Council procurement – Come along and meet the buyer.

Dumfries and Galloway Council’s vision is to create opportunity for all, support ambition, promote prosperity and establish Dumfries and Galloway as the best place to live, work and learn. Hand in hand with this vision is the need to spend our public funds wisely and boost our local economy whilst doing so.

One way that our Council does this is through our Procurement Strategy, which has just been refreshed and will be presented to Members of Finance, Procurement and Transformation committee (FPT) on 21^st June.

We are particularly keen to work with local suppliers, where possible. With this in mind, our Council’s Procurement team, in conjunction with other services and local partners, is holding ‘Meet the Buyer’ events in Dumfries and Stranraer to provide local providers and contractors with an opportunity to meet the teams, discuss what services are needed, and promote their own businesses.

The events will include exhibitions from local organisations including, Loreburn Housing Association, DGHP/Wheatley Group, NHS Dumfries, and Galloway. Representatives will also be in attendance from SDP, Scotland Excel, Business Gateway and the South of Scotland Enterprise.

These events are a chance for businesses to meet, network and find out more about the different contracting opportunities. These take place in Dumfries on Wednesday 22 June at The Bridge from 10am-2pm and in Stranraer on Friday 1 July at The Ryan Centre from 10am-2pm.

The full agenda can be viewed on the registration links.

Register to attend the event(s) at: Dumfries and Galloway Meet the Buyer Roadshow | All events and training listings | Supplier Development Programme (sdpscotland.co.uk) (Dumfries) and Dumfries and Galloway Meet the Buyer Roadshow | All events and training listings | Supplier Development Programme (sdpscotland.co.uk) (Stranraer).

Chair of the Council’s FPT Committee, Carolyne Wilson said: “This will be a very worthwhile event and I would encourage local suppliers to come along and meet our Council teams. I think it’s often easier to do business with someone if you have already made contact with them and met them face-to-face. This is also an opportunity to find out about exactly which services our council requires. I know you will be made very welcome.

Vice Chair, Dougie Campbell said: “We are very keen to work with local businesses and suppliers to ensure the best services, but also to provide the greatest opportunities for our local business economy. We are aware that the procurement process isn’t always the easiest thing to navigate, but by meeting our officers at these events you can be assured that there is always someone there to help if needed.”

ENDS