Supplier Excellence Award Winners 2023

Community Benefits

Forth Resource Management  (joint winner)

Forth Resource Management was established to provide a sustainable recycling solution for garden waste that at the time, was sent to landfill. They have grown from processing 10,000t of green waste back in 2002 to over 170,000t in 2022. They operate 10 sites across the Central Belt, southwest Scotland, and the Scottish Borders. They work with 12 local authorities.

Forth Resource Management introduced their ‘One Planet Pledge’ in 2020 to amplify their community benefits. Annually, they donate around 500t of our Green Goodness compost (with a value of over £23,000) to local schools, community groups, and charities.

They have given away 2,500 trees over the last two years, and worked with over 80 community groups to collectively clean over 800km of coastline. They have also provided sponsorship and fundraised over £75,000 for local charities.

The Furnishing Service (joint winner)

The Furnishing Service (TFS) was formed in 1995 with a view to providing a 'one stop’ service to customers in the social housing sector. They support vulnerable people by improving the quality of their living accommodation; making a positive difference to their lives. TFS provides a service to 25 local authorities and three housing associations across Scotland.

The award recognizes the organisation’s community benefits commitment, which centres on a robust employability and work training strategy. It’s a policy of TFS that prior to recruiting new staff, they engage with partners throughout Scotland to discuss any opportunities’ that they might have available.

As a direct result of the Scotland Excel Domestic Furniture and Furnishings framework that TFS is a supplier on - 149 full time jobs have been created at the company.

Customer Relationships

Community Integrated Care (winner)

Community Integrated Care is one of the UK’s largest health and social care charities, established in 1988 with the vision of supporting people to move from institutional hospitals to live independently within their communities.

Over the past two years, they have worked with health and social care teams in the Forth Valley to provide bespoke independent living for individuals from a range of different backgrounds.

The key aim of the project with Forth Valley was to provide and support Clackmannanshire and Stirling councils with solutions that would enable them to refer individuals from various backgrounds, such as institutionalised settings, into their first independent living accommodation, in line with Community Integrated Care’s vision and values.

Environmental Practices

Broxap (winner)

Broxap is a family-owned business, founded 1946. It specialises in the design and manufacture of high specification street furniture, litterbins, recycling units, all types of shelters, design & build projects, plus sports and playground equipment. The company supports environmental sustainability by implementing initiatives to reduce their carbon footprint, aiming to be carbon neutral by 2024.

Under the Scotland Excel Recycle and Refuse Containers framework Broxap have worked alongside all Scottish local authorities to provide waste housing units to deliver collection enhancements, reducing costs and encourage different waste stream recycling.

Project Transform is an ambitious £3m-plus programme delivered by Broxap aimed at achieving net-zero carbon emission goals through: investment in technology to reduce carbon; continuing effective waste management; implementing sustainable manufacturing processes.

Innovation

Alliance Scotland (winner – large company)

Alliance Scotland has been established in Scotland for 20 years and their customer base includes many Scottish councils. They supply a range of janitorial and non-food catering products via their own delivery fleet. Alliance is an Employee Ownership Trust, with all employees sharing in the success of the company.

Alliance produces Hypochlorous acid (HOCl) from ordinary tap water on-site, with the addition of salt and an electric current. The natural product which results is a more powerful sanitiser than anything currently available and is certified to kill bacteria, viruses and spores.

By producing the solution on-site to order, the price works out incredibly cost-effective and makes the site in effect self-sufficient with all the corresponding benefits of zero waste plastic, a reduction in carbon footprint and protection from market cost increase pressures.

Buddi Ltd (winner – SME)

Buddi is an integrated products and services company, with established people location and monitoring offerings in the health and security markets. Buddi's innovative technology provides continued connectivity of vital support for vulnerable people wishing to remain independent in their own homes.

The award recognises the company’s latest digital plug and play solution, the ‘Buddi Hub’. It is designed to assist an efficient hospital discharge process as well as being a cost-effective solution for the impending analogue to digital switch over, due by December 2025.

Buddi Hub includes a wearable with panic buttons feature; built in fall detection, and a base hub, with alerts monitored by a fully accredited 24/7 Alarm Receiving Centre (ARC).

Small Business & Third Sector

Swiis Foster Care Scotland (winner)

Swiis Foster Care Scotland is a third sector, not-for-profit, independent fostering agency set up to provide loving, nurturing foster families where children flourish and achieve their potential. Their carers are supported by a skilled, multi-disciplinary team whose focussed approach reflects the company's values.

Swiis is constantly finding ways to work smarter without compromising outcomes. A focused approach is successfully delivering considerable benefits. This includes upskilling the workforce to meet current and future needs by providing training and developmental opportunities; supporting children to achieve phenomenal educational outcomes and gain employability skills whist achieving accredited awards; and fundraising for local charitable causes.

All of this is achieved whilst providing customers with a range of discounts; making a real difference whilst providing greater value for money.

Supply Chain Diversity

Coeval Ltd (winner)

Coeval is a leading supplier of electronic road signs with over 35 years’ experience in this field. They are committed to supporting communities through environmentally friendly products, working with local suppliers, charitable causes and direct involvement with local organisations with many of their employees involved in local volunteering groups.

Coeval has developed longstanding relationships with a number of businesses. They have sourced the provision of services ranging from supply of parts, traffic management, civils, plant hire (hiab, cherry picker), waste disposal etc.

They have liaised with a local parts supplier/manufacturer to potentially create a new position as part of a job-share initiative: This involved identifying an area where additional staff are required but on a part-time basis for each organisation. They are seeking to interlink and be able to work across joint projects.

Value for Money

Swiis Foster Care Scotland (winner)

Swiis Foster Care Scotland is a third sector, not-for-profit, independent fostering agency set up to provide loving, nurturing foster families where children flourish and achieve their potential. Their carers are supported by a highly skilled, multi-disciplinary team who facilitate a range of innovative, individually tailored supports, interventions, and in-house and externally sourced developmental opportunities.

The organisation is acutely aware of the financial pressures their customers face and is constantly finding ways to work smarter without compromising outcomes.

A focused approach is successfully delivering considerable benefits such as upskilling their workforce to meet current and future needs by providing exceptional training and developmental opportunities; supporting children to achieve phenomenal educational outcomes and gain employability skills whist achieving accredited Awards.

All of this is achieved whilst providing customers with a range of discounts; making a real difference whilst providing greater value for money.

Workforce Development

Dingbro Ltd (winner – large company)

Dingbro is an independent family run business based in Aberdeen. It was established in 1973 and is one of the UK's leading automotive parts suppliers, with over 1600 employees and 630 delivery vans operating from 29 sites.

Dingbro has a comprehensive and dedicated training programme in place. The organisation divided its apprentice programme into two parts. This achieved departmental mentor led training at the branches and a new external apprentice training company that would carry out the vocational element of the program. The company also became an approved National Training Provider, fully supported by Skills Development Scotland.

The apprentice programme has had great success over the years with over 150 apprentices employed and with 85% retention rate.

The benefits that the training programmes have brought to the company has helped retention and development, which in turn has allowed the company to continue its growth.

GavHas Services (winner – SME)

GavHas Services provide first class property management for the social housing sector in Scotland. They have forged strong connections with many local communities and take great pride in making a difference to people’s lives. They support tenants through the Scottish Welfare Fund by delivering furniture, laying carpets and fitting blinds to ensure safe spaces of refuge.

Twelve months ago, the company had nine staff on the pay roll and that number has now risen to 19, an increase in excess of 100%, reflecting the positive work environment GavHas Services provides.

As a business with employee wellbeing at its core, GavHas introduced a range of measures to support staff including online courses to help with awareness of mental health and autism.

All employees are now fully qualified in first aid, while all installers have passed the relevant exams to become qualified domestic appliance engineers – all at the company’s expense.