Kicking off in Bendigo on 3 August, the Victorian Chamber Business Recovery Regional Roadshow will tour Regional Victoria to present a series of seminars designed to help regional businesses bounce back following consecutive lockdowns and sparse tourism. 

The series will include practical information for farmers, suppliers, and producers on how to respond to tenders, understand the decision-making criteria for large hospitality vendors, and what they should consider from a health and safety perspective. 

Hosting the roadshow series will be Crown Group General Manager - Procurement and Supply, Ben Briggs, and Victorian Chamber Senior Health, Safety and Wellbeing Consultant Con Barbakas. Together, the duo will share their insights and knowledge about what it takes for suppliers to win contracts with large vendors, such as Crown. 

Mr Briggs recently explained in an interview how the entertainment giant regularly spends more than $600 million every year procuring goods and services from Australian businesses - an operation spanning 4,000 local suppliers to cater restaurants, stock bars and supply hotel rooms with produce. 

As more than 94 per cent of Crown’s total spend goes to Australian businesses, ensuring a local supply chain of producers is critical for Crown to continue operations. 

"Crown Melbourne relies on Victorian and local produce and suppliers to help service our restaurants and hotels. The health of our suppliers has a direct impact on what we do," Mr Briggs said. 

"[the Roadshow] is also a good opportunity for us to be able to meet new suppliers that might not be on our radar and open up lines of communication for procurement opportunities." 

During the seminars, businesses will learn about: 

• how to respond to tenders and the decision criteria procurement typically uses to make decisions on supplier selection 
• how to engage with large hospitality and tourism venues 
• business support post-COVID-19, including what small and medium-sized businesses need to consider from a safety perspective when bidding for large contracts 
• how to ensure your safety management system meets the standards that large businesses expect 

Victorian Chamber Chief Executive Paul Guerra said the roadshow will provide regional businesses with an opportunity to showcase their wares and learn how they can upscale operations by working with major consumers, like Crown. 

"COVID-19 has created many challenges but has also revealed many opportunities and prompted us to focus on areas that we may have taken for granted, including the strength and reliability of our own food supply at a time of global uncertainty and international border closures." 

Event information and tickets 

The Regional Roadshow will visit: 

• Bendigo (3 August) 
• Shepparton (3 August) 
• Benalla (4 August) 
• Traralgon (10 August) 
• Ballarat (12 August) 
• Ararat (12 August) 
• Geelong (13 August) 

Click on each town above to find out more about each event and book your ticket now. 

The Victorian Chamber is responsible for producing some of the largest and most sought-after events on the Victorian business calendar, bringing businesses of all sizes across all industries together to share, learn and inspire. Visit our event page here to discover more.