“In what has become an incredibly consolidated market, we do see real and tangible advantages of being an independent business.

“Recent market activity has seen many businesses we have traditionally been competing with become absorbed within larger corporate organisations.

“This gives us a real competitive advantage as we are able to provide benefits which just wouldn’t be available in these larger corporate companies with competing demands from other internal brands or shareholders.

“For example, our advantages can range from operational benefits such as flexible procurement, agile service delivery and full accountability.

“In addition, we are able to offer the cultural advantage of being one brand with a distinct character and behaviour. There is no amalgamation of brands within our business. To put it simply – we are one company with one vision. This makes us an attractive company to work for, we have high retention levels and our teams like working for the bartlett mitchell family.

“As an independent, we have the flexibility to choose our own individual suppliers, the agility to bespoke our product where relevant, and offer our clients and customers direct access to the owners of our business.

“In fact, as an owner-led business, the buck absolutely stops with us. There is no parent brand, no shareholders, and nowhere to hide. This is a real advantage for us as clients know that they will have passion and total commitment from their bartlett mitchell teams – from the owners right the way through to frontline team members.

“As an independent business, we are also able to develop deeper and closer relationships with our customers. For example, clients will often work with the people they meet in sales presentations. This authenticity is very important to us and to them. We are at a size which enables us to form bonds with our clients from the very outset. This not only creates accountability but it also means we can regularly and constantly improve our food and offer by working closely with our clients and their teams.

“It may sound like a cliché but people do buy from people, so these relationships are really important. This is another reason why people want to work with companies like ours.

“Importantly, given the current pace of technological advancement, we are also able to implement and utilise new technologies far quicker than the larger corporates we often come up against. Our ability to make decisions quickly and decisively always gives us that edge. We can improve, develop and enhance our operations, sometimes immediately, giving our clients the comfort of knowing we are able to provide the very latest trends, whether it’s technology, our food or other business processes.”

This article first appeared in b&i catering magazine and the full article can be read here.

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