Working with a locally based, competent and aspiring supply chain is a fundamental part of any scheme to Walters. In particular we are proud of our work with both established SME”s and new entrants to the sectors we work in.

From our work on civil engineering, development and plant projects across the county, we have also learnt that creating a locally established, competent supply chain helps create a more positive attitude towards the projects we undertake from the local community.

On each and every project, we seek to develop a procurement strategy which aims to both maximise value and wherever possible use local business and SME”s to support us.

To help us to manage our supply chain procurement process, we have developed a Vendor Management System that is available to any subcontractor to use. The software keeps an online record of vendors (both suppliers and subcontractors) that have entered our “Approval of Suppliers, Sub-contractors and CDM Duty Holders” procedure, which in turn forms part of our Integrated Management System (IMS).

The software has three key features that help us deliver added value to any project we work on:

• Vendors can easily access a simple to use online portal, enabling them to register their interest in contracts or provide information about their company as part of our competency assessment.
• The ability to set bespoke, project specific, Key Performance Indicators that are clearly communicated to Vendors and which can be openly tracked by our procurement team (and the vendors themselves) to monitor performance.
• The integration of the database with online maps, enabling the supply chain to be reviewed geographically, ensuring that barriers to local businesses are minimised and sustainability is maximised.

Our VMS (Vendor Management System) allows the user to review vendors based on the location of the head office (or other geographic information that the vendor deems appropriate). It does this by incorporating google maps to display geographical information on a google maps background. The software was originally integrated with mapping to assist in carbon footprint calculations within the supply chain, but has since proven very useful by assisting us in the support of local businesses. The software also allows the user to assign KPI”s to subcontractors on a companywide, project specific or vendor specific basis.

Jonathan Griffiths, (commercial director for Walters) who led the development of the software commented “the Walters vendor management software has proven really useful to us, both as a tool to help our supply chain see what opportunities are available within the group and by helping us to find local suppliers and monitor their performance.“