BBUS progress Supplier Relationship Management Strategy

28 November 2008

Left: BBUS first Key Supplier Event November 2008

BBUS hosted its first key supplier event in November at the Morley Hayes Hotel near Derby, to present its Supply Chain Management strategy for 2009 and to share feedback from an independent survey, completed by its suppliers earlier in the year.

This event was the first in a programme planned as part the BBUS Supplier Relationship Management strategy, which was triggered by the merger of Balfour Beatty Power Networks and Balfour Beatty Utilities in November 2007 to form BBUS; whereby existing supply chain systems were centralised and restructured, to accommodate the new business model.

As part of the strategy planning in the summer of 2008, an independent and anonymous survey was sent out to all the key suppliers to BBUS, asking for open and honest feedback on the relationships and processes that were currently in place. This candid feedback has turned into clear actions for the BBUS Supply Chain Management team and our Key Supplier Community.  One of the newly agreed actions was a commitment to ensure that all Key Suppliers will receive a Quarterly Performance Review.

George Owens, Head of Supply Chain Management at BBUS said: "Our first key supplier event is the starting point to improve communications with our key suppliers," although he stressed that the BBUS SRM strategy and programme has already commenced.

"The supplier survey was also crucial to our team development, as having real 360 feedback provides an external balanced view of current performance."

The summary feedback identified three agreed themes BBUS need to develop and exploit as areas of opportunity:

• Demand Planning
• Communication
• Value Opportunities

BBUS has also rolled out its new Supply Chain policies and procedures across its business, following its Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply (CIPS) accreditation, which was presented to the company in August, which will help BBUS deliver sustained and continuous improvement in its Supply Chain Management.