AchillesLive provides a networking space for buyers and suppliers from the Northern European Power and Utilities sector to share insights and build productive relationships. With technological development, digitisation and sustainability creating huge changes in the way energy supply chains are managed, the exchange of ideas and creation of opportunities at the event can often be invaluable to buyers and suppliers alike.
Challenge
Smaller suppliers or those new to Achilles can often find it difficult to have face to face meeting time with buyers that could really benefit from the products or services they offer. For example, UBConnect has a history of supplying innovative utility solutions and insight to companies all over the Nordic region. Although it has a strong reputation in its markets, the process of building relationships and finding new work often takes a lot of time and resources.
The company needed one place where key industry players from the Nordic region came together to discuss new projects and look for capable partners. That is exactly what they found at AchillesLive.
Process
UBConnect is a qualified supplier through Achilles TransQ and Utilities NCE communities and received an invitation to the 2016 AchillesLive event in Oslo. The event brings together suppliers in the Nordic power and utilities sectors, helping them to share strategic insight and learn about projects and investments planned for the coming years.
For the team at UBConnect, it seemed like an interesting opportunity to talk to their peers and share their expertise. So, in September 2016 the team touched down in Oslo.
“The benefit for us is that AchillesLive brings together all kinds of people from our industry in a much more natural kind of way,” Sebastian Myrseth, Director of Consulting at UBConnect, said. “I have been to a lot of events where everyone is just trying to sell to each other the whole time, and it doesn’t feel very productive.”
“The difference with AchillesLive is that it is much more focused on buyer needs and supplier capability. It really helps to get the right people talking to each other.” Sebastian Myrseth, Director of Consulting at UBConnect
Results
As a result of the company’s attendance, UBConnect came away with some exciting opportunities with some of the most established companies in the Nordic region. Of course, there was still a competitive tender process to go through but speaking to the tendering companies at AchillesLive helped UBConnect to better understand what the companies were looking for and tailor their tender response accordingly.
Two companies that UBConnect had the opportunity to speak to at the event were Skagerak Energi and Statnett. Skagerak is a Norwegian energy utility company that produces and distributes electrical energy around the country. Statnett is the main power company in Norway, in charge of constructing and operating the power grid across the country.
“We have been active supporters of AchillesLive since it began in 2012,” said Mads Norberg, Head of Procurement, Skagerak Energi. “The reason is simple: we haven’t found a better example of bringing relevant suppliers and buyers together in a productive way. With a number of ongoing projects on power grids across the region, we are always looking for innovative and capable suppliers. AchillesLive makes the process of finding them much simpler for us.”
