These Supplier Terms govern participation by manufacturers, distributors, brands and other approved material suppliers ("Supplier", "you" or "your") on the Akterial platform.
Akterial is operated by Akterial (Pty) Ltd, registration number 2025/510662/07 ("Akterial", "we", "us" or "our").
By registering as a Supplier or participating in an approved Akterial pilot or subscription plan, you agree to these Supplier Terms.
1. The Akterial Supplier Service
Akterial provides a digital platform through which professional users may discover, evaluate and request samples of participating suppliers' materials and products.
Depending on the applicable service or subscription plan, Akterial may provide:
- digital product listings;
- material discovery and search;
- sample-request management;
- centralised sample storage and/or fulfilment;
- consolidated delivery of samples from multiple suppliers;
- professional lead information;
- engagement and performance analytics;
- aggregated market or specification intelligence; and
- additional services introduced from time to time.
Specific features may differ according to subscription plan.
2. Supplier Approval
Supplier registration does not automatically guarantee acceptance onto Akterial.
Akterial may review suppliers to maintain the quality, relevance and professional integrity of the Platform.
Akterial may request reasonable business, product, brand or contact information as part of this process.
3. Product Information
Suppliers are responsible for ensuring that product information they provide to Akterial is accurate, lawful and reasonably current.
This may include:
- product names and descriptions;
- product and sample dimensions;
- finishes and colours;
- technical specifications;
- certifications;
- intended applications;
- pricing or pricing units where applicable;
- product lead times;
- sample dispatch lead times;
- stock or availability information; and
- photographs, drawings and other product assets.
Suppliers must notify Akterial within a reasonable period when material information changes.
Akterial may format, organise or display supplied information to make it suitable for the Platform but will not knowingly materially alter technical product information without appropriate basis.
4. Licence to Display Supplier Content
The Supplier grants Akterial a non-exclusive, royalty-free licence for the duration of the Supplier's participation to host, reproduce, format and display product information, trademarks, product imagery and related materials supplied by the Supplier for the purposes of operating, marketing and promoting the Supplier's participation on Akterial.
The Supplier represents that it has the necessary rights to provide this content.
Ownership of the Supplier's underlying intellectual property remains with the Supplier or applicable rights holder.
5. Samples
Suppliers participating in Akterial's sample service may provide sample inventory to Akterial for storage and fulfilment.
Unless otherwise agreed:
- ownership of unused sample stock remains with the Supplier;
- Akterial may store, package and distribute supplied samples to eligible professional users;
- Akterial may combine samples from different suppliers into consolidated shipments;
- samples should be reasonably representative of the relevant product;
- Suppliers must provide accurate information regarding any special handling, storage or safety requirements; and
- Akterial may establish reasonable inventory requirements based on demand.
The parties may separately agree to operational procedures dealing with replenishment, damaged inventory, obsolete samples, return or disposal of unused samples and other fulfilment matters.
6. Sample and Fulfilment Costs
Akterial's commercial model may include fulfilment, courier and sample-distribution costs within Supplier subscription or usage-based charges.
The exact charges, allowances, thresholds and services applicable to a Supplier will be determined by the selected plan, order form, pilot agreement or other commercial terms presented to the Supplier.
Where additional charges apply because of fulfilment volume, unusual sample size or weight, special handling or other agreed circumstances, Akterial will disclose the applicable basis for those charges.
7. Founding Partner Pilot
Selected early Suppliers may be invited to participate in a limited Founding Partner Pilot.
Unless otherwise agreed in writing:
- participation during the stated pilot period is free;
- the expected future commercial pricing may be communicated during the pilot;
- participation in the pilot does not automatically convert into a paid subscription;
- Akterial will not automatically charge the Supplier when the pilot ends; and
- the Supplier must actively agree to a paid plan before paid subscription charges begin.
Akterial and the Supplier may discontinue pilot participation in accordance with any pilot-specific arrangements communicated between the parties.
8. Subscription Plans
Akterial may offer multiple subscription or service levels.
Features, product limits, analytics, fulfilment allowances, support and other services may vary between plans.
Large manufacturers, distributors, multi-brand organisations or Suppliers with unusually large catalogues or fulfilment requirements may be offered Enterprise or custom pricing rather than a fixed unlimited-product plan.
Akterial may change future plan structures or pricing, provided that changes affecting an existing paid Supplier are communicated in accordance with the Supplier's applicable commercial agreement.
9. Professional Leads
Akterial may provide Suppliers with information generated when professional users interact with their products, subject to the Supplier's applicable service level and Akterial's Privacy & POPIA Notice.
The nature of information made available may include, where lawfully appropriate:
- engagement with Supplier products;
- sample requests;
- professional identity and organisation information;
- enquiries initiated by a professional user;
- project-related context associated with an enquiry; and
- aggregated or anonymised market and specification trends.
Access to Akterial data does not authorise Suppliers to use personal information for any purpose whatsoever.
Suppliers receiving personal information through Akterial must process that information lawfully, securely and only for appropriate purposes associated with the relevant professional relationship, enquiry, request or other lawful basis.
A Supplier may not sell Akterial-derived personal information, compile unauthorised marketing databases from it or disclose it to unrelated third parties without an appropriate lawful basis.
10. Analytics and Market Intelligence
Akterial may generate analytics using Platform activity including product discovery, engagement, sample requests and other specification-related signals.
Supplier-specific analytics may be provided according to subscription level.
Akterial may also create aggregated, statistical or appropriately de-identified insights concerning material demand, specification behaviour, categories, regions or market trends.
Akterial does not guarantee that analytics predict future commercial performance.
11. Quotations and Commercial Transactions
Where Akterial introduces quotation functionality, Suppliers may receive requests from professional users for pricing relating to specified products, quantities or projects.
Unless expressly agreed otherwise, quotations are issued by or on behalf of the relevant Supplier, and the Supplier remains responsible for the accuracy of its pricing, taxes, stock information, commercial terms and quotation validity.
A request for quotation does not guarantee a sale.
Unless Akterial expressly introduces a procurement or payment service governed by additional terms, Akterial is not the seller of the Supplier's underlying materials merely because an enquiry, sample request or quotation originated through the Platform.
12. Supplier Responsibilities
Suppliers must:
- provide accurate company and contact information;
- identify relevant locations and service regions accurately;
- maintain reasonably current product information;
- comply with applicable product, consumer, advertising and data-protection laws;
- respect the privacy of Akterial users;
- refrain from fraudulent, misleading or unlawful conduct; and
- cooperate reasonably with Akterial regarding sample fulfilment and legitimate user enquiries.
13. Privacy and POPIA
Both Akterial and Suppliers must comply with applicable data-protection requirements, including POPIA, where applicable to their processing activities.
A Supplier receiving personal information through Akterial is responsible for ensuring that its subsequent use of that information has a lawful basis and is consistent with any limitations communicated by Akterial or the user.
Additional data-processing terms may be introduced where necessary depending on the nature of the Supplier relationship.
14. Platform and Data Ownership
Akterial owns or licenses the Platform, software, interface, databases and Akterial-created content.
Supplier product content remains subject to the Supplier's or relevant rights holder's intellectual-property rights.
Akterial retains rights in analytics, aggregated statistics and de-identified insights created through operation of the Platform, subject always to applicable law and the rights of data subjects.
Suppliers may not scrape, reverse engineer, reproduce or commercially exploit Akterial's Platform or proprietary datasets without written permission.
15. Service Availability
Akterial will take reasonable steps to operate and maintain the Platform but does not guarantee uninterrupted service.
The Platform is evolving and functionality may be tested, improved, replaced or discontinued.
Material changes affecting paid Supplier services will be handled reasonably and in accordance with applicable commercial agreements.
16. Suspension or Termination
Akterial may suspend or remove a Supplier for material breach of these Terms, unlawful conduct, misleading product information, misuse of user information, non-payment of agreed fees or conduct that materially threatens users or the integrity of the Platform.
Where reasonably possible, Akterial will provide notice and an opportunity to remedy a remediable breach.
Following termination, the parties should reasonably cooperate regarding remaining sample inventory and any outstanding obligations.
17. Liability
Each party remains responsible for its own acts, omissions and legal obligations.
The Supplier remains responsible for the manufacture, quality, safety, compliance and accuracy of information concerning its products.
Akterial remains responsible for the services it expressly undertakes to provide.
Neither party excludes liability that cannot lawfully be excluded under South African law.
18. Governing Law
These Supplier Terms are governed by the laws of the Republic of South Africa.