Co-op Society uses Facilitiesline to reduce risk in its supply chain

How are buyers mitigating risk in their supply chains? 

We recently caught up with Steve Smith, Senior Trading Facilities Manager, and Deborah Williams, Facilities Contract Advisor.  

Significant changes are happening within the Co-op at the moment, with the merger of Central Co-op and Midcounties Co-operative forming the UK’s largest independent retail co-operative society. The new group brings together over 500 food stores, alongside travel, funeral care, Early Years, mobile, energy and broadband businesses, with 13,000 staff and over one million members.  

Co-op Society have been a long-time user of Facilitiesline’s supply chain management and compliance scheme, and previously joined when the scheme was named Altius back in 2014. Their suppliers are asked to adhere to Silver or Gold compliance levels, depending on the level of risk involved with their specific trade.  

Key benefits of the Facilitiesline scheme for Co-op Society 

• Helps them understand quickly which suppliers meet their minimum levels of compliance.  
• Helps reduce risk in areas such as cyber security related to their supply chain.  
• One-stop-shop for their suppliers to answer all relevant PQQ questions and upload documentation.

Q: As we move into 2026, what are the key risks that you are looking for in your supply chain? 

There are many different things that we are looking for and we have a minimum standard for our suppliers and a strong reputation to protect. Correct insurance is of course a concern, but environmental processes and credentials are also increasingly on our radar. We are working towards ambitious targets in line with the SBTi Net-Zero Standard, so we need to know that suppliers are sourcing and using materials in a sustainable way and disposing of waste ethically.  

Co-op was the victim of a cyber-attack 12 months ago, so data security is another topic of paramount importance to us as a group, as are other concerns such as ensuring our suppliers have anti-slavery policies and pay at least the minimum wage.  

The Facilitiesline scheme helps us to identify risks that might not be spotted so easily otherwise, giving us the peace of mind that we’re covering a wider range of concerns and really digging below the surface.  

Q: How often do you go into the Facilitiesline portal?  

Recently we have been going into the portal on a weekly basis as we’ve been onboarding new suppliers. The Facilitiesline team have supported us with that process and we’re pleased to say that we’ve now reached 65% of that onboarding target.  

Q: You mentioned that you also use the Once For All Marketplace functionality which is available to Facilitiesline members?  

Yes that’s correct. A couple of recent examples are that we needed to find specialist gas heating contractors to deal with a biomass boiler at one of our sites, and a particular type of roofing contractor for another site. It was useful to be able to simply sign in, search for our specific requirements and compare the suppliers available. This is a good way of adding to our existing supply chain when required, saving us valuable time which is spent on other critical tasks.  

Q: What are the benefits of Facilitiesline to your suppliers?  

A: The portal gives them a one-stop shop to manage all the credentials they know that we are looking for. They’re provided with updates when something is coming close to expiry and further action needs to be taken. 

Reduce supply chain risk with Facilitiesline

Do you have an extended list of facilities suppliers? Are you managing risk effectively?

Facilitiesline’s supply chain management solutions support you with:

• Connect with thousands of pre-qualified suppliers across various facilities categories
• Save time: Outsource your PQQ and verification to us
• Keep a robust audit trail: documentation, supplier and project information in one place
• And so much more

Contact us and see how we can support your facilities management supply chain needs.