October 23, 2017
GS1 UK and the Great British Exchange (GBE) teamed up to host a brand-new workshop to help British SMEs be better prepared to trade with leading high street retailers.
Taking place on the same day as National Start-Ups Day UK, 54 small businesses arrived at John Lewis’s Distribution Centre in Milton Keynes on Friday 13 October with the promise of gaining vital advice about what they needed to do to work more effectively and successfully with large retailers.
Monica Bird, Head of Marketplaces at GS1 UK said: “SMEs are absolutely integral to the success and growth of the UK economy, making up a significant proportion of the total number of business, while accounting for a significant chunk of total employment.
“But it’s not so easy for SMEs to get in-front of large retailers to sell their products. Maybe they lack the contacts or don’t have the right infrastructure to meet retailers’ requirements.
“That’s exactly why we joined forces with the Great British Exchange to put on a workshop, giving small businesses a helping hand by getting them ready to do business with some of the largest retailers.”
The workshop was geared up exclusively to help SMEs and they were given the opportunity to not only network with each other, sharing ideas, stories and experiences, but some businesses also brought in their products to display and bring to life what they do.
The businesses were also treated to an engaging and informative presentation from Fiona Carr, Founder of The Harrogate Candle Company’s, who shared her experiences of how she swapped the life of a management consultant to becoming the owner of a successful small business selling luxury candles.
But it wasn’t just networking that took place as there were a raft of speakers on the agenda, discussing subjects that were designed with the sole aim of building up the skills of British SMEs. Topics covered on the day ranged from managing cash flow and building a brand to understanding how to leverage their products’ unique British identity.
Richard Perriman from Horizon, a freight and logistics company, spoke about production-lead times and the need to understand international customs compliance. John Lewis’s Sara Allbright gave the audience a unique insight into what it means to be a buyer for one of the UK’s most recognisable brands having worked there for 15 years, and Anthony De Souza, of the Crowdfunding mastery academy, provided advice on alternative ways to raise capital and investment, using organisations like Brew Dog and the Jamaican bobsleigh team as inspiration.
Further talks were provided by GS1 UK’s Monica Bird and Ricky Jones, who spoke about the importance of improving online visibility and the shopper experience, while GBE’s Matt Hopkins shared his advice on how British brands could get their products to market in the UK and abroad.
To cap things off, SMEs attending were given a unique opportunity to speak to advisors from the Department of International Trade (DIT) about how they can sell their products to international markets. Advisors arrived on DIT’s special export hub, a vast lorry which was parked right outside the distribution centre with all manner of resources and facilities to help SMEs get ready to export.
And for those who wanted to stay, there was an exclusive tour of the distribution centre for SMEs from John Lewis’s Head of Operations, John Munnelly.
“The inaugural small business workshop with the Great British Exchange was an unparalleled success,” said Lorna Beament, Enagagement Manager at GS1 UK. “This was largely down to our fantastic speakers, which was a unique mix of big and small business, but also because the SMEs who came down were dynamic, vibrant, enthusiastic and really took the opportunity with both hands to engage with their fellow peers and the speakers.
“There’s always more we can do to support the UK’s army of entrepreneurs and we hope this will be the first of many successful small business workshops to come.”