MPs criticism of catering contracts must not be ignored

Jerry Brand, managing director of Host Contract Management, is unsurprised by MPs' recent criticism of catering contracts in the NHS

So the NHS, via a bunch of MPs, is cottoning onto the discount scam!

That must be as cataclysmic for the discounting caterers as global warming will be to the planet in years to come. We all know what is going on in the industry, and it continues to be swept under the carpet.

I suspect we are heading for one very big hangover, and those companies who ignore the warnings are going to be the first in the queue for the greasy bacon roll that we all look for the morning after we have had one or two too many!

As the apparent "enfant terrible" of the contract catering industry; the man who was single handedly bringing this industry into disrepute, I and any companies that I have been associated with have been "discount clean" since 1990.

Doesn't that say something about the business temperature and feeling towards this terribly tacky issue? Not so much "discounts" but more the "inflation" or "mark-up" that purchasing departments mysteriously conjure up before giving their clients back a well earned 10% discount. The scary fact is that these inflated mark-ups can be well in excess of 100% at times.

I am reaching my half century this year, and quite frankly, with 25 years under my belt in this business, I now look upon the business world in a different light - I am still very motivated and keen to succeed, but I reflect on the enormous battle that will rage over these issues, and as Gerry Robinson once put it, "I would prefer to think smarter."

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