News

Meet the Supplier with the Crown Office

The Supplier Development Programme received a request from Martin Traynor OBE, the Small Business Crown Representative, to arrange site visits of local suppliers in Scotland to look at what the business is doing, hear about their journey, and to discuss any issues they may have with public sector tendering. On 18 May 2023, a "Meet the Supplier" day was arranged in conjunction with two Scottish SME businesses: Excel Vending in East Kilbride, based in South Lanarkshire Council, and Catering Services (Supplies) Ltd., based in East Renfrewshire Council.

Meet the Supplier Site Visit 1: Excel Vending in East Kilbride, based in South Lanarkshire Council

Established in 1993, Excel Vending is an independent vending and reverse vending solutions provider. Working with the world’s leading vending equipment manufacturers, and an accredited Living Wage employer, Excel Vending supplies many of the UK’s public health, higher education and private sector organisations. After a tour of the facility, Martin Traynor OBE and Gillian Cameron, SDP Programme Manager, sat down with Excel Vending's Owner, Jane Macdonald, to discuss the experience of the business in public sector tendering, including why it is an accredited Living Wage employer, the bid/no bid process undertaken at the outset of tenders, and how future legislation can break down barriers to bidding for Scottish SMEs more generally.

Meet the Supplier Site Visit 2: Catering Services (Supplies) Ltd., based in East Renfrewshire Council

With over 40 years of experience, Catering Services (Supplies) Ltd. specialises in providing beverages and beverage dispensing systems to private sector and public sector customers throughout the U.K. Martin Traynor OBE and Gillian Cameron, SDP Programme Manager, met with Neville Barmack, Owner of Catering Services (Supplies) Ltd., to discuss the potential impact of global food shortages on supply chains and pricing, as well as prompt payment terms and how future legislation may cut down on the amount of time that SMEs spend filling in tender documents for UK Central Government contracts by asking businesses to "tell us once" in a single portal, which can then be cascaded to other tenders, similar to how the Single Procurement Document (SPD) works.

More information

To view a short video on the Meet the Supplier day, visit the SDP YouTube account!