Mr Billinge is responsible for developing a ‘best in class’ procurement function throughout BAM Construct UK’s seven construction regions, BAM FM and BAM Plant working closely with the commercial teams to support the business in both tender and contract stage procurement activities.

By looking at a component-led approach, Mr Billinge said BAM is facilitating more effective digital design and enabling a more centralised approach to procurement that will bring economies of scale, and support the group’s ambitious sustainability agenda.

He added: “A large volume of our work comes via government frameworks, so we are aligning our capabilities through the supply chain to meet clients’ demands and maintain our market leading position in health and education, for example. We can balance the need to bring those economies and efficiencies for key products and services that have the biggest potential to improve our market position with maintaining a local supply chain and working with SMEs to deliver our public sector clients’ broader social agenda.”

Dan said that BAM’s supply chain will notice the changes gradually: “As we establish strategic framework partnerships through a category management approach to procurement we will be specifying products to our supply chain. As always, we’ll looking at our suppliers’ credentials to ensure they support sustainability, health and safety and social objectives such as helping to eliminate modern slavery.”

He added: “I have been with BAM since 2001. I studied as a QS at the University of Salford and completed my dissertation on the success of supply chain partnering systems. I always recognised the importance of a healthy supply chain to a successful project during my time as a QS. I spent over 18 months in New Zealand following the earthquakes in Christchurch in 2011 working on the rebuild of the city centre which also helped me to see a different side of life too.

“I’ve worked on many schemes as a QS, the largest being the £85 million office scheme known as One Spinningfields in central Manchester which was my last commercial role before joining the procurement team in the North West as Regional Supply Chain Manager in 2017.”