UK data protection law requires an organisation to determine and document an appropriate lawful basis before processing personal information. The appropriate basis depends on the purpose of the processing and the relationship with the individual.

7. Our Legitimate Interests

Where we rely on legitimate interests, those interests may include:

• operating and developing our B2B sourcing business;
• responding to business enquiries;
• identifying relevant prospective customers and suppliers;
• providing quotations and sourcing services;
• maintaining professional relationships;
• communicating with customers, suppliers and business contacts;
• protecting our commercial interests;
• preventing fraud and misuse;
• securing our website and IT systems;
• improving our products, services and customer experience;
• recovering debts;
• managing disputes; and
• establishing, exercising or defending legal claims.

Before relying on legitimate interests, we consider whether the processing is necessary and whether your interests, rights or freedoms override our commercial interests.

You may object to processing based on legitimate interests by contacting us.

8. Information Required to Provide Our Services

In certain circumstances, we need personal information to:

• respond to your enquiry;
• prepare a quotation;
• enter into or perform a contract;
• arrange sourcing, delivery or payment;
• comply with accounting, tax, customs or other legal requirements; or
• investigate a complaint, warranty request or commercial issue.

Where you do not provide information that is reasonably required, we may be unable to provide a quotation, process an order, arrange delivery, make payment or continue a commercial relationship.

9. Business-to-Business Marketing

ACWB may use professional contact information to communicate with businesses and business representatives about:

• industrial automation components;
• sourcing services;
• product availability;
• obsolete or hard-to-find components;
• new, surplus or reconditioned stock;
• relevant manufacturers and brands;
• industry information;
• company news; and
• services that may reasonably be relevant to the recipient’s professional role.

We may rely on legitimate interests for certain B2B communications. Where consent is required by the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations or other applicable law, we will obtain consent before sending the communication.

The rules may differ depending on whether the recipient is a corporate organisation, sole trader or certain type of partnership, and on the communication method used.

Every electronic marketing communication will provide a clear way to unsubscribe or object.

You may ask us to stop using your information for direct marketing at any time by:

• using the unsubscribe option in the communication; or
• contacting us at sales@automationcomponentswb.com

The right to object to direct marketing is absolute. When you opt out, we may retain limited information on a suppression list to ensure that we respect your request and do not contact you again for that purpose.

We do not sell personal information to third parties for their own marketing purposes.

10. Cookies and Similar Technologies

Our website may use cookies and similar technologies to:

• operate essential website functions;
• maintain website security;
• remember user preferences;
• understand website performance;
• measure website traffic;
• improve content and functionality; and
• support analytics or marketing activities where permitted.

Strictly necessary cookies may be used without consent where they are essential to provide a service requested by the visitor.

Non-essential cookies, including analytics or advertising cookies, will only be placed where the visitor has provided the required consent. Visitors must be given clear information and meaningful controls over optional cookies.

Further details are provided in our separate Cookie Policy. You can also review or change your preferences through the Cookie Settings function on our website.

11. Who We Share Personal Information With

We may share personal information with appropriate third parties where necessary for the purposes described in this Privacy Policy.

These may include:

• manufacturers;
• authorised distributors;
• component suppliers;
• sourcing partners;
• customers and prospective customers;
• couriers, freight forwarders and logistics providers;
• customs agents and import or export intermediaries;
• banks and payment service providers;
• accountants, auditors, insurers and insurance brokers;
• legal advisers and debt-recovery providers;
• website hosting and IT-service providers;
• email, communications and productivity-service providers;
• customer relationship management providers;
• data-storage and cloud-service providers;
• website analytics providers, subject to cookie consent requirements;
• fraud-prevention and due-diligence providers;
• government departments, regulators, courts, law-enforcement bodies or tax authorities;
• prospective buyers, investors or professional advisers in connection with a corporate transaction; and
• other parties where you have instructed or authorised us to make the disclosure.

We will only share information that is reasonably necessary for the relevant purpose.

Where a service provider processes personal information on our behalf, we will take reasonable steps to ensure that appropriate contractual and security protections are in place.

We may also disclose personal information where required by law, regulation, court order or legally enforceable request.

12. International Transfers

ACWB operates within an international supply chain and may work with suppliers, manufacturers, customers, logistics providers and service providers located outside the United Kingdom.

This means that personal information may occasionally be transferred to or accessed from another country.

Where a restricted international transfer takes place, we will use an appropriate transfer mechanism where required, such as:

• UK adequacy regulations;
• the UK International Data Transfer Agreement;
• the UK Addendum to approved contractual clauses;
• another legally recognised safeguard; or
• a permitted legal exception where appropriate.

We will also assess the transfer and implement additional safeguards where reasonably required.

You may contact us for further information about the safeguards relevant to a particular transfer.

13. Data Security

We use appropriate technical and organisational measures designed to protect personal information against:

• unauthorised access;
• unlawful use;
• accidental loss;
• alteration;
• disclosure;
• destruction; and
• other forms of unauthorised processing.

These measures may include:

• controlled access to systems and records;
• account authentication;
• password and access-management procedures;
• appropriate system and device security;
• secure cloud or hosting services;
• confidentiality obligations;
• secure backup arrangements;
• malware and security monitoring;
• incident-response procedures; and
• limiting access to people who require the information for legitimate business purposes.

No internet transmission or information-storage system can be guaranteed to be completely secure. However, we take reasonable and proportionate steps to manage security risks and protect the information under our control.

14. How Long We Retain Personal Information

We retain personal information only for as long as it is reasonably necessary for the purpose for which it was collected, including legal, accounting, tax, warranty, contractual and dispute-resolution requirements.

Our usual retention periods are:

Information	Usual retention period
General enquiries and quotations that do not result in an order	Usually up to 36 months after the last meaningful contact
Customer, supplier and transaction records	Usually six years from the end of the relevant financial year or commercial relationship
Invoices, accounting, tax and payment records	Normally six years, or longer where required by law
Contract, delivery, warranty and return records	For the contract or warranty period and afterwards where needed for legal or compliance purposes
Marketing records	Until you opt out or the information is no longer relevant, with periodic reviews
Unsubscribe and suppression records	For as long as reasonably necessary to respect the opt-out
Website and security logs	Usually up to 12 months, unless needed to investigate a security incident
Data protection requests and complaints	Usually up to six years after the matter is closed
Cookie information	For the periods stated in our Cookie Policy

UK data protection law does not prescribe one universal retention period. Organisations must establish periods that are necessary and justifiable for their particular purposes. UK companies are generally required to retain relevant accounting records for six years from the end of the financial year to which they relate, subject to certain exceptions.

We may retain information for longer where:

• a legal or regulatory requirement applies;
• an investigation or dispute is ongoing;
• a warranty or contractual obligation remains active;
• litigation is reasonably anticipated;
• a tax or regulatory authority has requested retention; or
• there is another legitimate and documented reason.

When information is no longer required, we will delete, anonymise or securely dispose of it.

15. Your Data Protection Rights

Depending on the circumstances and the lawful basis being used, you may have the right to:

• be informed about how your personal information is used;
• request access to your personal information;
• request correction of inaccurate or incomplete information;
• request deletion of your information;
• request restriction of processing;
• receive certain information in a portable format;
• object to processing based on legitimate interests;
• object to direct marketing;
• withdraw consent where processing is based on consent; and
• raise concerns about automated decision-making or profiling.

These rights are not all absolute and may be subject to legal conditions, restrictions or exemptions.

To exercise a right, contact:

Email: sales@automationcomponentswb.com
Postal address: 40 Carter Street, Uttoxeter, Staffordshire, ST14 8EU, United Kingdom

We may need to request reasonable information to confirm your identity and ensure that personal information is not disclosed to an unauthorised person.

We will respond within the timeframe required by applicable law. We do not normally charge a fee, although a reasonable fee may be permitted where a request is manifestly unfounded, excessive or repetitive.

16. Automated Decision-Making

ACWB does not currently use personal information to make solely automated decisions that produce legal or similarly significant effects on individuals.

If this changes, we will update this Privacy Policy and provide appropriate information about the logic, significance and potential consequences of the automated processing.

17. Data Protection Complaints

You may submit a data protection complaint by:

• emailing sales@automationcomponentswb.com;
• using the data protection contact form available on our website; or
• writing to 40 Carter Street, Uttoxeter, Staffordshire, ST14 8EU, United Kingdom.

We will:

• provide an accessible method for submitting complaints;
• acknowledge receipt of a data protection complaint within 30 days;
• investigate the matter appropriately;
• keep you informed where necessary; and
• communicate the outcome without undue delay.

These complaint-handling requirements apply following changes introduced by the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025.

You also have the right to raise a concern or complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office, the UK supervisory authority for data protection.

We would appreciate the opportunity to address your concern directly first, but contacting us is not a condition of your right to approach the Information Commissioner’s Office.

18. Children’s Information

Our website and services are intended for businesses and professional users and are not directed towards children.

We do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under the age of 18. If we become aware that information has been provided by a child without appropriate authority, we will take reasonable steps to delete it.

19. Third-Party Websites

Our website may contain links to websites operated by manufacturers, suppliers, professional bodies, social media platforms or other third parties.

ACWB does not control those websites and is not responsible for their privacy practices. We recommend reviewing the privacy policy of each third-party website before providing personal information.

20. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy periodically to reflect:

• changes to our business operations;
• new products or services;
• changes to service providers;
• changes to website technology;
• changes to legal or regulatory requirements; or
• improvements to our data protection practices.

The latest version will be published on our website and the “Last updated” date will be amended.

Where a change materially affects how we use personal information, we will take reasonable steps to bring it to the attention of affected individuals.

21. Contact Us

For questions, requests or complaints regarding this Privacy Policy or our use of personal information, please contact:

ACWB
Legal company name: Automation Components Worldwide Brokers Limited
Company number: 17350169
Registered office: 40 Carter Street, Uttoxeter, Staffordshire, ST14 8EU, United Kingdom
Email: sales@automationcomponentswb.com
Website: automationcomponentswb.com