An Achilles survey of over 200 suppliers in the mining community reveals what aspects they value in registration and evaluation processes, their main challenges, and what they expect from supplier management platforms to drive their business development.
Supplier management in mining is evolving. In a sector where operational continuity, safety, compliance, and sustainability largely depend on a robust supply chain, understanding suppliers is no longer just about collecting documentation.
Companies need information that allows them to identify risks, assess capabilities, and make decisions with greater confidence. At the same time, suppliers expect a return on the effort required to demonstrate these capabilities: greater visibility, access to commercial opportunities, and more efficient processes.
This evolution also occurs in a context of increased expectations for mining supply chains. The OECD indicates that due diligence implies that companies identify, prevent, mitigate, and account for adverse impacts related to their operations and business relationships.
To understand the perspective of suppliers themselves regarding these processes, Achilles conducted a survey of over 200 supplier companies within the mining community, addressing their experience with information registration and updates, the benefits they find in the platform, and the initiatives they consider most valuable for driving their development.
The results identify several trends.
1. Trust remains one of the main values of evaluation
One of the most relevant findings concerns the perception of the evaluation process. Approximately 7 out of 10 suppliers agree or strongly agree that the registration and evaluation process is adequate to ensure transparency and trust in the mining supply chain.
This data gains particular relevance given the industry’s increasing demands for traceability and due diligence. The OECD highlights that international expectations for supply chains include identifying and managing risks related to, among other aspects, human rights, corruption, financial crimes, and the environment.
In this scenario, having structured and evaluated information helps create a common language between buyers and supplier companies. It is not just about asking who can supply a product or service, but about having sufficient evidence to understand how that supplier operates and what capabilities they can demonstrate.
2. For suppliers, visibility and commercial opportunities are the biggest incentives
Regarding the main benefits of being registered on an evaluation and validation platform, responses show a clear commercial priority.
Greater visibility with mining operators appears as the most valued benefit, followed by participation in purchasing processes. The validation of business capabilities and increased credibility with other clients also stand out. This result shows a significant evolution in how supplier management is understood.
For a supplier company, registering and demonstrating its capabilities should not be perceived exclusively as an administrative obligation; there is an expectation that this information can become a letter of introduction to the market. In other words, evaluation gains greater value for the supplier when, in addition to demonstrating compliance, it helps them gain visibility and build trust with potential buyers.
3. Expected value vs. perceived results
The survey also identifies a significant challenge. Although suppliers recognize potential benefits related to visibility, participation in purchasing processes, and credibility, a large majority indicate that obtaining concrete benefits takes time.
Far from detracting from the process, this result helps identify where supplier community management needs to evolve. The expectation no longer ends with completing a registration or passing an evaluation, as suppliers want full control over what comes next:
Who can know my company?
For which projects can I be relevant?
Where do purchasing opportunities exist?
How can I use my evaluation to demonstrate my capabilities to other organizations?
Answering these questions can be key to transforming an evaluated supplier base into a true business community.
4. Suppliers want to avoid duplication
Another of the most compelling messages from the survey relates to efficiency. 9 out of 10 suppliers consider it valuable that the information and evaluation carried out on the platform can also be used by other mining companies.
An equally high proportion finds it attractive to be able to reuse already uploaded information to avoid re-registering with other companies or organizations; the message is clear: suppliers want to demonstrate their capabilities, but doing so from scratch for each client is something they would like to avoid, if possible.
This point becomes even more relevant in a business environment where procurement departments are accelerating their digital transformation. Deloitte’s 2025 global Chief Procurement Officers survey indicates that procurement departments are increasing their investments in technology and that risk management remains among the top priorities for leaders.
Digitalization, therefore, should not be limited to transferring forms to a digital environment. One of its opportunities lies in eliminating reprocessing, facilitating information updates, and allowing data to generate value for different commercial relationships.
5. The next step: connecting evaluation with opportunities
Tenders and commercial opportunities rank first among the most valuable initiatives for the development of supplier companies. Local development, business rounds, quality, certifications, mining market intelligence, and training on sector requirements also stand out.
This suggests that supplier communities have the opportunity to evolve from models focused primarily on evaluation towards ecosystems that combine three elements: evaluation, development, and commercial connection. Evaluation allows for understanding capabilities and risks, development helps close gaps, and commercial connection allows companies that have made that effort to gain greater visibility for relevant opportunities.
6. More information about buyers and projects
Suppliers also want to better understand the market in which they participate. The vast majority consider it useful to regularly receive information about the companies and projects for which their company can be visible through the platform.
When we inquire about what content they would be interested in receiving, training and events for suppliers appear as the most selected alternative. News about buyer companies, supplier requirements and standards, and information about opportunities in other industries such as energy, infrastructure, and oil & gas also carry significant weight.
These results show that a supplier community can provide value beyond pre-qualification and can also become a channel for sharing knowledge, preparing companies for market demands, and bringing them closer to new opportunities.
Conclusion: From evaluating suppliers to building more connected supply chains
The results of this survey show that suppliers understand the value of being evaluated and recognize the importance these processes can have in generating transparency and trust. However, they also make it clear that their expectations are evolving.
- They want greater visibility.
- They want to access commercial opportunities.
- They want to reuse their information.
- They want to better understand buyer companies and their projects.
- And they want demonstrating their capabilities to open doors to more organizations.
For mining companies, this represents an opportunity, as a properly evaluated supplier community is not just a tool for managing risks. It can also become a mechanism to identify capabilities, develop suppliers, expand competition, and build more transparent and efficient commercial relationships.
At a time when supply chains face increasing demands for traceability, sustainability, and due diligence, buyers and suppliers seem to agree on something fundamental: information generates more value when it can be transformed into trust, and that trust, in turn, leads to better commercial relationships.
