Purchasers set to tuck into catering's challenging menu

CIPS's upcoming "Buying catering services" seminar will help purchasers to negotiate a particularly challenging area.

The intensive hands-on workshop will deal with contract catering and answer

Led by Christopher Stern, this workshop is aimed at those in purchasing or facilities management who are new to the responsibility of managing catering services or those seeking a refresher course.

Purchasing and managing catering involves a different set of challenges to buying other services. With a building full of "experts", all with their own idea of what the caterer should offer, the purchasing professional has their plate full.

To make matters even more complicated, purchasers are buying a promise to deliver, meaning contractors know that once they have their feet under the table it will be difficult to dislodge them.

The wide range of activities within any catering operation can make it hard to track performance. This is especially the case when trying to assess which areas are being affected by action taken by your organisation and which are being affected by the caterer's.

Given that your caterer, your organisation and the individual who manages the catering contractor all have legal responsibilities, the importance of getting the relationship right cannot be overstated.

The next workshop will be at the Holiday Inn Bloomsbury, London on 7 December. For information and bookings, visit conferences.cips.org or contact the CIPS training department on 01780 756777.