FIRMS URGED TO SWITCH ON TO GLOBAL IT OPPORTUNITIES
News Release
Fujitsu
- Fujitsu holds Inverness procurement event for SMEs
- Chance for Highland firms to engage with IT giant
- International potential for suppliers
Small and medium sized companies in the Highlands are being given the chance to bid for work on an international scale with one of the world’s biggest IT companies.
An event in Inverness later this month – the first of its kind in Scotland - will bring together SMEs in the region with the procurement team of Fujitsu to learn how they may supply services directly for the computer giant or for larger government contracts.
Fujitsu is the world’s third largest IT service provider, employing more than 161,000 people in over 100 countries with an annual group turnover of $47 billion. In Scotland the company now employs some 500 staff, serving 2,500 sites across the country. These cover all aspects of daily lives, including utility services, wage cheques, High Street shopping, tax forms, driving licences and lottery tickets.
The Highland workforce in Beechwood Business Park in Inverness and service desk at Alness Point Business Park makes up around a fifth of the Scottish total. Fujitsu’s main business in the region is its £66 million partnership with The Highland Council which has seen the IT network upgraded in each school and local authority office in an area the size of a small European country.
The SME event will be held from 11a.m. to 4p.m. on 20 November in the Kingsmills Hotel. As well as showcasing Fujitsu technology, it will be addressed by Reg Grimes, Fujitsu’s Chief Procurement Officer, and nine other senior members of the Procurement team and account leaders. Officials from Scottish Development International will also speak about trading with Japan.
Inverness Chamber of Commerce will explain to businesses the importance of having a large company with a global footprint present in the Inverness area, and how that company can benefit SMEs using its supply chain. Members of the Federation of Small Businesses have also been invited to the event, along with existing and potential Fujitsu suppliers.
Joley Kirby, SME Procurement Manager with Fujitsu, said SMEs already supply a huge range of services to the IT company, including logistics, engineering, safety and security, transport, events management and consultancy.
She said: “We are a global organisation and therefore the opportunities for SMEs to work with us in various locations are vast. By working with our procurement team, firms in the Highlands could identify new openings, initially across the UK and Ireland but eventually globally, which could develop their own business and people, and also help grow the region’s economy.
“We have already held five of these events in England and the feedback from all events has been extremely positive. This is our first visit to Scotland on the SME tour and we have tailored the content of the tour, working closely with the account leadership team to make sure that the content is relevant to a Scottish audience.”
Stewart Nicol, Chief Executive of Inverness Chamber of Commerce, said: “As the only event of its kind in Scotland, this is a fantastic opportunity for businesses in Inverness and across the Highlands to engage with a company that has a vast, global presence.
“Fujitsu has to be congratulated for its commitment to supporting SMEs and events like this can have a significant and long-lasting impact on the business community and the economy in general.”
Fujitsu’s SME Charter demonstrates it is committed to working with small and medium sized companies to help create a vibrant local economy.
During the financial year 2012/13, the company spent £715 million with more than 1,000 suppliers across the UK. Its supply chain includes 772 UK-based SMEs - 47 per cent of the supply base. Over the last two years, 21 per cent of Fujitsu’s spend on suppliers has been with SMEs.
A report published in August also showed that collaboration with larger firms helps SMEs win government and private sector contracts. The Collaboration Nation report, commissioned by Fujitsu, includes the views of around 500 UK SMEs, with just 6 per cent believing it has become easier to win these contracts independently in the last two years.
It reveals that while smaller businesses are struggling to secure direct business from government, many see collaborating with larger suppliers as the most viable route to winning large contracts.
Duncan Tait, CEO of Fujitsu UK & Ireland, said: “SMEs have much to offer customers both in large enterprise and within government – they provide the kind of agility, innovation and flexibility that can deliver great results for their customers.
“What we hear from SMEs though is that there are three main barriers to winning contracts directly from Government and large enterprises – the complex bidding processes, the cost of bidding and the risks involved.”
Mr Tait said the Government has recently taken steps to ease the bidding process, but Fujitsu believes the cost and risk barriers can only be mitigated by working in collaboration with a larger partner who is better equipped to absorb them.
“Together, government, large enterprise and SMEs need to come together to make that relationship work for the long-term benefit of the UK”, he said.
For more information contact
John Ross
Lucid PR
01463 724593; 07730 099167
johnross@lucidmessages.com
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