The recession makes it even more important to focus on establishing effective business relationships according to Les Pyle, chief executive of PSL - formed in 1990 by Sir Keith Joseph to promote collaboration and partnership as a source of competitive advantage for UK plc.
With the backing of BERR and the CBI and working with the BSI, PSL was instrumental in 2007 in establishing PAS 11000 as the world’s first formal specification for collaborative working. Speaking at the FM Forum in January, Pyle outlined future plans that will bring the standard into more common use and increase its contribution to British business. In a keynote speech to a packed hall of delegates, Pyle announced that the BSI has formally committed funds to take PAS 11000 forward to formal certification as BSI 11000. This will mean that businesses committed to collaborative working with their customers and supply chain will be able to get formal certification for their partnering processes. At the same time Pyle announced that the MOD has elected to join the PSL Executive Knowledge Network and to adopt PAS 11000 as the basis for all of its partnering arrangements. Given the scale of the MOD spend, especially in the FM sector, this will have a major impact.
This years Winter FM Forum was held at the Radisson Hotel at Stansted where delegates participated in two days of intense discussions with service providers from across the sector. The focus on building relationships was reinforced by Paul Toft, business development director of Consolidated Services, which provides move management, furniture installation and storage services. He said: “This has been an excellent event where we have made some high quality contacts. At least 80% of the people we have met have fitted our target customer profile.”
Sarah Fisher, facilities manger for Scottish Water, agreed: “I have met people here that I know I will do business with in the near future.”
The next FM Forum will be on 22-23 June at Whittlebury Hall, Towcester.
www.forumevents.co.uk