Schools and Academies Show success in Birmingham

A number of CPC team members were at the Schools and Academies Show (SaAS) on Thursday 18th November at the NEC, Birmingham, where CPC formed part of the most successful CPL Village to date.

With our top stand set-up to date highlighting not-for-profit procurement operations across Britain, visitors were able to discuss their requirements with experts representing CPC and twin brand Tenet.

At our stand, we were able to proudly highlight some of CPC’s magic numbers, from the 5,582 Academies that are saving with CPC to the 896 Multi-Academy Trusts now using CPC services.

Meanwhile, 15 external suppliers were based at the Village for SaAS, contributing a wide spectrum of expertise from their pod bases, as our own A-Team engaged with customers and suppliers alike.

The CPL Village barista was also on top form, keeping up with a constant flow of enthusiastic visitors, while we were pleased to help give away a luxury Fortnum and Mason hamper, later that afternoon.

On behalf of CPC’s parent CPL Group, we extend our gratitude to CPL Village lead sponsors Lewis & Graves Facilities Management Services, whose support helped to make our day the success it was.

Sales Director at Lewis & Graves, Jason King said: “To be the main sponsor of the CPL Village was a really good decision. The coverage that we’ve had and all the stuff that’s built up to the event, such as going into the magazine, the pod and the position of the stand… it’s been a great decision!

“We did the SAAS at the ExCel in April, but it’s been an amazing event here in Birmingham. We’ve never done this one before and we are so glad that we did!”.

CPL Group Managing Director Darren Lowe conceived the idea of a CPL Village in 2018-19 and was delighted to see the latest incarnation of that initial concept be realised in such effective fashion.

“I cannot tell you how proud I was to be part of CPL Village, representing the fantastic organisation we have become and have the pleasure to work for. It looked amazing and with its expansion we hit another milestone, as the 15 suppliers who exhibited with us put on a great display”, he said.

The SaAS posed a unique opportunity for key decision makers to network across the education sector, enabling the CPL Group to showcase its 90 procurement frameworks, including those approved by the DfE, along with its Tenet On Demand and placement consultancy offers.

As such, SaAS delegates were treated to a one-stop shop of guidance and support for buying.

By extending opportunities to our wider supply chain, we saw wider, more diverse expertise on hand, which, in turn, saw a significant upturn in footfall at CPL Village over the course of the day.

As well as additional sponsors AON, Schools Broadband, Midshire Signature Services, Citron, Academic Software, Top-Tec Sports and Balfor Recruitment, we would like to thank our extended army of exhibiting suppliers at the SaAS, with the likes of Dukefield Energy, Banner, Forbes Solicitors, Shakespeare Martineau, Just3Things, Bellrock Property & Facilities Management, Elcom, Towergate Insurance, Konica Minolta Business Solutions, OfficeXpress, Vision plc, Stir Food, Kindred and CPC’s sister project CPL Learning all showcased at the show of shows in our field this winter.

CPL Learning itself helps the CPL Group work towards its charitable objectives, with its Learning and Development platform offering funded free training courses and resources, templates and guidance, as well as a forum to share knowledge and ideas with procurement professionals across the sector.

As a CPC member institution, you can benefit from all this support during your procurement journey, upskilling and educating your onsite staff to make sound procurement decisions.

We are delighted to report that an influx of CPL suppliers have already expressed their interest in booking space in the next SaAS CPL Village, which will come to life at ExCeL London on 17th May.

If you would like your company or brand to have a presence with us in the CPL Village at the first SaAS of 2023, contact Rana Holland via [email protected]

Please note, places will be limited and awarded on a first-come, first-served basis.