Are you fit to supply?

To compete in the market place, potential suppliers must prepare themselves like any other enterprise wishing to compete for business. This will require having a clear business plan, sound finances, goods control over their activities (Health and Safety and other legal compliance) as well as the capacity to deliver services or products for which they wish to tender.

Our advice would be to be realistic about the size of contract you wish to take on. Contracts are normally awarded to suppliers that do not exceed around a quarter of the company’s turnover, mainly as this could cause cash flow difficulties where the business has insufficient working capital to finance the project.

Procedures and policies are another off putting element of procurement, especially for the small and medium sized businesses. Help is at hand as there are many organisations that offer business a “template” service, where you can purchase those compliance templates as and when you choose, and there is also a vast amount of good advice, training and workshops available in Kent through the chambers of commerce and business support agencies.

High Growth Kent Coaches

A team of local coaches with extensive experience in the wind sector, manufacturing, finance and services are currently working with over 130 Kent companies, creating 300 new jobs and helping bring in over £18m of investment. The service is FREE to companies with the ambition and potential to show 20% growth per annum and help drive the Kent economy. High Growth Kent is supported by KCC and Enterprise Europe Network.

To contact the coaching team call 0844 725 2244 or go to http://www.highgrowthkent.co.uk/ for more information.

The following websites are a useful source of further information