Torbay Council to begin high-tech online trial

The aim is to increase the money it spends on businesses

Torbay Council will begin a trial of a high-tech online supplier hub next week with the aim of increasing the amount of money it spends with businesses in the Bay.

Next Wednesday [1 September] the council begins a pilot of SupplyDevon, a government-funded platform in which Torbay businesses can provide quotes to the council on individual orders valued between £5,000 and £50.000. Torbay businesses get priority, but if no local supplier is available, then Devon businesses will be able to bid.

The goal is to make it easier to for the council to spend money with local businesses, keeping money in Torbay whilst reducing the environmental impact caused by goods being shipped long distances. The trial will end on 31 March next year. If successful the council hopes it will be able to use the hub permanently.  

In the last financial year, less than 10 per cent of the money Torbay Council spent with external businesses – just £5 million – went to those based in Torbay, compared with £48 million spent with suppliers elsewhere.

The high-tech platform is an attempt to help reverse this situation by using artificial intelligence developed with the help of the University of Exeter to match small local suppliers to large organisations.

Speaking at a recent council meeting, Councillor Darren Cowell (Independent Group, Shiphay) cabinet member for finance, said: “The objective of this pilot is to keep money in our local economy as opposed to larger companies which may not have Torbay and Devon at their heart.”

CEO of Supply Devon Stuart Brocklehurst explained the benefits of the hub. “Money spent in Devon by big organisations, whether they be public sector or corporates, often tends to boomerang straight back out of Devon again because it gets spent with bigger companies – while the economy of Devon is full of small and medium-sized businesses.

“It’s really easy to go to a really big company for all your needs [but] it’s much harder to find that smaller business that might actually meet your needs much better than a larger company.”

The SupplyDevon hub launched in February and has already been used by South Devon and Torbay NHS Trust. Other local public sector organisations including South Devon College are expected to sign up soon.

Mr Brocklehurst says it’s hard to say how much money will be spent through the hub by Torbay Council until they start using it.

Devon businesses can join the hub for free.  More than 5,000 have signed up already.