COMMUNITY FIBRE

early , giving our manufacturers order forecasts as early as possible , in order to get products in .”

Company training schemes ease struggle for labour Another challenge is the huge demand in London for labour and subcontractors .

“ Everyone is fishing from the same pond , so we work hard with our subcontractor partners to make sure we ' re a preferred customer . They ' re not only critical to us being able to deliver our fibre to the homes of Londoners , but also in helping us grow and keep pace with demand .

“ To this end , Community Fibre is putting training programmes in place to encourage more people into the industry .”

Community Fibre looks to engage with suppliers who share their values , both in terms of ESG but also , crucially , excellence . But how does it identify such suppliers , exactly ?

“ It ' s a tricky one ,” admits Brooman . “ Our purpose is to provide Londoners with fast broadband at an affordable price , so it ' s really important our supply chain helps us achieve this .”

As it expands its supply chain , the company communicates its story , culture , and purpose to suppliers .

“ During any request-for-information process , we assess how closely they match our culture ,” says Brooman . “ It ' s tricky assessing the culture of a company from a desk-based assessment , but we do all we can to qualify their claims during this process . Plus , we attend trade shows and engage with trade associations in order to widen our supply chain . This allows us to look at a much wider variety of suppliers and hopefully find those that match our values .”

MIKE BROOMAN HEAD OF SUPPLY CHAIN , COMMUNITY FIBRE

38 July 2022