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Why 'Meet the Buyer' is an unmissable opportunity for your business

Written by Bedfordshire Chamber of Commerce | 18 Jan 2019

A Meet the Buyer event hosted by Chamber will see the team match you to a buyer based on their procurement needs. This could take your business to the next level and is a significant opportunity to bolster your business growth.

There are several ways to prepare for a Meet the Buyer event, but most of these stem from assessing the buyer’s marketplace, cultural values and objectives.This is an opportunity to connect face to face with some of the key decision makers from some of the County’s biggest corporate buyers. Connecting face to face with buyers affords you the opportunity to present your business as an ideal partner to the buyer’s business, from why your team fit the bill, to how this will affect their bottom line.

When you register your profile, you will be assessed by the Chamber team and matched according to the buyer’s requirements. But you will only be expected to pay once you have been matched to a buyer, so it’s definitely worthwhile registering interest.

The following buyers will be present at the event:

Central Bedfordshire Council

Central Bedfordshire Council has a wide range of procurement opportunities and lives by a list of explicit ambitions to which their expectations for their suppliers are aligned. These include: 

  • Promoting health and wellbeing being within the community

  • Improving educational attainment

  • Creating jobs and enabling businesses to grow

  • Better infrastructure

  • Value for money

Their website contains a wealth of information regarding their values, standards, and collaboration opportunities.

Luton Council

Similarly, Luton Council strives to improve the community with a focus on wellbeing and general improvements of the town. As with any council’s diverse responsibilities, procurement opportunities are abundant. Make sure you’re armed with a knowledge of the diverse community aware of their multiple focuses as a council, before approaching decision makers.

Center Parcs Woburn Forest

“We don’t see our suppliers as suppliers, we see them as long term partners who support us every day of the year through thick and thin.”

Centre Parcs highlight the importance of a strong relationship and steadfast reliability when looking for a supplier.

Entertainment, food and beverage contractors and suppliers all have an excellent opportunity with our local Centre Parcs forest.

Eaton Electric

Eaton Electric is a leader in reliability, efficiency and safety with the development and supply of Crouse-Hinds ML system infrastructure products and protection equipment for process industries.

Their mission is ‘to optimize our supply chain activities by coordinating and leveraging the purchasing and procurement of commodities from a select group of preferred suppliers. Cooper Strategic Sourcing provides a cohesive inbound supply chain that maximizes the value of all products and services procured by all of our worldwide locations, providing exceptional global operating efficiencies and innovation.’ 

As a buyer, they are committed to the development and support of a diverse supplier base and the development and inclusion of all capable material and service suppliers.

Lockheed Martin

Lockheed Martin is a global aerospace, defence, security and advanced technologies company and thankfully, they have an incredibly helpful webpage dedicated to helping budding suppliers prepare their pitch, including ‘How to do business with Lockheed Martin’.

Luton Town Football Club

Luton Town Football Club is committed to developing the business community within Bedfordshire, hence their regular participation in networking events and their growth focused membership package.

Wyboston Lakes

Aside from their waterfront hotel, restaurant and spa, Wyboston Lakes is also composed of facilities that host conferences, training and meetings and events, as well as service offices and properties, making their procurement opportunities abundant and diverse.

London Luton Airport

London Luton Aiport is alive with opportunities for business and brands to thrive. As such a widespread, growing brand itself, a partnership with LLA could see your business excel beyond local realms and achieve exponential and global recognition. Airport procurement is of course, very specific, but an opportunity to ‘meet the buyer’ face to face will prove invaluable insight.

University of Bedfordshire

The University of Bedfordshire campus spreads across Bedford and Luton and  as a corporate buyer, they offer an extensive opportunity for local businesses to collaborate and provide a variety of diverse services.  

VolkerFitzpatrick Kier

Comprising of a variety of business units, the construction company are widely renowned as one of the leading engineering and construction companies in the UK. They see themselves as a multi-disciplinary business and therefore offer excellent opportunities for their suppliers and providers. Find out more on their website.  

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Topics: Meet the Buyer

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