Welsh Brothers Foods Ltd

Alan Heycock is a director of Welsh Bros Foods Ltd, a successful, expanding firm which has been supplying foodstuffs to hotels, restaurants and other catering markets, mainly in Wales, for more than 40 years.

The £10 million turnover firm, which employs 60 on two sites in Newport, currently counts eight Welsh local authorities among its customers, delivering to their canteens and schools.

Mr Heycock knows exactly how important the public sector market is to his business, which is why he is making full use of the Welsh Purchasing Card.

"We have built a good reputation with local authorities and are happy to work closely with them to facilitate any improvement in the purchasing process, which benefits us both" he said.

"We were aware of the Welsh Purchasing Card, but it came into sharper focus when we were bidding for a new contract with Pembrokeshire County Council last year; the authority decided all its suppliers had to use the Card.

"In our experience, once one council adopts such a position, others are likely to follow. Having started using the Card, we as a company are also now seeing the benefits.

"They include security and transparency, reduced administration and improved cash flow. The Card statements are like mini-invoices, easy to check against delivery notes etc. It works well and has saved us money."

Welsh Bros Foods Ltd have integrated their use of the Card with bespoke ordering software developed for them by Diamond Discovery Ltd of Bridgend, which has halved the time their night shift spends on administration, among other benefits.

For more information on Welsh Brothers Foods, please visit www.welshbros.co.ukYou can find out more about Diamond Discovery at www.diamond-discovery.com

• alan heycock PIC (7k)