MD Alan Soper Speaks at BIFM Conference
2010
Alan Soper, Ian Williams MD joined Kirsty Lang, Oona King and
Will Hutton among others this week in London to speak at
the BIFM Conference 2010. The theme of this 17th
annual event was Facilities Management in a Changing World
exploring the economic, technological, environmental and social
challenges facing today’s facilities manager. Alan participated in
the panel debate on procurement 
on the first day of
conference, where trust – or the lack of – in a relationship
between buyers and suppliers was under scrutiny. Joining Alan were
Steve Agg, CEO of the Chartered Institute of Logistics and
Transport and Paul Franklin from PA Consultancy. All panelists
agreed that establishing longer-term relationships between buyer
and supplier was the key to creating trust and resulted in better
value for the customer.
Alan specifically pointed out that at the end of every FM supply
chain was the person doing the work – the cleaner, caterer or
plasterer – and if there are too many contractual layers between
the person who does the work and the buyer, then there will be
inefficiencies. “Procurement is just a dating agency for bringing
people together, not a process in itself. Better qualified
players find a way of getting married, rather than having a one
night stand,” he concluded.
For a full conference review, visit
www.bifmconference2010.com