Interserve has developed new software incorporating Google Maps which allows the percentage spend of local suppliers to be calculated for all of its projects, in a bid to boost its social responsibility capabilities. The company also plans to use the system to source local suppliers and monitor their performance – even different offices of the same supplier company.
Increasingly, local authorities and housing associations are demanding that contractors guarantee spending to local SMEs as part of their contract terms and to meet conditions under the Social Value Act.
John Cosford, head of construction procurement at Interserve, said: “The software is totally automated – but rather than supply a list using Google Maps we are able to supply the information visually, so clients can instantly see the radius of the supply chain from the project which gives us the extra edge.”
The software has been developed in-house by Interserve on the back of its accounting system, which is used as the basis for creating the database.
The firm is also supplying the information to the Cabinet Office, which is collating figures from major contractors in terms of their use of SMEs in the supply chain on a quarterly basis.
The system is also being used to draw up KPIs of all its supply chain partners including which offices have the best performance, some going back two decades or more. This is based on measuring the performance across 10 different criteria including safety, quality, team spirit and value management.
“The higher their average performance the higher they are up our selection list,” said Cosford.
The system allows the user not only to select “vendors” by job category, but lets them view many years’ worth of rating data concerning each one. The initiative is in response to the drive by public sector procurement departments to use local supply chains on construction projects. Specific characteristics of the system include:
- Performance ratings of vendors based on working with them over the past 23 years
- Specific radius of search can be altered according to requirement
- By hovering the cursor over the “pin” location of a vendor on the Google Map, information on that company is revealed
- Warnings associated with particular vendors are revealed
- Search results can be sorted according to a variety of criteria
The initiative to increase the use of local suppliers is part of the company’s SustainAbilities Plan launched in 2013. This represents a more strategic and joined up approach to tackling the challenges facing society and the group’s commitment to sustainable business. Interserve has more than 260 preferred suppliers.
