Global Export Opportunity Program
Opportunities for Australian businesses to join Saab's global supply chain are identified and made possible through our Global Export Opportunity Program.
Saab is committed to assisting Australia in achieving its goals under the Australian Industry Capability (AIC) program. As a new member of the Australian Government's Global Supply Chain Program (GSCP), funded by the Commonwealth of Australia, our aim is to enhance opportunities for Australian businesses to become key suppliers in our global supply chain.
The objectives of the GSCP are to facilitate access for Australian suppliers to global markets through established multinational supply chains, strengthen local industry capabilities, competitiveness, and innovation and foster long-term partnerships between Australian suppliers and multinational companies.
Saab Australia's participation in the GSCP is delivered through our Global Export Opportunity Program (GEOP). The dedicated GEOP team actively seek opportunities for Australian suppliers to export into the Saab Group at a global level.
Key Benefits of the GEOP to Australian Suppliers
Access to Global Markets | Opportunities to supply goods and services to multinational companies operating globally.
Diversification and Growth | Ability to diversify customer base and expand market reach beyond domestic borders.
Capability Development | Exposure to advanced technologies, processes, and standards through collaboration with multinational partners.
Job Creation and Economic Growth | Stimulate local economic activity, create jobs, and enhance skills within Australian industries.
Sustainability and Resilience | Enhance supply chain resilience and sustainability by integrating Australian suppliers into global networks.
Supporting Supply Chain Growth
Saab has experienced unprecedented growth, which has seen a rising demand to diversify and increase supply lines to support our current and future programs.
Saab serves the global market with world-leading products, services and solutions from military defence to civil security. Saab operates in more than 30 countries, and our products are sold in more than 100 countries. Major operating centres for Saab are located in Australia, the United Kingdom, Germany, and the USA, in addition to our headquarters in Sweden.
Saab has a strong track record of supporting Australian suppliers to secure international export orders and this aligns with the intent of the GEOP. Saab Australia has worked with the wider Saab Group to source Australian Suppliers that can provide products and services into our Global supply chain.
Our GEOP commitment includes:
- A dedicated GEOP Team to drive the program under the guidance of our proven subject matter experts;
- Increasing engagements with the Saab Global Business Areas to ensure all opportunities are known through our global councils and professional networks,
- Increasing our current proactive engagements with Australian Industry through events, roadshows, conferences, collaboration events, the ICN Gateway, JOSCAR and social media,
- Matching opportunities and potential suppliers as well as facilitating face to face engagement with our Global Business Areas; and
- Supporting the development of suppliers with the aim of them being compliant, capable and competitive.
How to join the GEOP
1. Self-Assessment
- Are you an Australian owned company?
- Where do your products or services fit in our ecosystem?
- Does your capability match what those we are currently seeking?
- Have you completed the Office of Defence Industry Support (ODIS) Defence Business Readiness Tool (DBRT) assessment?
2. Register on ICN and JOSCAR
- Resources, tools, and opportunities that will help you and direct your company towards our supply chain can be found on the ICN Gateway supplier portal.
- Complete an expression of interest under the Participate in the Global Export Opportunity Program work package so we can assess your capability.
- In the portal, you can also keep up to date with program news and learn about the events we will be attending.
- The new JOSCAR system streamlines supplier compliance data management with a one-to-many 'community' approach, aligning requirements across Primes. Register for free on the SME Portal for a quick, easy route into the market for the defence, aerospace and security industry.
TimeFrame: Supplier dependent
3. Capability Assessment
On completion of the ICN and JOSCAR registration we will review and schedule an introduction meeting if we assess a present or future need for your capability in our global supply chain. To gain a better understanding of your capabilities, this might involve site visits.
Timeframe: Up to 4 months
4. Advice
We will offer your company mentoring and advisory services, such as:
- Introductions to our global team
- Strategic planning sessions
- Access to subject matter experts in quality, security and engineering support
Timeframe: Over first 12 months
5. Export Contracts
In collaboration with you, we will try to get export contracts with OEMs and Tier 1 partners in our global business.
Timeframe: 1 – 4 Years
Support and Resources
The GEOP team works with our experienced business development specialist and Saab's Industrial Cooperation Team to help potential suppliers understand defence export controls and provide advice on Australian and international defence strategy. Saab can also offer export advice on quality, DISP membership, security and engineering support.
The following links provide additional information and resources:
Global Supply Chain Program - Australian Government
ICN Gateway
JOSCAR
Defence Export Controls
ODIS
Contact Us for Further Information
Please contact the GEOP team via geop@au.saabgroup.com for further information.
Trusted Supplier Relationships
Delivering advanced products for operation in tough, challenging environments, as a company we need to be able to live up to and manage these demands, and in the same way our global supply chain needs to be able to meet our requirements.
Saab’s customers and stakeholders set high demands on us and our capability to reduce and mitigate risk, as well as acting and operating in a sustainable way.
Saab has clear procurement processes in order to make sure that our suppliers have the capability to meet the requirements that are necessary in order to be able to be a supplier to Saab.
Our values describe how we act in order to meet these demands and we expect that our suppliers live up to the same high standards and share our ambitions in connection to sustainability, risk management and compliance.
In our supplier qualification process we assess and make sure that our suppliers meet Saab’s total requirements regarding technical capability, processes and policies. We have clear routines and tools in order to compare and evaluate suppliers’ different capabilities.
Saab is committed to high standards of business ethics and sustainability. Saab’s Supplier Code of Conduct is based on the UN Global Compact’s ten principles and expresses the expectations that we hold for our suppliers.
Read moreBecome an approved supplier
To become approved as a supplier to Saab you need to go through our approval process. The process is systematic and a part of our management system. The following steps are included:
Gathering information: we gather information partly by asking you, the supplier, to provide information and partly by gathering external information about the company.
Desktop assessment: as a step in the qualification process, we perform an evaluation of the gathered information, where the material is compared to our requirements for the specific conditions that are valid for you, the supplier.
Supplier audit: for large contracts, for complex products or for suppliers where we have identified a high risk then we even perform a physical audit on site at the supplier.
When a supplier has been approved, we work together continuously in order to mutually develop the relationship and follow up that our requirements for approval are still met. Suppliers that do not live up to our standards run the risk of being phased out from our approved suppliers list.