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A Guide to Meet the Buyer Events: What Are They and Should Your Business Attend?

What are Meet the Buyer Events?

Meet the Buyer events are an opportunity for suppliers to introduce themselves to public sector buyers and private sector contractors to learn about upcoming projects, contracts, frameworks, and supply chain opportunities. 

SDP hosts a large number of Meet the Buyer events in Scotland each year, and you can register with the Programme for free to ensure you can attend these, plus other tender training events. 

Choosing the Right Meet the Buyer Event

With a variety of Meet the Buyer events taking place every year, how do you decide which events to attend? Here are the key types of Meet the Buyer events:

Local Meet the Buyer Events

Local Meet the Buyer events typically focus on a single Local Authority, such as the Dumfries & Galloway Council Meet the Buyer Roadshow and the Glasgow Meet the ‘Real’ Buyer.

These events are an ideal opportunity to for local suppliers to engage with key buyers and decision makers, to understand local spend and procurement. Local Council Meet the Buyer events also allow you to raise your profile as a business, and ensure the Council is aware of your business or third sector organisation. 

SDP recommend attending local Meet the Buyer events in your Local Authority area. 

Regional Meet the Buyer Events

Regional Meet the Buyer events allow suppliers to engage with several Local Authorities, or other public sector organisations that operate within the area. Regional Meet the Buyer events include Meet the Buyer Tayside and the new West Dunbartonshire Meet the ‘Real’ Buyer. 

If you want to focus on tendering with various organisations in a particular region, our regional Meet the Buyer events are the best fit for you. 

National Meet the Buyer Event

Finally, there are National Meet the Buyer events. SDP hosts the largest free procurement event every Summer, showcasing contract and supply chain opportunities across the whole of Scotland. 

This event gives businesses access to public sector buyers including, councils, NHS organisations, universities and bodies such as Scotland Excel, Historic Environment Scotland, Registers of Scotland, and many more... These organisations have common requirements, such as delivery of goods, services and works, as well as physical assets to maintain.

If you want to grow your business in 2025 or can only attend one event this year, we suggest attending Meet the Buyer National to connect with a wide range of public and private sector contractors operating across Scotland, all under the one roof.

So, Which Event Should Your Business Attend?

Ideally, all of them! Attending all of our Meet the Buyer events is the best way to stay up to date with the latest in procurement, learn about contract and supply chain opportunities, and increase awareness of your business amongst key buyers from across the public and private sectors.

However, with such an array of Meet the Buyer events taking place across Scotland each year, you may wish to prioritise events which are the most relevant to your organisation’s strategic goals. 

View our full list of events here!