Data Protection Policy BGB Analytik AG

A. Information concerning information sharing for sales

1. Person responsible and content of this data protection policy

BGB Analytik AG
Rohrmattstrasse 4
CH-4461 Boeckten
Switzerland

We, BGB Analytik AG, are the operators of the website www.bgb-analytik.com/ch (hereinafter "website") and, unless otherwise stated, are responsible for the data processing listed in this privacy policy.
Please read the information below so that you know what personal data we collect from you and the purposes for which we use it. When it comes to data protection, we primarily follow the legal requirements of Swiss data protection law, in particular, the Federal Data Protection Act (DSG).
Please note that we review and change the following information from time to time, and it is not part of any contract. Accordingly, we recommend that you review this privacy policy regularly. Furthermore, other companies are responsible or jointly responsible with us for some of the data processing actions listed below, so that in these cases the information from these other providers is also decisive.

2. Who to contact concerning data protection

If you have any questions about data protection or wish to exercise your rights, please send an email to the following address: sales@bgb-analytik.com

3. Your rights

Provided that the legal requirements are met, you as the person affected by data processing have the following rights:

Right to information: You have the right to request access to the personal data we store about you at any time and free of charge when we process it. This gives you the opportunity to check what personal data we process about you and that we use it in accordance with applicable data protection regulations.

Right to correction:You have the right to have incorrect or incomplete personal data corrected and to be informed of the correction. When we make corrections, we will inform the recipients of the relevant data about the adjustments we made, unless this is impossible or involves disproportionate effort.

Right to deletion: You have the right to have your personal data deleted under certain circumstances. In individual cases, particularly in the case of statutory retention periods, the right to deletion may be excluded. In this case, if certain conditions are met, the data may be blocked instead of deleted.

Right to restriction of processing: You have the right to request that the processing of your personal data be restricted.

Right to transfer data: You have the right to receive the personal data you have provided to us free of charge in a readable format.

Right to reject: You can reject requests for personal data processing at any time, particularly when they are connected with direct advertising (e.g. advertising emails).

Right of revocation: You generally have the right to revoke your consent at any time. However, processing activities based on your consent in the past will not become unlawful due to your revocation.

To exercise these rights, please send an e-mail to the following address: sales@bgb-analytik.com

Right to complain: You have the right to lodge a complaint with a competent supervisory authority, e.g. against the manner in which your personal data has been processed.

4. Data security

We use suitable technological and organizational security measures to protect the personal data we store about you from loss or unlawful processing, in particular, from unauthorized access by third parties. Our employees and the service providers we commission are obliged to maintain confidentiality and to protect data privacy. In addition, we only grant these people access to personal data to the extent necessary for them to perform their duties.

We continuously adapt our security measures in accordance with technological developments. However, the transmission of information via the Internet and electronic means of communication always involves certain security risks, and we cannot provide an absolute guarantee that information transmitted in this way will be secure.

5. Contacting us

If you contact us via our contact addresses and channels (e.g. by e-mail, telephone or with a contact form), your personal data will be processed. The data that you have made available to us will be processed, e.g. the name of your company, your name, your position, your e-mail address or telephone number, and your request. In addition, the time of receipt of the request will be documented. Mandatory information is marked with an asterisk (*) in contact forms.

We process this data exclusively to implement your request (e.g. providing information about a product, support in completing your orders, such as returning products, or incorporating your feedback to improve our services).

6. Use of your data for marketing purposes

To the extent that the data described in this data protection policy – i.e. in particular, your personal details, your contact details, your contract data, and your surfing behavior on our websites – can be clearly assigned to you, we will store and link them to you in a central database. This enables us to efficiently manage customer data and allows us to answer your concerns appropriately. It also makes it possible for us to provide the services you request and to efficiently process the contracts associated with them.

We evaluate this data in order to further orient our offers toward customer needs and to show and suggest the most relevant information and offers to you. We also use methods that predict possible interests and future orders based on your website usage.

If you register for our e-mail newsletter (e.g. when opening a customer account or from within your already existing account), your e-mail address will be saved. Mandatory information is marked with an asterisk (*) in the registration form.

To avoid misuse and to ensure that the owners of e-mail addresses have actually given their consent, we use the so-called double opt-in for registration with customers who cannot be clearly identified. In this case, after submitting the registration, you will receive an e-mail from us containing a confirmation link. To complete the registration for the newsletter, you must click on this link. If you do not click on the confirmation link within the specified period, your data will be deleted, and our newsletter will not be delivered to your e-mail address.

By registering, you consent to us processing data so that you may receive news from us about our company, our offers from the various areas of chromatography, and related products and services. This data may also include behavior-based or personalized content, as well as requests to participate in competitions or to rate one of the aforementioned products and services. Collecting the e-mail address allows us to verify that the registration is assigned to a customer number that may already exist. Linking it to a customer account helps us to make the offers and content contained in the newsletter more relevant to you and to better tailor them to your potential needs.

We will use your data to send you e-mails until you revoke your consent. You can revoke your consent at any time, in particular, via the unsubscribe link in all of our marketing e-mails.

UOur marketing e-mails may contain a so-called web beacon or 1x1 pixel (tracking pixel) or similar technical tools. A web beacon is an invisible graphic that is linked to the user ID of the respective newsletter subscriber. For each marketing e-mail sent, we receive information about which addresses it was sent to, which addresses have not yet received the e-mail, and which addresses indicated that delivery failed. The beacon also shows which addresses opened the e-mail and which links were clicked on from there. Finally, we also receive information about which addresses unsubscribed. We use these data for statistical purposes and to optimize the frequency, timing, structure, and content of our marketing e-mails. This enables us to better tailor the information and offers in our e-mails to recipients’ individual interests.

The web beacon will be deleted when you delete the e-mail. To prevent the use of the web beacon in our marketing e-mails, please choose your e-mail settings to not display HTML in messages if this is not the default setting. In the help sections of your e-mail software, you can find information on how to configure this setting.

By registering for the newsletter, you also consent to the statistical evaluation of user behavior for the purpose of optimizing and adapting the newsletter.

WWe use the e-mail marketing software Emma by Marigold from Emma Inc. by Marigold, P.O. Box 737521 Dallas, TX 75373-7521, USA, for our marketing and transactional e-mails. This means that your data will be stored in a database of Emma Inc. by Marigold, which allows Emma Inc. by Marigold to access your data if needed to provide the software and to support you in using the software.

7. Third-party disclosure and access

Without the support of other companies, we would not be able to provide our services in the way you would like. In order for us to be able to use the services of these companies, we need to pass on some of your personal data. Such a transfer of data takes place especially if the data is needed to fulfill the contract you have requested, for example, to the logistics or transport companies that deliver products you order, or to a manufacturer who is required to fulfill your warranty claim.

In addition, we may pass your data on to selected service providers but only to the extent necessary to provide the service. This data protection policy explicitly mentions various third-party service providers, for example, in the sections on marketing. These include, for example, IT service providers (such as providers of software solutions), advertising agencies, and consulting firms.

Furthermore, we may pass on your data, in particular, to authorities, legal advisors, or debt collection companies if we are legally obliged to do so or if this is necessary to protect our rights, especially to assert claims arising from our relationship with you. Data may also be passed on if another company intends to acquire our company or parts of it and such a transfer is necessary to carry out a due diligence review or to complete the transaction.

8. Transfer of personal data abroad

We are entitled to transfer your personal data to third parties abroad if this is necessary to carry out the data processing described in this data protection policy (see especially sections 12-15). Of course, we comply with the legal regulations on the disclosure of personal data to third parties. If the country in question does not have an adequate level of data protection, we make contractual arrangements to guarantee that these companies adequately protect your data.

9. Retention periods

We only store personal data for as long as necessary to carry out the processing explained in this data protection policy within the scope of our legitimate interest. In the case of data related to contracts, there are statutory periods for which we must retain the data. Requirements that oblige us to retain data arise from the provisions on accounting and tax law. According to these regulations, we must retain business communications, concluded contracts, and accounting documents, in particular, for up to 10 years. If we no longer need this data to carry out the services for you, we will block the data. This means that the data may then only be used if needed to fulfil the retention periods or to defend and assert our legal interests. The data will be deleted as soon as the retention period has been met and we have no legitimate interest in retaining it.

B. Special information concerning the use of our website

10. Log file data

BWhen you visit our website, our servers temporarily save each access in a log file. The following data is recorded without your intervention, and we store it until it is automatically deleted:

• the IP address of the computer accessing it
• the date and time of access
• the name and URL of the retrieved file
• the status code (e.g. error message)
• the website from which you accessed our site, if applicable with the search term used
• the operating system of your computer or mobile phone and the browser you use (including type, version, and language setting)
• the transmission protocol used (e.g. HTTP/1.1)
• device type, in the case of access via mobile phones
• the city or region from which you accessed the site

We collect and process this data to enable the use of our website (establishing a connection), ensuring long-term system security and stability, and for error and performance analysis. It also enables us to optimize our website (see also section 13 on these last points).

If the website's network infrastructure is attacked, or if we suspect other unauthorized or abusive use of the website, we will evaluate the IP address and other data for clarification and defense and, if necessary, use them in criminal proceedings to identify and take civil and criminal action against the users concerned.

Finally, when you visit our website, we use cookies as well as applications and tools based on the use of cookies. In this context, the data described here may also be processed. You can find more information on this in the following sections of this data protection policy, in particular, section 11.

11. Cookies

Cookies are information files that your web browser stores on the hard disk or memory of your computer when you visit our website. Cookies are assigned identification numbers that identify your browser and can be used to read the information contained in the cookie.

Cookies help to make your visit to our website easier, more pleasant, and more relevant, among other things. We use cookies for various purposes that are required for you to use the website as you choose, i.e. they are "technically necessary". For example, we use cookies to be able to identify you as a registered user once you have logged in so that you do not have to log in again when you navigate to the various subpages. The shopping cart and order functions are also based on the use of cookies. In addition, cookies perform other technical functions required for the operation of the website, such as so-called load balancing, i.e. the distribution of the page's performance load across different web servers to relieve the load on the servers. Cookies are also used for security purposes, for example, to prevent the unauthorized posting of content. Finally, we also use cookies as part of the design and programming of our website, e.g. to enable the uploading of scripts or codes.

Most Internet browsers accept cookies automatically. You can configure your browser so that no cookies are stored on your computer or so that a message always appears when you receive a new cookie. On the following pages, you will find explanations for how to configure the processing of cookies in selected browsers.

• Microsoft Windows Internet Explorer
• Microsoft Windows Internet Explorer Mobile
• Mozilla Firefox
• Google Chrome for Desktop
• Google Chrome for Mobile
• Apple Safari for Desktop
• Apple Safari for Mobile

If you deactivate cookies, you may not be able to use all our website’s functions.

12. Search engines

Our website uses the Google SiteSearch/Google Custom Search Engine of Google LLC (1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043, USA). This enables us to provide you with an efficient search function on our website.

When you use our search fields, your browser may transmit the log file data listed in section 10 (including IP address) and the search term you entered into Google if you have JavaScript installed in your browser. If you wish to prevent this data being transmitted, you can deactivate JavaScript in your browser settings (usually in the "Data Protection" menu). Please note that the search function and other functions of the website may be impaired if you do so.

For further processing of the data by Google, please note Google's data protection provisions on its homepage (https://policies.google.com)

Our website uses the Doofinder Search Engine from Doofinder, S.L. (C/ Cronos, 63 – 28037 Madrid, Spain). This enables us to provide you with an efficient search function on our website.

When you use our search fields, your browser may transmit the log file data listed in section 10 (including IP address) as well as the search term you entered.

For further processing of the data by Doofinder, please note Doofinder's data protection regulations on its homepage (https://www.doofinder.com/en/privacy-policy)

Our website uses the Elasticsearch search engine from Elasticsearch B.V. (Keizersgracht 281, 1016 ED Amsterdam, Netherlands). This enables us to provide you with an efficient search function on our website.

When you use our search fields, your browser may transmit the log file data listed in section 10 (including IP address) as well as the search term you entered.

For further processing of the data by Elasticsearch, please note the data protection provisions of Elasticsearch on its homepage (https://www.elastic.co/legal/privacy-statement/)

13. Tracking and web analysis tools

ZWe use the web analysis services listed below to design our website to meet your needs and to continuously optimize it. In this context, pseudonyms for user profiles are created and cookies are used (see also section 11). The information the cookie generates about your use of this website is usually transferred to a server of the service provider together with the log file data listed in section 10, where it is stored and processed. This may also involve a transfer to servers abroad, e.g. the USA (see section 8, in particular, for the guarantees we make).

In processing the data, we receive the following information, among other things:

• Navigation path that a visitor follows on the site (including content viewed and products selected or purchased)
• Length of time spent on the website or subpage
• The subpage from which one leaves the website
• The country, region, or city from which access is made
• End device (type, version, color depth, resolution, width, and height of the browser window)
• Returning or new visitor

The provider will use this information at our request to evaluate the use of the website, to compile reports on website activity for us, and to provide other services related to website activity and Internet usage for the purposes of market research and needs-based design of these web pages. To a certain extent, we and the providers can be considered jointly responsible for this data processing under data protection law.

You have the option of blocking all tracking links across the board using this link. Please note that a cookie is set for this purpose. The use of the online shop is not affected by the blocking. You can reject or deactivate the relevant cookies in the settings of your web browser (see section 11) or make use of the service-specific options described below.

The data described about the use of the website may be transmitted to the servers of Google LLC in the USA for the processing purposes explained above (see section 13.1). The IP address is shortened before transmission within the member states of the European Union or in other states party to the Agreement on the European Economic Area.

We use the web analytics service Google Analytics from Google Ireland Limited (Gordon House, 4 Barrow St, Dublin, D04 E5W5, Ireland) or Google LLC (1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043, USA) (“Google”).

The data described about the use of the website may be transmitted to the servers of Google LLC in the USA for the processing purposes explained above (see section 13.1). The IP address is shortened before transmission within the member states of the European Union or in other states party to the Agreement on the European Economic Area.

Users can prevent Google from collecting the data the cookie generate and the data relating to the user’s use of the website and from processing this data by downloading and installing the browser plug-in available at the following link: https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout?hl=en.

You can find more information about data protection at Google on its homepage.

Together with our store software service provider, we evaluate certain information from our customer base under joint responsibility (e.g. customer group, pages visited, click paths, date and time of the visit, information about the end device used (resolution, resolution density, operating system), referrer URL, information about the browser used, locale, search queries and time zone). This information is processed by an external service provider and forwarded to us in approximate real time so that we can monitor the use of our website and improve our offerings.

The joint responsibility exists between us and shopware AG; the data is collected in our store and then transferred to servers of shopware or its service providers; with the exception of obtaining your consent for the use of cookies or comparable technologies and the fulfillment of these information obligations, all obligations, in particular the implementation of the rights of data subjects, are the responsibility of shopware AG, which you can reach at legal@shopware.com. shopware AG can derive behavior patterns on our store from the data collected, but cannot assign this data to you as a person and there is no intended third country transfer.

14. Social media

We have included links to our profiles in the social networks of the following providers on our website:

• LinkedIn Unlimited Company, Wilton Place, Dublin 2, Ireland
• Facebook, Meta Platforms, Inc., 1 Meta Way Menlo Park, CA 94025, USA
• Instagram, Meta Platforms, Inc., 1 Meta Way Menlo Park, CA 94025, USA
• Google Ireland Limited, Gordon House, Barrow Street, Dublin 4, Ireland (YouTube)

If you click on an icons for one of these social networks, you will automatically be redirected to our profile in the respective network. This establishes a direct connection between your browser and the server of the respective social network. This tells the network that you have visited our website with your IP address and clicked on the link.

If you click on a link to a social network while you are logged in to your user account on the network in question, the content of our website can be linked to your profile so that the network can assign your visit to our website directly to your account. If you want to prevent this, you should log out before clicking on the relevant links. A connection between your access to our website and your user account is always made when you log in to the respective network after clicking on the link. The respective provider is responsible for the associated data processing under data protection law. Thus, please note the data protection information on the social network's website.

15. Online advertising and targeting

We use services from various companies to provide you with interesting offers online. We have your user behavior on our website and the websites of other providers analyzed so that we can tailor our online advertising to your needs.

Most technologies for tracking your user behavior ("tracking") and for the targeted display of advertising ("targeting") work with cookies (see also section 11), which can be used to recognize your browser across different websites. Depending on the service provider, it may also be possible for you to be recognized online even when you use different devices (e.g. laptop and smartphone). This may be the case, for example, if you have registered with a service that you use on multiple devices.

In addition to the data already mentioned that is generated when you access websites ("log file data", see section 10) and when cookies are used (section 11) and which can be sent to the companies involved in the advertising networks, the following data, in particular, is used to select the advertising that is potentially most relevant to you:

• Personal information you provided when you registered or used a service from advertising partners (e.g. your gender, your age group)
• User behavior (e.g. search queries, interactions with advertising, types of websites visited, products viewed and purchased, newsletters subscribed to).

We and our service providers use this data to determine whether you belong to the target group we are addressing, and we take this into account when selecting advertisements. For example, after you have visited our site, when you visit other sites, you may be shown advertisements for the products you have consulted ("re-targeting"). Depending on the scope of the data, a profile of a user may also be created that is automatically evaluated, and the advertisements are selected according to the information stored in the profile, such as membership of certain demographic segments or potential interests or behaviors. Such advertisements may be presented to you on various channels, which include, in addition to our website or app (as part of on-site and in-app marketing), advertisements that are placed via the online advertising networks we use, such as Google.

The data can then be evaluated for the purpose of billing the service provider and to assess the effectiveness of advertising measures in order to better understand the needs of our users and customers and improve future advertising campaigns. This can also include information that the performance of an action (e.g. visiting certain sections of our websites or sending information) is due to a specific advertisement. We also receive aggregated reports of advertising activities and information from the service providers about how users interact with our website and our advertisements.

You can withdraw your consent at any time by rejecting or deactivating the relevant cookies in the settings of your web browser (see section 11). You can also find further options for blocking advertising in the information provided by the respective service provider.

16. Registering for a customer account

To place orders in our online shop, you must apply for a customer account. If you open a customer account on our website, we collect the following data (mandatory information in the corresponding form is marked with an asterisk (*)):

• • Personal details of the applicant:
  • Name
  • First name
  • E-mail address

DWe use your personal details to establish your identity and to check the requirements for registration. We need your e-mail address to provide people in your company with password-protected direct access to the basic data we store so we can ensure that the person using your details to access our website is the right one. We also need your e-mail address to verify and confirm the opening of the account and for any future communication we need to have with you to process your contract or order. In addition, these data are stored in your customer account to facilitate future contracts. For this purpose, we also allow you to store additional information in the account.

Using the password-protected access, people with the appropriate authorizations can, among other things, view completed and open orders, give other people from your company access to your trading account (user management), and change data or request a change to company data.

We also use the data to provide you with an overview of the products you have ordered and the services you have received (see, in particular, sections 17 and 22). It also provides us with an easy way to manage your personal data, to administer our website and contractual relationships, i.e. to understand the reasons for, the content and processing of, and any changes in the contracts concluded with you via your customer account.

To avoid misuse, you must always keep your login data confidential; you should close your browser window when you have finished communicating with us, especially if you share the computer with others.

17. Ordering products

If you wish to order products or book services through the website, we require various additional data to process the contract; all mandatory information in the corresponding form is marked with an asterisk (*):

• Login details (e-mail address and password)
• Customer invoice address (and, if desired, different delivery address)
• For delivery by a transport company: additional contact details
• Payment details (depending on the payment method selected)

We use the data to determine your identity before concluding a contract. We also need your e-mail address to confirm your order and for any future communication we need to have with you to process your contract or order. We store your data together with the order details (e.g. time, order number), the data on the ordered/booked services (e.g. name, price, and features of the product; "product data"), the payment data (e.g. selected payment method, confirmation of payment and time; see also section 18) and the information about the processing and fulfillment of the contract (e.g. returning products, utilizing service contracts or warranties) in our CRM database (see section 6.1) so that we can ensure that your order is processed correctly and the contract is fulfilled.

We will also pass on information to any third-party service providers to the extent that it is needed for the contract to be fulfilled (e.g. transport companies).

Providing data that is not mandatory is voluntary. We process this data to best tailor our offers to your personal needs, to facilitate the processing of contracts, to contact you via an alternative communication channel if necessary with a view to fulfilling the contract, or for statistical recording and analysis for optimizing our offers.

18. Online payment processing

If you purchase services or products on our website, depending on the product or service and the desired payment method, you will be required to provide further data – in addition to the information specified in section 17 – such as your credit card information or the login to your payment service provider. We will forward this information, as well as the fact that you have purchased a service from us for the relevant amount and at a particular time, the respective payment service providers (e.g. providers of payment solutions, credit card issuers and credit card receivers). Please always note the information provided by the respective company, in particular, its data protection policy and general terms and conditions.

If we provide advance services, e.g. when you make a purchase to be billed to your account, we may obtain a credit report from a credit agency based on mathematical and statistical procedures to protect our legitimate interests. For this purpose, we transmit the personal data required for a credit check to the Swiss credit agency, Creditreform Association Gen, Teufener Strasse 36, 9000 St. Gallen, and utilize the information we receive concerning the statistical probability of a payment default to weigh whether to establish, implement, or terminate our contractual relationship with you. The credit report may contain probability values (score values) calculated on the basis of scientifically accepted mathematical and statistical procedures and whose calculation includes, among other things, address data. We take your legitimate interests into account in accordance with the statutory provisions.