Crime prevention is big business for Britain

Security is a big part of everyone’s daily life.

When we fly we wait in line to be searched and scanned; on the train we are regularly reminded not to leave baggage unattended; and as we pass public buildings we see unsightly but necessary bollards intended to thwart car bombers.

In fact, Britain is very good at deterring terrorist outrages; we are regarded as one of the best in the world at doing so. And the British government is keen that we should retain and promote that reputation for obvious safety reasons, but also for the benefit of the British economy.

BtoB has been helping the government to achieve its commercial goals, entertaining business delegations from Canada, India and the United States.

BtoB’s Tim Gordon explains: “We invited leading security companies from all three countries to come to London for a series of meetings with some our most innovative suppliers.

“Our visitors were keen to see what we had to offer. They respect our expertise, much of it gleaned during the 1980s, as Irish republicans tried to bomb British mainland targets.

“Today, when extremists are prepared to sacrifice themselves to make their political point, it is even more important that overseas governments have the best deterrent systems available - and ours continue to meet that criterion.

“We took the delegations on a tour of London with a police expert to show them many of the security provisions now in place; we wined and dined them – one delegation at the Palace of Westminster, the other aboard HMS Belfast – giving them a chance to meet experts and suppliers’ representatives informally.

“The following day we set up a series of meetings for them with British suppliers.”

Tim says it’s too early to say what deals will come out of the meetings, but we expect to generate over £25,000 of new exports for every £1,000 invested in the project. Secuirty access equipment manufacturers, Avon Barrier Ltd, are an excellent example of the potential success with new export orders already worth £500,000 with a likely increase to £5million currently being negotiated as a result of the event.”

Further details at www.meetthebuyers.com/security

Check out www.btob.co.uk  for future international events, both in the UK and overseas.

   What can you do for us?

Charity begins at home, but in difficult economic times those who donate are asking ever more searching questions.

That applies equally to public sector sources of money – like central and local government. Charitable or ‘third-sector’ organisations (TSOs) must accept that good intentions are no longer enough.

In conjunction with the Youth Service Development Fund (YSDF), BtoB is helping a number of TSOs to see themselves in more commercial terms, in particular sharpening their sales and marketing operations.

“It’s a bit of a shock to the system in some cases,” says Jeremy Hay from B2B, “but it’s necessary if TSOs are to secure the money they need in the medium- and long-term.”

BtoB is encouraging TSOs to swap the blunderbuss for the rifle – making fewer applications for money, but being far more specific about what they can do with it.

This more commercial approach identifies a particular problem and offers a specific solution. The results are impressive.

LEAP is a TSO that specialises in training front-line youth workers to defuse those aspects of gang culture that might otherwise lead to gun and knife crime and already account for high levels of teenage pregnancy.

Jeremy has helped LEAP to target its marketing better. The TSO in now more aware of the needs of potential customers – like local authorities – and it has developed the tools it needs to do the job.

The impact has been immediate and has transformed the attitude and confidence of the selling team. Marketing is more effective – for the first time customers can book training via a redesigned website. As a direct result a commission worth £100,000 from Islington Council in London is close to fruition.

The impact on sales has been exponential: in2009 the TSO generated £240,000; in the first few weeks of this year the team has already closed sales of £130,000, with a further £450,000 in the pipeline.

Tim Moore, LEAP’s finance and business services director, says: “We feel far better equipped to attract commissioned work and sell training and consultancy services. We can look forward to the end of YSDF with a great deal more confidence.".

Check out www.btob.co.uk  for future international events, both in the UK and overseas.

   Make sure your meeting is as green as possible

An Environmentally friendly event is a contradiction in terms.

A video meeting or an internet-based seminar would be better for the environment – there is no travelling involved; no need to heat or cool a hall or other accommodation, including a selection of hotel bedrooms.

But there are times when there is no substitute for meeting face-to-face and on those occasions compromise is the answer.

Indeed we take the environment so seriously now that there is a British Standard for sustainable events management – BS 8901 – which BtoB has recently been fully accredited to comply with when managing the organisation and delivery of their events.

From concerts to trade shows, business conferences to the London 2012 Olympics, event organisers are focusing on sustainability more than ever before. Not just carbon emissions, but also the impact on the local community, waste management, employment, sustainable investment and so on. Organisers are under pressure to ensure local people are not adversely affected by an event held in their vicinity; that emissions are kept to a minimum; employees are treated fairly; long term benefits secured; and supply chain management improved.

BS 8901 follows the common 'plan-do-check-act' approach of many management system standards and defines three phases of event management:

Phase One: Planning - this phase requires an organisation to define its policy and commitment to sustainable development. Stakeholders and sustainability issues are required to be identified and key performance indicators for improved event sustainability are set.

Phase Two: Implementation - this phase requires an organisation to define responsibilities, ensure staff are sufficiently trained and competent and provide sufficient resources to implement and operate its event management system. It also requires it to manage its supply chain.

Phase Three: Check and review - the final phase is about monitoring, measuring and evaluating the event in relation to the management system and the objectives set, and then taking action to continually improve event performance.

While London 2012 is one of the more visible and ongoing test cases, BtoB have already taken sustainability on board when organising our events.

Kavita Shial, Project Manager at BtoB, says: “We look carefully at every event we are asked to organise, to ensure we are embedding sustainability – social, environmental and economic - in all elements of the event management process.

“During the event management process, venues are asked to complete a sustainable venues benchmarking tool, where they are asked to provide details of the sustainability credentials of their venue. This covers areas such as whether the venue has natural daylight to minimise the use of electricity, provides tap water to avoid having to use bottled water, whether the venue is accessible by public transport etc.

“Also sustainability targets are set for each event we organise, linking to aspects such as how we will minimise waste production, air emissions, use of raw materials, energy use as well as taking into consideration health and safety, equality and diversity, and sustainable procurement during the management of the event.”

Going forwards, all BtoB events will be run in compliance with BS 8901.

For more information on the sustainable event management standard, click here
For more information on sustainable event management certification, click here

Check out www.btob.co.uk  for future international events, both in the UK and overseas.

   The buyer wants more for his money

Heads up if you plan to tender for public sector work in the coming year: be prepared to add value in accordance with government policy.

That’s the clear message being sent by the Policy through Procurement (PtP) initiative, launched at the beginning of the year.

According to Whitehall it only buys things in the first place to fulfil its policies, so it has a duty to tax-payers to add a few strings to any agreement if they help to further its aims.

In particular this new initiative seeks to support policies relating to:

• 
  · Small and medium-sized businesses: by working with what it calls ‘change agents’ in the education and health sectors and local government departments across the country. It wants to establish the position of smaller firms as an essential part of the buying mix, either as direct suppliers in their own right or as sub-contractors to major suppliers.
• 
  · Apprenticeships: by securing up to 20,000 additional apprenticeship places among government suppliers in the coming three years. It will do so by encouraging those who employ staff to fulfil its contracts to invest in employee skills. For example, in construction Government expects the ‘Building Schools for the Future’ programme alone to generate 250 apprenticeships a year.
• 
  · Low carbon and energy saving: It also wants to encourage resource efficient, low-carbon supply chains with the introduction of a charter that is intended to cascade through contractors and sub-contractors alike.

Be Birmingham (the Local Strategic Partnership) has grasped the nettle with a Sustainable Procurement Compact, the first in the UK. The Be Birmingham compact is a commitment by all partners to join forces and harness their buying power to benefit all the citizens of Birmingham. The procurement expenditure by Birmingham City Council is estimated at approximately £900 million annually; and the combined procurement budgets of the Be Birmingham partnership amount to about £6 billion annually. These budgets bring with them the power to transform markets and make a major contribution to driving the way in which the local economy develops.

The Compact is a voluntary commitment, has no contractual status and is not legally binding. It is in effect a day-to-day tool to help achieve the objectives set out in Birmingham's Sustainable Community Strategy. Procurement officer Heather Pearce, said 'The main obstacle is that procurers don't know how to do it sustainably, so we are launching training in the new year. We focus not just on the environment but also on the social and economic impacts of procurement.'

To download the Policy through Procurement Action Plan, click here http://www.actionsustainability.com/documents/downloads/PtP%20Action%20Plan.pdf

For more information on the Birmingham Project, click here
http://www.actionsustainability.com/news/262/Strategic-Partnerships-commit-to-sustainable-procurement

Check out www.btob.co.uk  for future international events, both in the UK and overseas

   Rocket man inspires today’s innovators

Where there’s muck, there’s brass, so they say.

And if that’s true, there’s no better place to innovate than in a factory.

That’s just what a number of north-east entrepreneurs are about to do in a series of day-long Business Link events devised by BtoB.

To be known as ‘Innovation Factory’ the interactive workshops are based on the firm belief that the best way to learn is by doing.

Newton Aycliffe and Newcastle upon Tyne are the venues for the workshops, the latter in the building where George Stephenson designed his world-famous Rocket steam engine.

About 150 delegates will take part on each day, working as teams of ten and finding a collective solution to the problems involved in introducing new ideas into existing businesses.

During the day each team will attend a series of interactive workshops covering subjects such as: the environment; finance; human resources; IT; research and development; sales and marketing; and supply-chain management.

They will talk among themselves and with experts in the respective disciplines about how their idea will impact on an existing organisation and how best to implement it.

Delegates will be encouraged to relate their solutions to their own businesses and to create an action plan as the day progresses.

Just before clocking off they will compare and contrast their respective conclusions to see what further lessons they can learn from their time together.

Lyndsey Morrison, who is organising the two Innovation Factories for BtoB, says: “We are really pleased with the response to date; the Newcastle factory is almost full and the one at Newton Aycliffe is filling up steadily.

“Interactivity is a popular aspect of these events; delegates are pleased with the prospect of making their own decisions rather than just listening to other people. They believe they will learn more that way.

“We are delighted to have Hamish Taylor as our keynote speaker. Among other things, Hamish has been chief executive of Eurostar and Sainsbury’s Bank, and head of brands at British Airways.

“He has a reputation for driving innovation in a number of very different commercial environments and I’m sure he will encourage delegates to seek novel solutions.”

Check out www.btob.co.uk  for future international events, both in the UK and overseas.