| The Buying Club with a difference
by Richard Parsons
Keeping your business competitive while controlling your costs
is core to success in today’s marketplace. But can you, in
fact, control costs rather than simply count them?
As we all know, controlling your costs as prices rise all around
you presents quite a challenge but help is now at hand through a
unique and timely procurement concept developed by Forestdale Solutions
and known as The Buying Club.
The Buying Club is a procurement spend management service that
allows members to buy essential products and services with the deals,
discounts and buying power typically available to only the very
largest businesses. By pooling its clients’ common spend for
these products and services, Forestdale is able to use the aggregated
leverage of its members to obtain considerable cost savings that
are then passed on directly to its clients. Forestdale will source
the products and services, negotiate prices and discounts and maintain
direct relationships with a range of key suppliers.
Situated on the Turkey Mill Business Park in Maidstone, Forestdale
Solutions has set about creating a “virtual big company”
with its staff acting as its buying department. Chris Black, one
of Forestdale’s co-directors, says: “Our team comprises
highly skilled and seasoned professional negotiators who have strong
commercial contracting skills.”
In achieving greatly reduced procurement costs, Forestdale will
not compromise on quality and reliability of supply. This assumes
paramount importance as suppliers are selected.
With Forestdale only taking its fees from a share of savings made,
it is in the company’s best interest to source deals that
“take some beating”. According to co-director Simon
Kendrick, “our no win, no fee policy provides a really good
incentive for us to do a great job giving confidence to our clients
that we are providing the best deals possible”.
Whilst many businesses spend a considerable amount on looking to
improve their revenue streams some appear to have under-invested
in their supply chain management, undermining their margins. The
Buying Club goes some way to redressing the balance.
Forestdale Solutions is on 01622 623860 or email contact@forestdalesolutions.co.uk
Extract from Kent Business, May 2004
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