Purchasing policy

Principles underlying the purchasing policy

Our purchasing policy is based on the following principles:

•  an objective selection and award procedure;
•  compliance with Belgian and European legislation;
•  the constant search for new partners and innovative solutions;
•  suppliers who share our goal of operating, maintaining and developing a safe, reliable and high-quality power grid;
•  a preference for suppliers who use their knowledge and experience to reduce our costs while minimising the total cost of ownership (i.e. the cumulative cost of a product throughout its life cycle);
•  a preference for contracting work and framework agreements, under which the purchasing of goods is linked to delivery of the corresponding services, and for ongoing supplier qualification procedures;
•  a preference for performance guarantees (or service level agreements) vis-à-vis resource guarantees;
•  ongoing quality assessment and enhancement;
•  priority given to safety and the environment (see below).

Priority given to safety and the environment

Safety and the environment are central to all aspects of Elia policy, including its purchasing policy, and so Elia prefers suppliers who both actively implement a safety enhancement policy and offer environmentally sound solutions at an acceptable price. Therefore, one important consideration when choosing suppliers is whether they hold a certificate or certification (e.g. SCC, BeSaCC, ISO 9001, ISO 14000).

Evaluation of services provided

Elia has developed an in-house evaluation system for suppliers. It applies mainly to agreements relating to investment projects and also extends to other purchases. The following evaluation criteria are used:

• safety;
• quality of work;
• compliance with the specifications;
• keeping to the prices;
• compliance with deadlines;
• sound economic and financial position of the company;
• compliance with the contractual conditions.

For each type of purchase, the evaluation criteria are defined on the basis of the non-exhaustive list above. The evaluation criteria and results are discussed and passed on to the suppliers concerned and, where appropriate, an improvement plan may be drawn up.