Speedy's biggest ever supply chain exhibition and national conference brought together 180 suppliers and 800 employees in one place effectively giving suppliers the opportunity to engage with employees and clients directly.
Speedy Services' project lead for the event, Simon Briggs, says the exhibition successfully demonstrated how opening a dialogue with the people that ultimately influence customers’ hire and purchase decisions can bring benefits for all parties.
He said: "This year we extended our conference and exhibition to two days as there was so much to fit in. The objective for the overall event was to give suppliers the chance to speak directly to the people involved in specifying, ordering and recommending their products.
"With a network of over 260 regional depots it is our responsibility to keep our employees informed of new products and developments in the industry and what better way to do that than to hear it directly from the manufacturers and suppliers themselves?"
The event also included seminars focusing on Speedy's key focuses for the year ahead, the company’s supplier awards, a formal dinner, and an inspirational company address outlining the company’s strategic plans for growth.
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The company's overarching health and safety campaign, Safety from the Ground Up was the focus of the first of three seminar sessions. This was followed by two more addresses focusing on the use of mobile IT in the construction industry and Speedy's approach to sustainability, and more specifically how it influences business success.
The first day of the exhibition culminated in the company’s annual supplier awards which are held to acknowledge the company’s supplier partners and products’ that have particularly stood out in the past twelve months. The winners were:
•Speedy Innovation Award – recognising the innovation by a company through application of new technology, design or service process. Winner: Towerlight VB9-ECO LED Battery Hybrid Tower
•Speedy Environmental Award – showcasing the company where a product or service offers significant environmental impact reduction benefits. Winner: Towerlight VB9-ECO LED Battery Hybrid Tower
•Speedy Health & Safety Award – awarded to the company whose product or service offers significant health & safety benefits. Winner: Dust Control
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•Speedy Lean Award – the winning product or service directly demonstrate improvements in end-user efficiency, through both cost and production savings. Winner: Wacker Neuson DF16 Rebar Tier
•Speedy Specialist Award – awarded to the product or service that directly demonstrates how Speedy can develop its services for specialist product and market sectors (e.g. rail, survey, lifting, industrial). Winner: Atlas Copco Cobra TT
•Speedy Strategic Supplier / Partner of the Year Award – This award is made to the supplier who has continuously shown support for Speedy’s business initiatives and provided ongoing commitment to developing the business relationship. Winner: Gunn JCB
•Speedy Winning Values Award – This winner was identified on the basis of nominations from the Speedy team for suppliers who share the Speedy philosophy of providing added value - and most importantly have demonstrated this through some particularly noteworthy action. Winner: Brookdale Tools
•View From The Front 2011 – voted for by delegates at the 2011 conference. Winner: Milwaukee
Simon concluded: "From our perspective, the event was a huge success and a tremendous achievement to bring together so many of the industry’s top players in one exhibition hall. I am certain our employees and customers now understand more about how Speedy can support their business and this should lead to tangible results for our suppliers too.
"We appreciate the efforts of everyone involved in all aspects of the event. Judging from the positive feedback however, it seems that it was effort well worth making and the results from increased business will become apparent over the coming months."
