FMEAs open for entries
Supermarket price wars are ratcheting up the pressure on food and drink suppliers as the big four retailers slug it out in competition for shoppers and against the inexorable rise of the hard discounters Aldi and Lidl.
Recent Kantar market analysis of the trading performance of British supermarkets makes particularly grim reading, with activity overall at the weakest it has been for about 11 years. It has led the major multiples to pass back any cost increases and seek further price cuts from their suppliers, which in turn is making manufacturers scrutinise their costs and efficiencies.
Not only is high operational efficiency an imperative, with volume sales of food and drink depressed, firms really need to stand out from the rest of the crowd to earn their place on supermarket shelves. And that's where the Food Manufacturing Excellence Awards come in. The Awards recognise companies that have really shone over the past year by demonstrating their innovation, service and flexibility.
The Food Manufacturing Excellence Awards – now in their 14th year – recognise the stars of food and drink. Entry is free and simple. Complete an online entry form at: www.foodmanawards.co.uk or download a form to complete and return by post. This year’s Awards will be presented at the London Hilton in Park Lane on Thursday November 20.
The Awards include nine individual categories, together with awards for ‘Best new use of food ingredients’, ‘Environmental Initiative of the Year’, ‘Supply Chain Initiative of the Year’, ‘Training programme of the Year’, and Young Talent of the Year a new award for 2014. Awards will also be made for ‘SME Innovation of the Year’ (typically a company that employs fewer than 100 people and has a turnover of less that £10M a year) and ‘Judges’ star performer’. This award is made to the firm that, in the judges’ opinion, has been outstanding in one particular area of activity.
From the nine category winners, the judges will select the ‘Food Manufacturing Company of the Year’. Last year Premier Foods – Ashford took the prize for turning around a business earmarked for closure in 2007. The judges' remarked: "Premier had shown great skill in carrying out a major restructuring of its operation against a difficult backdrop, which has resulted in continuous improvements year-on-year."
Judging for the individual categories covers: category management, marketing and new product development, supply chain improvements, quality assurance, health and safety and environmental management, process innovation and human resources development. Once again, Food Manufacture readers will also vote for their Personality of the Year from our shortlist of six candidates via an online poll at www.foodmanawards.co.uk.
To enter the awards, visit our website at:www.foodmanawards.co.uk or email Rebecca George at: rebecca.george@wrbm.com or call her on: 01293 610422
Awards categories
Ambient Manufacturing Company of the Year
Bakery Manufacturing Company of the Year
Beverages Manufacturing Company of the Year
Chilled Food Manufacturing Company of the Year
Dairy Manufacturing Company of the Year
Fresh Produce Manufacturing Company of the Year
Frozen Foods Manufacturing Company of the Year
Meat and Poultry Manufacturing Company of the Year
Seafood Manufacturing Company of the Year
SPECIAL AWARDS
Food manufacturing company of the year
Best new use of food ingredients
Supply chain initiative of the year
Training programme of the year
Environmental initiative of the year
SME innovation of the year
Judges’ star performer
The Judging Panel
Chairman of the judges:
Paul Wilkinson, chairman, Improve/National Skills Academy
Jonathon Bayne,food technologist ambient grocery,Waitrose
Simon Chattock, head of vendor assurance, Compass Group UK & Ireland
Mark Colvin, lean manufacturing consultant, LeanPal
Jean Feord, food industry consultant
Dale Fiddy, sales and marketing director, NFT Distribution Operations
Justine Fosh, chief executive, National Skills Academy
Michelle Jackson, European modified atmosphere packaging manager, Air Products
Andy Marsh, director, Suiko
Wayne MorLey, head of ingredients and product innovation,Leatherhead Food Research
Rick Pendrous, editor, Food Manufacture
Alan Speight, consultant, Food Solutions Associates
Mike Stones, group editor, Food Manufacture
B3 Jobs
Category: Young Talent of the Year
b3 jobs is proud to be the first ever sponsor of the Young Talent of the Year award aimed at celebrating the industry’s new entrants at apprentice, technician and graduate level.
Set up in May 2000, b3 is a market-leading recruitment company specialising in all food manufacturing disciplines throughout the UK. It supplies both interim and permanent staff offering an ethical, reliable, expert and cost effective service. It aims to take the headache out of finding the right people who are so vital to driving its clients’ businesses forward.
Recruitment should always be about getting the best person for the job and the best job for the person that way everyone’s a winner! b3 takes time to ensure it understands exactly what its clients and candidates want, and only introduces those it believes genuinely match its customers’ requirements b3 doesn’t just send its clients CVs on a wing and a prayer!
b3 is always keen to develop long-term and mutually beneficial business relationships with food manufacturers, whatever their size somewhere, out there, is the right person to fill your vacancy let b3 jobs help you find them!
Columbus
Category: SME Innovation
Columbus offers integrated business solutions tailored for food sectors such as prepared foods, produce, meat, dairy, bakery and brewery. Its customers include Weetabix, Thwaites, Fairfax Meadows, Dunbia, Kepak and many other industry leaders.
With this deep engagement in the food industry, it builds targeted solutions on top of the reliable Microsoft Dynamics AX platform that deliver value and fast return on investment. Its solutions often meet 80% of the industry requirements right off, and with adaption, customers will experience the full impact on their business performance at a lower total cost of ownership.
Columbus helps its clients to streamline processes to optimise their businesses. Its proven SureStep+ implementation process and novel solution sets, such as RapidValue, its business process modelling tool, ensure a faster and less expensive implementation.
ColumbusFood solution for Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 enhances core enterprise resource planning capabilities to meet food-centric needs. Its goal is to deliver, and continuously enhance, an affordable solution that meets common requirements.
www.columbusglobal.com/en-GB/Food
Lauras International
Category: Judges’ Star Performer
Lauras International is a provider of improvement support to fast moving consumer goods companies globally. It claims to be the only lean improvement company in the UK to have been awarded the Investors in People Gold Standard. Founded in 2001, Lauras has established operations in UK, Australia, Singapore, and Europe, and works with an alliance partner in the Americas.
Lauras’s team has significant experience in world class manufacturing, with a track record of improving businesses from within. The team’s expertise is in lean, six sigma, and total productive maintenance, allowing it to tailor the improvement model to the needs of each client in order to optimise the rate of rapid, sustained, productivity improvement.
The key to its success is in the depth of skills transfer, engaging closely with clients’ front line management, operations and maintenance teams, supporting them to apply the tools effectively and make the improvement happen.
Lauras International works with businesses large and small. It also assists clients that want to divest or invest in new factories with operational due diligence assessments.
Nigel Wright
Category: Ambient Manufacturing Company of the Year
For 25 years Nigel Wright has been a leading name in consumer industry recruitment throughout Europe. It has played an instrumental role in developing the talent framework behind many of the world’s leading food and drink brands, as well as small family-owned food and drink businesses. Today, Nigel Wright’s industry networks are far reaching and the opportunities it brings to the market are broad, skilled and multi-disciplined.
It employs an innovative and entrepreneurial approach to solving talent requirements and its consultants thrive in highly competitive local recruitment markets, around the world. Its network of international offices allows the company to source the best local and international talent across the Europe, Middle East and Africa, US, Latin America and Asia- Pacific regions.
As a values-led organisation, Nigel Wright fosters a creative spirit and unwavering dedication to service excellence, guaranteeing the best outcomes for its clients. It has earned a reputation as a leading provider through its professionalism, attention to detail and, naturally, through its results.
NSF International
Category: Supply Chain Initiative of the Year
Food assurance brand NSF International protects consumers and enhances business throughout the global food supply chain.
NSF believes that compliance whether to customer, company or regulatory requirements can be delivered in a way that enhances, not merely protects, business and it aims to offer appropriate technical solutions that give its clients competitive advantage.
As a leading provider of safety, assurance and certification solutions for retailers, caterers and manufacturers, NSF offers integrated services that include: bespoke ingredient and manufacturer inspection programmes to meet customer, regulatory and compliance requirements, product development support, including product specification and management from ingredients to shelf; allergens and nutrition information management and assurance; advisory helpline services; and training and coaching.
All of its services are supported by innovative risk management tools and web-based platforms to provide clients with integrated business information solutions.
Oghma Partners
Category: Food Manufacturer of the Year
Partners Mark Lynch and Tim Owen of Oghma Partners LLP are proud to renew their sponsorship of the Food Manufacturing Excellence Awards which recognises the hard work and great achievements of food manufacturers across the UK. Oghma Partners is keen to champion this successful sector of the UK economy and to celebrate the leaders in the industry.
Established in 2008, Oghma Partners is a corporate finance advisory firm specialising in the UK and European food and beverage industry. The partners have worked in senior positions within the global investment banking industry; the skills and experience gained over many years covering the industry are applied to their clients' needs.
They apply their industry and deal-making experience supported by their wide network of UK and international industry contacts to enable them to identify the most appropriate solution to their clients' needs.
They work across the diverse universe of the industry; their clients range from global food conglomerates, mid-sized listed companies to smaller owner-operated businesses.
Oghma’s primary focus relates to the provision of advice regarding business disposals and acquisitions.
TATA CONSULTANCY SERVICES
CATEGORY: Personality of the Year
Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) is an IT services, consulting and business solutions organisation that claims to deliver real results to global business, ensuring a level of certainty that few companies can match.
TCS offers a consulting-led, integrated portfolio of IT, business process outsourcing, infrastructure, engineering and assurance services. This is delivered through TCS’s Global Network Delivery Model, recognised as a benchmark of excellence in software development.
A part of the Tata group, India’s largest industrial conglomerate, TCS has over 276,000 of the world’s best-trained consultants in 44 countries. The company generated consolidated revenues of $11.6bn for the year ended March 31, 2013 and is listed on the National Stock Exchange and Bombay Stock Exchange in India.
Univar
Category: Best new use of food Ingredients
Univar serves diverse end markets across Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Its industry-focused model provides technical support and innovation to meet customers’ needs.
Univar Food Ingredients is the place to go for innovative solutions that meet existing and emerging requirements in the evolving food market. It provides its clients a multitude of food ingredients together with excellent service. The company offers specialist knowledge and high quality products in specific sectors such as bakery, confectionery, beverages, nutritional, soups and sauces, ready meals and much more.
In today’s rapidly changing world of food production, Univar strives to give its customers a competitive edge. Thanks to its in-depth knowledge of the food and beverage industry, and its specialised food kitchens dedicated to research and development, its experts can help customers modify, enhance and tailor all aspects of food production and innovation, including taste, texture and mouthfeel.
From a single source, Univar brings customers new technologies and applications from across the globe, delivered through well-established relationships with many of the world’s leading ingredients producers.
