Now in its third successful year the Meet the Buyer event, being held on Thursday, June 5, 2008, gives suppliers the opportunity to come face to face with the procurement personnel of more than 25 major public sector organisations and business support agencies.
Every sector, including 10 local authorities, BBC, NHS, Ministry of Defence, Strathclyde Passenger Transport, emergency services and SEPA, is represented, offering all types of services and products with a buying power of around £4 billion.
The event for Small and Medium Sized Businesses (SMEs) throughout Scotland will be held in Glasgow City Council’s City Chambers. It is free and attendees can also go to a number of seminars held throughout the event. One of the most popular seminars will be the first one of the day (starts 10am) which looks at business opportunities surrounding the 2014 Commonwealth Games.
Steve Inch, Executive Director of Glasgow City Council’s Development and Regeneration Services, who will officially open the event along with Glasgow’s Lord Provost, said:
“SMEs often find it daunting to enter the public sector procurement market because they don’t know what contracts are available, who to contact and what is required in terms of tendering procedures.
“Events like these serve as a useful starting block to find out what goods and services local authorities and government agencies procure and meet the people who deal with the tenders.
“Simply coming along on the day could spark interest and potentially widen an organisation’s customer base, leading to increased profitability.”
Willie Biggart of Glasgow based catering firm, The Really Delicious Food Company, that currently has contracts with the Scottish Government and Scottish Enterprise, will also lead a procurement case study on the day. He said:
“When confronted with a public sector tendering document for this the first time it can seem really complicated and there is the temptation to give up.
“I will be sharing my company’s experiences and lessons learned with other SMEs who are either going through this now or in the future.
“For me Meet the Buyer is a great forum for SMEs to connect with public sector buyers and provides an excellent chance to network with other organisations.“
Meet the Buyer is run by The Supplier Development Programme, an organisation made up a 13 local authorities who recognise the importance of helping Scotland’s small and medium sized enterprises to grow and diversify by breaking into public sector markets.
The Programme’s main priority is to build awareness and provide education and training opportunities for local supplier businesses, which prepares them to reach the stage required to tender for public contracts, while delivering transferable business skills and improving organisation’s overall competitiveness and profitability.
The event will be held Thursday 5 June 2008, 9.30am - 4.00pm, in Satinwood Suite of the City Chambers, George Square, Glasgow G2 1DU.
Companies wishing to attend the event must pre register by logging on to http://www.sdpscotland.co.uk/ or emailing sdp@drs.glasgow.gov.uk
Seminars will be allocated on a first come first served basis. Councils involved in The Supplier Development Programme include: Glasgow City, North/South Lanarkshire, East Renfrewshire, Renfrewshire, North/South/East Ayrshire, East/West Dunbartonshire, Inverclyde, Angus and Perth and Kinross