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APRIL 2016 PRO INSTALLER
PRO BUSINESS
www.proinstaller.co.uk
DEBUT AWARDS RECOGNISE
WOLVERHAMPTON SUPPLIER
The VEKA UK Group’s inaugural Supplier of the Year
awards saw EWS (Manufacturing) Ltd. scoop the overall
winner’s prize. EWS provides
steel reinforcements for the
group’s PVCu systems.
The awards were split into four
disciplines, with EWS triumphant
in the ‘Technical – In house design’ category before going on to
win the main prize. Renolit was
named best ‘Manufacturing Consumables’ supplier, with OMYA
and Chick Plastics successful in
the ‘Raw Materials’ and ‘Ancillary’
categories respectively.
Nicola Woods, Purchasing Manager for The VEKA UK Group,
said: “Every month our key
suppliers receive a vendor rating
report outlining their performance
over the preceding period. Suppliers are graded on number of
non-conformances and ‘on time in
full’ (OTIF) deliveries but also on
customer service, flexibility and
timely response to queries.
“This comprehensive reporting
means we can identify potential
issues at an early stage and intervene before there’s any risk of our
customers being inconvenienced.
It also provides data to calculate
our top-scoring suppliers, and
now – with these awards – acknowledge the crucial contribution they make.
“Suppliers must achieve or exceed
a benchmark score – each month,
without fail – in order to remain our
approved supplier, and we also hold
regular face-to-face review meetings.
Through these interactions, we have
New tool helps small
businesses manage costs
A new service has
launched to help SMEs
secure the most appropriate supplier in a
matter of hours, saving
time and money.
Business marketplace
company Applegate has
launched Applegate PRO,
a free service which gives
businesses access to over
half a million suppliers and
allows them to create a
request for quotation (RFQ)
in minutes.
At least five suppliers are
then sourced by Applegate
to provide competitive
quotes. Applegate make
sure that businesses get the
best deals without having
to spend days conducting
searches.
A full history of past RFQs
can be viewed in addition
to quotation responses from
all Applegate’s suppliers and
a report of past purchase
order activity alongside
saved favourite products
and suppliers.
The business asserts that
the biggest everyday material issue of all for SMEs,
managing costs, is being
widely overlooked and is
the issue that will make or
break a small business in
times of uncertainty. The
company adds that seven
in ten small businesses are
struggling to cope with the
impact of rising costs.
Applegate’s nationwide research suggests many businesses are losing thousands
of pounds a year by failing
to shop around, yet, seven
in ten businesses say that
compared with six months
ago, a whole range of costs
are on the rise, from utility
bills to means of production
and office supplies.
Stuart Brocklehurst,
CEO of Applegate PRO,
commented: “The current
procurement process is
prohibitively expensive and
is not providing a level playing field for small companies to compete with larger
corporations.
“Innovation in the procurement industry is attempting
to widen markets, reduce
costs and create a more
tra nsparent, less restrictive
process with easy access to
tenders.”
Applegate PRO’s biannual
research asked 564 decision
makers from small businesses in the UK which areas
of their costs had increased
over the last six months.
Among key findings was
that 66% of SMEs had noticed a rise in utilities bills
over the last six months,
over one in five (22%) small
business owners had found
that the cost of raw materials - their main means of
production - had risen over
the last six months.
Over half (56%) of SMEs
said that staff wages were
on the increase, in particular in relation to outside
specialists, marketing and
training costs. The means of
production, including raw
materials, machinery, tools
and laptops/PCs, had risen
for 41% of businesses.
www.applegate.co.uk
the utmost confidence in the efficiency and robustness of our supply
chain and can pass that assurance
on to our valued customers.”
The vendor rating measures
product quality, on-time delivery,
customer service, quality system
(ISO 9001), and environmental management system (ISO
14001).
Andy Richardson, Chairman of
Wolverhampton-based cold-rolled
production specialist EWS said: “I
am delighted we won the Supplier
of the Year Award. EWS is honoured to have enjoyed a trading
relationship with VEKA for more
than 25 years.”
Dave Jones, MD of The VEKA UK
Group, said: “Well done to EWS
for demonstrating excellent quality
and service, in this, the awards’
first year.”
www.vekauk.com
WOOD AWARDS
SEEK DESIGN
EXCELLENCE
This year’s Wood
Awards has launched
aiming to recognise,
encourage and promote outstanding
design, craftsmanship
and installation using
wood.
With permission from the
owner, anyone associated
with a building or product design can enter. The
project must have been
completed in the UK in the
last two years. Entry is free
and participants may submit
more than one project.
For 2016 there are likely
to be eight main categories
for which one winner and
one highly commended
project can be awarded at
the discretion of the panel
of judges. The criteria for
the Wood Awards are based
on design, craftsmanship
and quality of installation.
Neither size, nor value are
taken into account, except
where special attention is
given to small projects for
the Small Project category.
Categories will be confirmed at shortlisting.
The Wood Awards shortlist
will be announced in July
and everyone involved in a
shortlisted project will be
invited to attend the Wood
Awards ceremony in London
on 22 November 2016.
The awards is the UK’s
premier competition for
excellence in architecture
and product design in
the world’s only naturally
sustainable material. Entries
close on 27 May.
More info at: http://
woodawards.com/