Profiting Through Partnership 2011
Up to 65 delegates heard from Louise Welsh, Agriculture Manager of Morrisons and from Stephen Frost, Divisional Executive Chef of Prestige Scotland, the fine dining arm of Sodexo, and Derek Coulter, Buying Liaison Manager of Sodexo Prestige.
The event was introduced by Alan Stevenson, SAOS Supply Chain Development Director and C2 Project Director.
In his welcome to delegates, who represented food and drink companies from all over Scotland, Alan reinforced the growing importance of collaboration in supply chains as a way of improving innovation and accelerating access to markets, improving efficiency and reducing risk - all of which can have substantial impact on the commercial performance of any business. He also featured, on video, two successful collaborations which C2 has assisted - Wholesome Whole Foods Scotland, a marketing co-operative formed by four North East food businesses, and Mackie's at Taypack, the successful premium crisp joint venture launched two years ago by the two companies.
Louise Welsh of Morrisons focussed on the ‘farm to fork' approach adopted by the supermarket, the fourth largest in the UK with an annual turnover of more than £14bn. She explained that some of Morrisons supply chains, such as meat are fully vertically integrated, with Morrisons managing the whole chain - from farming, slaughtering and processing through to finished product at butchery counters across its 382 stores. Other chains, such as dairy, still involve working in partnership with external processors.
Stephen Frost and Derek Coulter who both represent the fine dining arm of Sodexo, outlined how they source local, Scottish food for a business which manages contracts for over 200 Scottish sites and events, including the Scottish Government and Scottish Parliament, heritage and visitor attractions, sporting venues and educational establishments. Stephen and Derek explained how they work with suppliers from logistics to health and safety requirements, and the importance of health and sustainability in their buying policy. Both emphasised that they are keen to work with small suppliers - around 70% of their suppliers are SMEs - and explained how this is managed in terms of logistics.
After the formal presentations, delegates were able to network with the speakers to learn more about their buying policies and supply chain relationships.
Presentation from Alan Stevenson
Presentation from Derek Coulter and Stephen Frost
