About us

Supply London

How it started

I contacted the, Head of Diversity and Corporate Responsibility for Eversheds LLP to enquire whether they would be interested in working in partnership with Supply London to open up new potential business opportunities within their procurement supply chain for our clients.

Eversheds LLP is an international law firm at the forefront of embracing change and innovation in its marketplace. Procurement, while decentralised in some areas, is a core strategic function and this strategy embraces not only achieving value for money but social and environmental aims and objectives as well.

What we did

Eversheds invited me to meet with them to understand more about the key drivers for procurement and appreciate as well, that certain contracts would be too large for SMEs due to the requirement of national coverage.

We then agreed that we would focus on the Facilities Management opportunities in the London office. One Wood Street is Eversheds' flagship office combining a superb workspace with advanced technologies and business facilities and a living green roof. It is a place of pride for everyone working or supplying there. We subsequently met with the London facilities in London and then the event took on a life of its own. It was clear to me after three meetings with different teams in Eversheds, that corporate social responsibility, giving back and a commitment to diversity was integral to the culture of the firm.

The FM team supported the event fully and extended the scope of the event to include their first tier contractors. For us, it was a great achievement to be able to provide this opportunity for our clients. Together we agreed on a Meet the Supplier or mini expo event for 20 - 24 Supply London clients, hosted by Eversheds in their sixth floor restaurant. 

Our objectives

The main objectives of the Meet the Supplier event was to provide potential new business opportunities for Supply London clients and to achieve a success story by finding a local supplier to award an appropriate contract.

The event

On the day, 24 suppliers arrived with their products and services and set down for a busy hour of scheduled appointments. Each supplier had scheduled appointments with buyers from Eversheds and twelve of their first tier suppliers, covering sectors such as catering, facilities management services and construction. There was a vibrant and positive buzz surrounding the event. Representatives from Procurement and Diversity and Inclusion from the London Development Agency and Transport for London also attended to support the event which was opened by the London office.

Examples of feedback included the following

"The event was really well organised and enjoyable.  I feel this way of being introduced in very effective.  I hope there will be more in the future."

Outcomes

Two Supply London clients are now providing landscaping solutions (including maintaining the living green roof) and computer cleaning services to Eversheds. The work is going extremely well. Fifty percent of the suppliers surveyed felt that there was a good chance of them securing work in the future.

Supply London is a programme funded by the London Development Agency and the European Regional Development Fund and delivered by Pera. Its main aim is to support SMEs to win contracts.  All the support is free to SMEs and they are able to access a range of tender support service.

Programme Manager, Supply London comments:  "We were really pleased and proud to work in partnership with Eversheds to provide this great opportunity for our clients. Everyone from Eversheds was really passionate about making the event a success and provided their full backing by encouraging their first tier contractors and internal buyers to attend as well. It was a real and true example of large successful firm doing their best to make a difference and to support the London and UK economy."

Head of Diversity and Corporate Responsibility for Eversheds says: "Connecting with Eversheds Meet the Supplier event was definitely worthwhile.  The quality and standard of the Supply London suppliers was very high with good quality products and services to showcase. We found suppliers that we could consider for future procurement opportunities to benefit our service provision and are already in initial talks with some of them. We would like to do something like this on an annual basis as well as with other similar programmes in other parts of the country as well. In addition, as an event which allowed us to meet diverse suppliers, Connecting with Eversheds fitted well with our supplier diversity goals. We were also able include our first tier suppliers as well so that these principles are encouraged in our own supply chain."