Food portal opens up new business opportunities

Food and drink companies from across the region are set to benefit from a new, cutting edge e-business portal, ‘FoodPort’, launched tomorrow (April 10, 2008), by Food Northwest.

Food Northwest, the organisation set up to lead the food and drink industry and to help grow the Northwest regional economy, has worked in partnership with AIMES, a technology transfer centre at the University of Liverpool, to develop new ways for food companies in the region to do business, become more efficient and improve their profitability.

‘FoodPort’ is an innovative ‘e-business marketplace,’ which businesses can register on, only via the Food Northwest website www.foodnw.co.uk. Available to all food and drink businesses in Cheshire, Cumbria, Greater Manchester, Lancashire and Merseyside, FoodPort uses the latest technology to bring businesses together and is safe, secure and easy to use.

Business in the food sector is increasingly being conducted outside traditional market environments, with more and more trading taking place in an e-marketplace. Consultation with the sector identified the need for better information, easier networking with other businesses, joint procurement and for small businesses, easy to use ICT systems. Based on this, FoodPort has been developed as a research and development project that will run until December 2008 and will allow businesses to develop their e-business capabilities at low risk.

FoodPort provides the opportunity for Northwest food and drink businesses to reduce the cost of commodities through joint buying with other companies. Its procurement service enables companies to compete by enhancing their buying power, for example on commodities such as packaging. An initial scoping exercise which took place in 2007, with 10 companies, has seen those involved realising savings of up to 10 per cent.

The project provides three further areas of support*, including; affordable access to high quality, up-to-date information from Leatherhead Food International, after an initial free, three-month trial period; a free online business networking tool linking individuals within the Northwest food and drink community, and an affordable, managed computing service, offering access to Microsoft Office applications and the Internet without the need for in-house support.

Pat Foreman, chief executive of Food Northwest, said: “Our aim is to help food businesses in the region to improve their productivity and to grow. FoodPort will help companies to make connections with other individuals and businesses within the industry, gain access to information to increase efficiency and profitability, and find new ways to do business through channels to new markets. Ultimately we want to make them more competitive in the rapidly developing market environments of the 21st century.”

The Northwest has one of the largest food and drink sectors in the UK, contributing £9.5 billion to the local economy, employing over 450,000 people and providing more than 12 per cent of the region’s income. The sector has been identified by the Northwest Regional Development Agency, (NWDA) as a priority growth sector and is recognised as such within the Northwest Regional Economic Strategy. FoodPort has been supported by £1.6 million comprising of £802,000 provided by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), via the Merseyside Objective One Programme, and £833,000 from the Northwest Regional Development Agency, as part of a wider project including a networking and research programme.

Food and drink companies interested in finding out more about FoodPort and joint buying, through the procurement service, should contact the FoodPort team on 0151 795 0119, 0151 795 0107, or 0151 795 0106. To register on FoodPort visit www.foodnw.co.uk or call Food Northwest on 01928 511011 for more information.

Ends

For further media information, contact Jeanette Riley/Hilary Berg at Leapfrog PR on 0151 707 6988.

Issued: 9 April 2008

Notes to Editors

Food Northwest
The establishment in April 2007 of Food Northwest, which builds on the work of the Northwest Food Alliance, Seafood Northwest and the Northwest Fantastic Foods Partnership, simplifies support for businesses. It brings the existing food industry support organisations under its direction, providing a clear voice for the development of the sector and providing a focal point for the industry. Food Northwest, with its partners, aims to help businesses in the sector maximise their economic potential and increase productivity and output, working with all parts of the sector, including food retail and service, wholesale, distribution, food processing and agriculture. The organisation is co-ordinating a five-year Northwest Food and Drink strategy, which has six priorities, focusing on the key themes of market development, productivity and skills, healthy eating, environmental sustainability, sustainable farming and food, and the image of the industry.

AIMES

AIMES (Advanced Internet Methods and Emergent Systems), a technology transfer centre of The University of Liverpool, is a key point of access for businesses wishing to take advantage of advanced internet technologies. The AIMES Centre provides a range of services including digital inclusion programmes, applications provision and management, database systems, software development, hosting and storage, as well as on-demand, low-cost web services.

Northwest Regional Development Agency

The Northwest Regional Development Agency (NWDA) leads the economic development and regeneration of England's Northwest and is responsible for:
• Supporting business growth and encouraging investment
• Matching skills provision to employer needs
• Creating the conditions for economic growth
• Connecting the region through effective transport and communication infrastructure
• Promoting the region’s outstanding quality of life

Merseyside Objective One Programme

The EU designated Merseyside an Objective One area for a second time in 2000 as the city-region’s economic performance – as measured by Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per head – was below 75 per cent of the EU average. Since then, the area has benefited from a £2.2billion investment programme – over £930 million from the European Union, matched by £930 million from the UK Government and a further £400 million from the private sector. That investment is on track to help deliver almost 40,000 new jobs (net additional), 400,000 training places and 617,000sqm of new or refurbished floorspace.

The Objective One investment strategy recognised the food and drink industry as being vital to the economic renaissance of Merseyside and, as such, made it a priority for EU investment under the Mersey Partnership’s Sector Development Programme.

*Foodport is a research and development project until December 2008. It includes four key elements:
• Information - affordable access to high quality, up-to-date information from Leatherhead Food International, a market leader in supporting the global food and drink sectors. This includes daily news streaming, access to Leatherhead Food International for intelligence on patents, research and technology, market data, innovation and regulatory guidance. Access is free for a three month trial period from April 2008, followed by a £100 annual fee per company

• Community - a free online business networking tool linking individuals within the Northwest food and drink community. It enables both large and small food businesses to create profiles and personal web pages, view others, join discussion groups, apply to attend networking events and arrange meetings with likely partners. Its RADAR matching service allows users to identify potential customers, suppliers or partners based on various search criteria, for example product categories, processes, skills and personal interests

• Procurement - the opportunity for businesses to reduce the cost of procurement through volume aggregation with other companies. This procurement service run via FoodPort, with specialist support from PricewaterhouseCoopers and with e-sourcing solutions from Vendigital, enables companies to compete by enhancing their buying power, for example on commodities such as packaging. An initial scoping exercise with 10 companies has delivered savings of up to 10 per cent on corrugated packaging

• Business Grid - an affordable, managed computing service, offering access to Microsoft Office applications and the Internet without the need for in-house support. Designed for micro, small businesses and start-ups, a ‘thin client’ - a piece of hardware, using 80 per cent less energy than a typical PC - is installed with a keyboard and monitor. Access is available remotely and all data is securely stored at the AIMES data centre. Broadband access is required. The cost is £45 per month, per user

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