Become a member and get the best prices available using Buying Group suppliers. Membership is free and you will be able to access all of the categories listed on our Categories page. In some cases to gain the most benefit we will need to have a copy of your latest detailed invoice to get the best price in a specific category. For further details about how the Buying Group works please visit the Buying Group pages of this website.
If you are going to buy a new laptop, printer or desk for example, you will often be required by your school or business to obtain three/four competitive quotations. This proves that you have sought "best value" before purchasing the item. The trouble is finding three or four competitive prices can take considerable amount of time. We can do this for you. We know where the best deals are for most items as we are doing this sort of thing all the time. So contact us with your requirement. We charge a small fee for this service.
For larger purchase items, services or supply contracts most companies and schools will go out to tender. Whatever the requirement the process is the same; write a tender document, decide who the appropriate suppliers might be, send the tender documents out, analyses the responses, make a decision, award the contract. This all takes a considerable amount of time. We can help with some or all of these processes. So if your resources are stretched, considering outsourcing procurement or don't have the skills, talk to us. We will be happy to work out a cost effective solution to help
Many businesses and schools spend a lot of money on services and supplies including items such as electricity and gas. Are you being overcharged? Possibly. Do you have the time to look at the invoices and check them? Possibly not. For a small monthly fee we will check your invoices and ensure you are paying what you have agreed to pay. If you have been overcharged in the past we can even recover the overpayment(s) for you. Call us to discuss your requirements.
You think that using the Buying Group would be a good idea but how much could you save? Simple, we can carry out a detailed analysis for you. Supply all the necessary invoices and we will analyse them and provide buying group prices for each item and category of spend. We can even include areas of spend other than those listed as Buying Group Categories. Contact us for details.
The directors of Black Bear Group together with our professional network of associates have many years experience of improving business performance and efficiency. We cover many aspects of business at both strategic and practical levels including general management, finance, manufacturing, quality, procurement and sales. Contact us for further details and to discuss your requirements.
You may need a financial forecast for your bank or accountant for budgeting or raising finance. Whatever the reason you need a fully integrated Profit and Loss, Balance Sheet and Cash Flow covering at least 3 years. At Black Bear Group we have created many such forecasts for a variety of different business types. Generally we use Winforecast Professional to produce our forecasts which can be integrated with most Sage products. In producing a financial forecast we will work with you, challenging your assumptions before building the model. We will provide you with a fixed price quotation for producing financial forecasts which will depend upon the complexity of the model.
If you are going to start a new business or are looking to raise additional finance for your business, a comprehensive business plan is an essential part of the process. (You will also need a financial forecast.) Business plans come in many different guises depending on purpose, but generally will include sections on: History of the business; Products and Services; Management Team; Operations; Markets; Financial Analysis (this section should include a financial forecast, investment details, returns, shareholding); Strategy and Executive Summary. Producing a business plan is time consuming to both create and write. At Black Bear Group we have worked with many companies to produce effective business plans, please contact us for details and examples.
Are your quality systems giving you what you need? If not we can carry out a full appraisal of your current processes and then help you to design and implement bespoke new systems. Whether you're considering systems for: quality control; vendor appraisal, product quality; value engineering or continuous improvement we have the experience to assist you. We can also help with any aspect of ISO9001 design, review and implementation. Contact us for further details.
We all know that new product development is about getting the right product to market, in time at the right price and in the most cost efficient way. But this will only happen by having the right systems in place and as every business is different those systems inevitably need to be bespoke. We can work with you to design bespoke systems that will ensure you: design the right products; identify the relevant performance criteria; benchmark against competitors; achieve good margins. In addition we have the skills to work with you on specific NPD projects such as: concept development; finding appropriate manufacturing partners; tooling management; trialling, testing and certification; packaging. Contact us for further details.
There is still a trend to outsource certain processes within organisations, whether for cost purposes or logistics reasons. It may be that you are considering outsourcing payroll or personnel functions or the complete manufacturing operation. Whatever the situation, our network of professionals have the necessary experience and can help. Equally there is an increasing trend of insourcing or reshoring - bringing critical processes back to the UK. If this is part of your business strategy, contact us for details as to how we can help.
Recruiting staff into your organisation is a complex, time consuming and expensive business. Finding the right people is not easy, usually you will get hundreds of applicants replying to your job advert but there may only be one that is suitable. Is that a choice? Using online systems and a personal touch we can help with all or part of the recruitment process - and importantly it won't cost you a fortune. Unlike agents/consultants we don't charge a fee based on salary, just for the hours we work. Contact us for details.
