GATEWAY TO BUSINESS GROWTH RAIL MENTOR

Collaboration with the whole supply chain is key to the success of any project in the rail industry, but often the smaller or more recent entrants to the market find rail a difficult place to do business. Carillion is part of the Rail Mentor Programme, which helps these businesses to get a foothold in the rail supply chain.

On July 6, Carillion held an event in conjunction with the Rail Alliance at Long Marston in Warwickshire for small businesses in the sector to meet decision-makers in Carillion and learn about how to supply to the company and the wider industry. The event was a success. Here are some of the comments attendees made:

Mike Bird, Principal Environmental Consultant, ARCUS: “It is unusual for us to have such an extended opportunity to present to, and ask questions of senior members of a potential client’s procurement team.”

Jim Herbert, Civil and Environmental Sales, ABG: “I doubt that ABG would have had the same kind of access to senior decision-makers within Carillion without the aid of the mentoring scheme. I also think that the set-up of the event allowed Carillion to provide good guidance and ideas on how the businesses that attended can make progress in the UK rail market, as opposed to the usual supplier/ contractor meetings which tend to focus on a particular work enquiry rather than the wider market opportunities perspective.”