NCVO works with a number of suppliers who offer preferential or discounted services to NCVO members or the wider voluntary sector, to help them become more effective and save money. We have changed the way we refer to these suppliers and they are now the NCVO Trusted Suppliers.
What’s in a name?
“What’s in a name? That which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet.”
Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet
Our Preferred Suppliers are now our Trusted Suppliers.
Shakespeare’s Juliet wished her Romeo had another name (not a Montague), and the outcome of this story shows us how important names are to us and our identity. We’ve been reviewing the way we work with our suppliers and listened to feedback from our members. While Romeo’s met his demise because he couldn’t change his name, we fortunately have more freedom. Because we want better, more enduring partnerships, we’ve changed the way we refer to our suppliers from Preferred Suppliers to Trusted Suppliers.
Voluntary organisations often change their names to re-align themselves to match their evolving services. Recent ones include RNID changing to Action on Hearing Loss, NCH to Action for Children and WRVS to RVS .
Our name change is nowhere near as radical or high profile as these examples, but we still think it is important and provides a subtle shift in focus in the way we want our members to view our Trusted Suppliers. In market research we undertook in Dec 2013, with members who have used our suppliers, nearly 60% said trust in the supplier was one of the most important reasons for using them.
Trust
“Reliance on the integrity, strength, ability, surety, etc., of a person or thing.’
dictionary.com
This change in terminology implies a higher level of duty of care on NCVO and we have therefore undergone a review of our selection criteria and how we work with our suppliers.
What does this mean for you?
When working with an NCVO Trusted Supplier you can expect an organisation that will:
- take the time to understand your needs and provide the most appropriate solution
- provide products or services that are fit for purpose
- offer competitively priced products and services
- operate in an ethical manner and at all times strive to exhibit the values of the voluntary sector
- adhere to a new Trusted Suppliers Code of Conduct and Complaints Procedure
Find out more
Find out more about our Trusted Suppliers and see our policies on our website. We will be reviewing our Trusted Suppliers on a regular basis to ensure they maintain the standards we expect of them but we welcome feedback (both good and bad) on any of our suppliers – please email enterprise@ncvo.org.uk .
Chris Taylor is our enterprise development manager. He works with our Trusted Suppliers to help voluntary organisations to explore new ways of working and save money. 
