of copies of this transaction able to verify that it took place.

On the blockchain, anything of value — money, titles, identities, contracts, and even votes — can be stored and managed privately using advanced cryptography and a consensus of transaction approval from others within the network. This means that files are impenetrable to anyone looking to tamper with the contents, as they would need to hack thousands of computers on the network at the same time.

Using blockchain for better supply chain traceability

The potential is there for businesses to improve their supply chain management through end-to-end tracking that is both more accurate and transparent. The blockchain has the capability to monitor events and data associated with a product, providing a full audit trail of prices, dates, locations, and certifications.

Consumers are becoming increasingly demanding for more transparency from brands and manufacturers, particularly within the food industry where 90 percent of people surveyed listed transparency as a critical factor on impacting their purchase.

A public, permissionless blockchain could be an effective and inexpensive way to trace each material used, and build confidence with increasingly environmental and socially conscious consumers.

The retail industry

When it comes to traceability, the retail and FMCG industries are at the forefront of new techniques and technology, such as blockchains. This is due in part to consumers wanting more information and greater transparency of how retailers operate.

As flagged in our report into the retail industry in 2020, 74% of consumers said they would be “proud” to be associated with a brand or retailer if they provided transparency and shared what the company really cares about.

In an era where consumer purchases are more ethically-driven than ever before, publicising product information from seed to shelf is imperative, not just for logistical reasons, but to win over the support of consumers worldwide.

The issue of modern slavery

As well as understanding where their products come from, ethically-driven consumers also want to know who is making the product they are buying.

Despite legislation in the UK stating that Modern Slavery is now illegal, 29% of businesses say they need to audit their own procurement processes to ensure they are compliant – a statistic found in our Modern Slavery Report.

Once completed, it is this kind of information that can be stored within blockchains, not only to ensure the company stays compliant, but provide ethically-driven consumers with the information they need to feel comfortable buying from a brand or retailer.

Other uses of blockchain?

As mentioned above, anything of value can be placed and held within the blockchain. This includes the standards and controls that provide evidence of supply chain compliance.

With all blockchain transactions timestamped and permanent, this will provide proof that all parts of the supply chain have been compliant with regulatory conditions, including health and safety checks and modern slavery compliance.

The values of blockchain are currently being increasingly investigated by pharmaceutical companies who are under regulatory pressure to effectively monitor, report, and share information and supply chain compliance measures.

Is the supply chain industry ready?

Although blockchain is starting to get the creative minds of the supply chain industry whirring, there is some way to go until the technology is widely adopted. We are currently still understanding the early trials of this technology, including elements such as cost, and the difficulty with linking blockchain technology to physical objects.

If companies are looking to introduce new technology, including blockchain, it is more important than ever that they get an accurate reading of the overall condition of their supply chain capabilities, management, and monitoring. Not doing so before jumping on board with new tech could prove fatal for many businesses.

Founded in 2009, Safety Schemes in Procurement (SSIP) is an umbrella organisation that facilitates mutual recognition between health & safety prequalification schemes.

But what does that mean?

What it means is that all members of SSIP recognise each other’s health & safety assessments, so you should only ever have to be passed by one SSIP member for basic health & safety compliance, to be accepted by them all. SSIP is a governing body created to reduce health and safety assessment costs in the supply chain. 

Supported by the HSE, SSIP aims to streamline prequalification and encourage straightforward mutual recognition between its Member Schemes and highlight the savings to buyers and suppliers.

In order to give you a better understanding of SSIP, and how it can benefit you, we’ve answered some of the questions we’re frequently asked by suppliers and clients…

How well known is SSIP amongst suppliers?

Currently in excess of 57,000 suppliers are registered with an SSIP Member Scheme. SSIP also has many registered members including Altius of course!

What does an ‘SSIP assessment’ cover?

The basis of SSIP mutual recognition is an assessment against the requirements of the SSIP’s ‘Core Criteria’, or the Health & Safety module of PAS91. Once you’ve successfully passed an assessment of your compliance with these regulations, you’ll be listed under one or more of the following categories, whichever apply to you: Contractor, Designer, Principal Contractor, Principal Designer.

How does mutual recognition work in practice?

How mutual recognition works does vary but, as an example, if you’ve passed your CDM assessment through Altius, CHAS will recognise this by offering their certification for a significantly reduced fee and with no requirement to undertake their assessment.

To find out more, check out the SSIP website. If you have been assessed by a member of SSIP in the last year, please call and let us know; you may eligible for a discount.

How can I use the SSIP arrangements to my benefit?

How you can use the SSIP arrangements to your benefit depends on your current situation, which schemes you need or want to be a member of, and a weighing up of the pros and cons of the different scenarios. For example, if you’ve passed your Altius CDM Award, you’ll appear on our SSIP list.

If you then need to join any of the other SSIP member schemes, you can use your Altius CDM status to do so. Just make them aware of your Altius status when you enquire about joining (or renewing) and they’ll let you know what you need to do.

Automatic entry on the SSIP ‘Portal’ with the Altius Network

If you have passed your Altius CDM Award, we will make sure you appear on the SSIP Portal, which is a web based tool used by a large (and growing) number of public and private sector clients to verify the pre-qualification status of contractors under CDM 2015 requirements.

Altius’ CDMComply assessment falls under the approved SSIP accreditation, so once a supplier has gained certification under this Altius assessment they will automatically be entered into the SSIP Portal database.

Altius also boasts the quickest turnaround and best overall value certificationto get onto the SSIP Portal with CDMComply. In addition to this, Altius will also grant free CDMComply certification and SSIP Portal entry to any supplier who meets all the SSIP Core Criteria as part of any other Altius client-specific assessment process.

Want to learn more about the Altius Network?

Efficiency, compliance and cost reduction are three of the top business priorities for anyone accountable for managing suppliers.

For any professional taking on the role of overseeing supply chains, managing suppliers and subcontractors is not easy. Sourcing, monitoring, and auditing suppliers can be costly, more so if it isn’t done correctly.

In order to help you reduce the time you spend, and save money managing suppliers, we’ve compiled five steps you can take to a more cost-efficient supplier management strategy.

1 – Cleanse your data

Incorrect supplier information, such as delivery address, account details or key contact details, can lead to unhappy clients and operation failures – these are all consequences of ill-managed data. Sound familiar?

Clean data is key to gaining an accurate 360 view of your suppliers and avoiding costly operational delays. Whether you’re using software or spreadsheets, take the time to ensure that you’re not housing data you don’t need, such as old or dated supplier information.

2 – Build trusting relationships

When it comes to reducing supplier costs, it’s common for managers to instantly focus on how their suppliers can reduce costs for them, instead of looking at how they can improve operations altogether.

A great supplier strategy works two ways. Creating a strong and trusting partnership between your business and your supplier will increase productivity, reduce risk and result in higher success rates for both you and your supplier.

3- Carry out regular and efficient audits

From risk profiling, to ensuring suppliers are qualified and compliant with regulations, carrying out supplier audits can seem like a burden for supply chain professionals. Often, these audits are an afterthought when a supplier is already causing issues, which is more than likely too late to avoid the risks that this can pose on your supply chain.

Audits do not have to be difficult. Take time out to implement a clear audit process that explains how often they need to happen (this could be every quarter, 6 months or annually), and the types of questions you’d need to ask.

Keeping on top of the compliance of your suppliers will ultimately eliminate financially damaging risks, and the time you’d have to spend on firefighting supplier issues as they arise.

4 – Utilise technology

The days of flipping between cluttered spreadsheet after spreadsheet should now be behind us, supplier managers should be making the most of the huge range of supply chain management technology readily available.

Making the investment into technology comes with many benefits, such as better control, transparency, visibility, and protection.

All of these benefits will result in managers having a clearer view of their supplier performance, saving time and reducing the chances compliance failures and nasty fines.

5 – Outsource

Outsourcing is often seen as a more expensive method of managing supply chain compliance, but this isn’t always the case.

Outsourcing aspects of supplier management, sourcing or performance monitoring will not only help free up extra time for supplier managers, but will also equip them with the knowledge and information they need to carry out their jobs efficiently and effectively.

Begin the journey to a more compliant and efficient supply chain

When it comes to eliminating unnecessary costs within your supply chain, mitigating risk and gaining an understanding of your compliance procedure are the first steps to take.

Our free Best Practice Guide can help you on your way to a more reliable and performance-driven supply chain. Download the guide today…

This year, Altius are celebrating 10 years in business. After a busy few months at Altius HQ, we wanted to take the time to reflect on the past decade of success.

Altius was incorporated back in 2007, and it didn’t take long for the business to take off as we landed our first major client, Bellrock, just one year later.

In the following years Altius won a number of consecutive industry awards and built working relationships with household names such as Boots, Marks & Spencer and Morrisons.

Ten years down the line, we have secured our biggest contract yet with the National Contract from Rail Safety and Standards Board for the whole of the UK rail industry.

To show our journey from the beginning right up until the present day, we have created a special anniversary infographic, which will showcase just some of the highlights from the past decade.

2007

Incorporation

Born out of a desire to improve the challenges supply chains posed to businesses, Altius builds on its current directors’ wealth of experience within the industry to offer solutions to anyone working in, or managing supply chains.

2008

Altius land their first major client – Bellrock

SGP Property & Facilities Management Ltd, now known as Bellrock, partnered to develop a robust supply chain compliance system, to remove the risk of lapses in compliance. Altius were initially introduced to Bellrock’s clients at the time including Pizza Hut, NCP and Punch Taverns. Altius continue to work with Bellrock today!

Altius secures a deal in the Middle East!

The Abu Dhabi Government chose Altius to provide supply chain management consultancy whilst looking to improve the service they received from their suppliers. Altius worked with key stakeholders to improve overall compliance, performance and service.

2009

ISO 9001 Certification

Altius have always had a huge commitment to quality when it comes to delivering supply chain compliance, this was proven in 2009 with the ISO 9001 certification.

2010

Appointed by Airbus UK to manage their contractors

2011

Innovation Award from British Institute of Facilities Management

Altius, alongside major client Bellrock, were awarded the prestigious British Institute of Facilities Management (BIFM) award for showcasing outstanding initiatives and innovations within the facilities management industry.

Achieved accreditation to HSE backed SSIP

Altius are pleased to be registered members of Safety Schemes in Procurement (SSIP), the governing body created to reduce health and safety assessment costs in the supply chain.

Today, Altius boasts the quickest turnaround and best overall value certification to get onto the SSIP portal with CDMComply. Learn more about SSIP with Altius

Appointed by Morrisons to manage their contractors across the UK

2012

First customer in USA!

Altius started to work with a leading advertising and marketing services agency network, based in Chigaco, with 96 offices in 84 countries.

At the time of contact Altius only offered an outsourced compliance management programme, but with the mix of extensive industry experience and technology expertise, Altius’ software platform was born to offer in-house compliance management.

2013

Began working with Boots nationwide

Altius began managing contractors for high-street brand, Boots, across the UK.

2014

Innovation Award from i-FM

Altius secured more recognition, this time alone, for innovation within the industry from i-FM. This award recognises companies that are utilising new technologies to achieve exemplary improvements in business processes and performance in the facilities sector.

New Altius HQ!

As the business grew, so too did the need for more office space, this move came in 2014 to the current location on Wyvern Industrial Estate in Derby.

2015

First multilingual software deployment across 7 languages

Spanning 10 countries Altius’ software is now multilingual and covers the following languages: French, Spanish, Italian, German, Dutch, Polish and Czech.

2016

Appointed by Marks and Spencer

Another high-street giant chooses Altius to manage their contractors across the UK.

2017

National Contract from Rail Safety and Standards Board for the UK rail industry

This year, Altius, in partnership with Capita, were selected to provide enhancements to RISQS, the UK railway’s supplier pre-qualification scheme. Managed by RSSB, the scheme is used by Network Rail, London Underground and 116 other buyers with 4,300 supplier members throughout the UK rail industry!

Over the past ten years, Altius has gone from strength to strength, building strong relationships with clients and suppliers alike, developing client centric solutions and, most of all, delivering an exceptional service resulting in improved supply chain compliance across any industry sector.

Altius have continued to help business globally with their supplier compliance, following the work the Altius team have been doing alongside a Fortune 150 consumer packaged goods company, based in the USA.

The company were looking for a systematic solution to replace existing manual processes for managing service supplier compliance. They were looking for a solution that was flexible enough to be tailored to meet their needs, while avoiding the pitfalls of a custom solution.

The problem

On completion of an extensive assessment into their existing supplier compliance process, it became increasingly clear that the use of spreadsheets, emails and paper notes were effective but inefficient. It was also becoming impractical and too dependent on individual diligence to do a thorough job.

The solution

To streamline their internal processes, Altius offered a demonstration of the supplier compliance software, Exigo. Exigo was designed by the Altius team to aide clients as they manage compliance across their supply chain, while providing a real-time and collaborative solution that will scale with their business.

After reviewing other available systems, the US-based company chose Altius’ system due to the benefits to their internal supplier managers and its efficient triggered system, which once set-up, requires minimal manual input, unlike other systems.

The Exigo system was also praised for its ability to:

• Provide clearly defined responsibilities to the internal team
• Provide ‘real time’ visible reference for the current status of suppliers’ compliance
• Help with the supplier audit trail and to assist the internal audit team

The roll-out

The initial pilot system was launched in early 2013 for data testing, with the roll-out being supported by small groups of classroom training sessions. Over the past four years, the system has expanded to now include over 50 key service suppliers and worked through three major system upgrades as the platform has evolved to meet new industry standards. This has been supported by continuous ad-hoc training as new suppliers are ‘on-boarded’.

The results

This has been a hugely successful implementation for both Altius and the client. The company’s Supplier Manager said on Exigo and the support from Altius, “With this system we have, for the first time ever, a real-time holistic view of the compliance status of our service supplier base.”

“In addition, it clearly communicates to both our suppliers and ourselves, exactly what the compliance requirements are, when they are required to be completed and the status (complete/incomplete) of each individual requirement.”

“This has also been a tremendous efficiency improvement and has allowed us to reallocate our time and resources to more strategic work.”

About Exigo

Exigo, Altius’ supplier compliance software aims to give clients total supply chain compliance management. Exigo includes a host of features and tools to help you manage areas such as supplier on-boarding, risk profiling, pre-qualification, contractual compliance, audit management and performance monitoring. Exigo also features:

Automated Processes and Workflows

All processes and workflows are fully automated with email and actions alerting users to what needs to be done, and when.

Real-Time Status Tracking and Reporting

Exigo provides a current view of your suppliers’ status so that you can see at a glance where your issues and risks lie.

Ready Made Templates

An extensive library of templates provides a solid starting point to get you up and running quickly and easily.

To see why a Fortune 150 company has had success with Altius Exigo, and to see if you can benefit from the supplier compliance software too, request your free demo with the Altius team today.

Request an Exigo software demo