A Spotlight on….Adam Hughes

As February brings longer days and hopefully less cold and rain, we take turn our staff spotlight on the Marketing Department and Adam Hughes. Adam has been with BiP for a year and a half, beginning as a Marketing Executive. He now leads on marketing for Cadence.

In what capacity did you join BiP? What role did you start in and what role do you have now?

I joined BiP a year and a half ago as the Marketing Executive for BI. I spent around a year in that role and had some great experiences. It’s mad how much you learn here!

I then transitioned into the Marketing Manager role with Cadence and have been doing this for around 6 months. It’s been a rollercoaster so far, but I am hopeful we are starting to head in the right direction!

What takes up the most amount of your time in your day-to-day? 

Spreadsheets! All of my friends think Marketing is making fancy pictures and putting out tweets but marketers spend large parts of their week reporting on marketing activities.

Are there any changes or initiatives you’d like to implement into BiP? As February brings longer days and hopefully less cold and rain, we take turn our staff spotlight on the Marketing Department and Adam Hughes. Adam has been with BiP for a year and a half, beginning as a Marketing Executive. He now leads on marketing for Cadence.

Standing desks would be cool!

What are the biggest challenges you have in your role – how could your colleagues help? 

The target audience for Cadence Marketing are often marketers themselves who have seen every trick in the book. We have to be really convincing and creative when explaining why Cadence can really impact suppliers success.

What do you like most about your job? 

I like that my role involves working with virtually every department of the business, it is very varied. My favourite thing is probably seeing people register for a webinar you are running. It’s great to monitor the leads coming in and seeing that what you have done is working.

What do you like most about working at BiP? 

The people! Everyone is hard at work but will always make time to help. It took me no time to settle in here because everyone was so welcoming.

What does a great day at work look like?

A nice coffee, followed by loads of leads!!

Do you have any unusual hobbies? 

Got a secret addiction to watching the Kardashians

Been anywhere strange? (country/place/bar/tourist attraction?!) 

I toured through Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia when I was a student which was amazing. Desperate to go back to Vietnam actually.

Blow your own! … what do you excel at? Work or leisure 

Facial hair.

Quick fire, choose one option: 

  1. Coffee or tea – Coffee
  2. Book or film – film
  3. Cat or dog – dog
  4. Hot or cold – cold
  5. Salty or sweet – sweet
  6. Tattooed or not – not (yet…)
  7. Night out or night in – night in
  8. Email or meeting – email
  9. Teams calls: video call or audio? video
  10. Eating: al-desko, break room or break out altogether – al-desko
  11. Mountain or beach – mountain

A spotlight on…. Anne McKinnon

We start 2023 with a look at one of our long-term employees at BiP Solutions, Anne McKinnon. With over 15 years at BiP in public sector sales, Anne knows a thing or two about the company, its people and products.

Anne is responsible for managing UK Public Sector sales team, working closely with business stakeholders, product development and promoting UK leading electronic tendering tool Delta eSourcing.

She’s most recently been involved with the relaunch of Delta, giving one of BiP’s oldest products a fresh new look, bringing new life and energy into the platform and the overall brand itself. The new Delta will energise the evolution of eSourcing and put the Delta brand in a great position to continually adapt and grow in an everchanging industry.

In what capacity did you join BiP? What role did you start in and what role do you have now?

I started my career within the business as a Sales Executive, now knowns as Client Relationship Manager. My role now is Head of eSourcing and Supply Chain.

Any interesting stories from back in the day?

No mad crazy, bad things, just weird coincidences with timing and people.

I was interviewed and offered a job in the Tracker team a few years before but turned it down for another role in another company.

When I did come to work in the Public Sector team, my first day in the role I heard the dulcet tones of someone shouting my name, (you know how you get the fear! Especially when they use your maiden name), turns out it was Sandra Toner who was my classmate in primary and secondary school.

Later that week I met my Business Development Manager I would be partnered with, and it was a very old friend John McGhie I hadn’t seen since I was 10 years old, just over 20 years. Our IT expert back then was Andy Brodie who I worked with before, and it goes on….just seems this place is about timing, people, and good people. Made some long-term friendships here.

What takes up the most amount of your time in your day-to-day?

Now there’s a question LOL.  Client meetings/support/demos, team support, internal meetings.  Never a dull moment.

Are there any changes or initiatives you’d like to implement into BiP?

I think we are already a very progressive and innovative company when it comes to supporting our staff with internal initiatives but also how we affect and deliver change when it’s needed to help support the business strategy and growth. The fact that everyone can and should feel they have a voice within the business is important and hopefully everyone feels this to be true. We all make the business and can help implement changes for the better.

Everyone should make use of the suggestion box via the Hub https://bipsolutionsltd.sharepoint.com/SitePages/BiP-Suggestion-Box.aspx

Selfishly, one bug bear of mine is lunchtime meetings and colleagues inserting meetings into your diary where you don’t have time to breathe in a busy day.

Stop, Start, Continue, something we all need to think about. What can you stop doing, what can you start and continue that adds benefit and value to you, your role and your team.

What are the biggest challenges you have in your role – how could your colleagues help?

Market Changes. Our market within Public Sector is changing all the time, from compliance within the new Procurement Reforms, to requirements on product development to sector specific suppliers and awarding authority collaboration, reshaping the market volume and proposition.

We are looking at a BiP wider portfolio proposition we can offer our core Delta clients to bring them in to the fold and looking at how we are approaching new markets and enhancing our Supply Chain and PASS offering.

Colleagues and business are supportive in developing and marketing a fit for purpose product in Delta eSourcing, which you will have seen from our new Refresh at the end of November, with further development planned in the next 12 months. Core areas of the business play very important roles in what we are achieving from product development, marketing, research and very much so is our sales team and Help desk support team.

Colleagues do help and continue to help, teamwork is key.

We start 2023 with a look at one of our long-term employees at BiP Solutions, Anne McKinnon.

What do you like most about your job?

Building relationships with new and existing clients and chasing a deal.

What do you like most about working at BiP?

Always the same answer…. The people. Some real gems and it’s what makes us who we are and as successful as we are.

What does a great day at work look like?

Ticking off and completing my to do list, solving a problem or removing a hurdle for someone and having time to laugh.

Do you have any unusual hobbies?

Not really, normal stuff like gym, love music, spending a lot of time trying out new cooking recipes, mainly Indian food (love Indian food), spending time with family & friends. I do dabble in some not so mainstream stuff….love a conspiracy theory (or are they?), horror movies, UFO’s, good energy, poetry, and a lot more. Yes, I’m one of a kind.

Been anywhere strange?

Went to Iceland a few years ago with temperatures like -10 and stood in the blue lagoon wearing a bikini, face caked in mud, sipping Prosecco with icicles in my hair while the pool attendants walked around wearing full blown winter wear, boots and balaclava’s LOL just weird but amazing!

Blow your own! … what do you excel at?

I make a mean Indian Pani Puri and Italian meatball.

Can beat the best of them when it comes to doing shots (well mostly LOL).

Being a good friend 😊

Quick fire, choose one option:

  1. Coffee or tea – coffee
  2. Book or film – film
  3. Cat or dog – neither, had every conceivable pet growing up, had enough lol
  4. Hot or cold – hot
  5. Salty or sweet – sweet
  6. Tattooed or not – tattooed
  7. Email or meeting – meeting 100%
  8. Teams calls: video call or audio – video
  9. Night out or night in – in
  10. Eating: al-desko, break room or break out altogether – break room
  11. Mountain or beach –  beach

Celebrating talent – staff awards

BiP Solutions is proud to announce our quarterly staff recognition award winners.

Our quarterly awards recognise staff excellence across our teams, with the team members nominated by colleagues.

We have three awards which celebrate staff throughout the company over the last quarter: the Sales Excellence Award, to recognise and celebrate exceptional sales performance, an Outstanding Performance Award, to recognise and celebrate exceptional performance, and our Values Award, which is open to all colleagues across the business and is designed to specifically recognise and celebrate colleagues who demonstrate positive behaviours in line with our values.

Once again, the quality of nominations received across each category was exceptional, and the spread of nominations across the different teams in the business, from old colleagues to those who have recently joined us, was impressive.  A great effort from all as always!

This quarter, our winner of the Sales Excellence Award was Dawn MacTaggart.

Dawn’s line manager Alan McMenemy, Head of Sales in Glasgow, said: “Dawn was nominated for this award for many reasons. First and foremost, she’s hit her quarterly target, and hit target for each individual month as well. She also navigated her way around a two-week break in the middle of the quarter and managed her own pipeline effectively to allow for this. Dawn has also been an early adopter of our new BI product suite, and got the first HCI, Tracker-Pro and Contact Data sales. She’s been able to do this by fully investing and immersing herself in the products. Dawn also led the line at P4H and Procurex Scotland, and delivered keynote speeches at both. Last, but not least, Dawn has been really open to coaching and adapting her style to GAP methodology over the past three months. An outstanding nomination for, and worthy winner of, our Q2 Sales Recognition Award.”

Well done, Dawn! Very well deserved.

Our second winner was our lovely Event Coordinator Mhairi MacNeil who won the Outstanding Performance Award.

Mhairi’s line manager, Laura Aitkenhead, had a few words to say: “Mhairi moved into a new role in the Events Team only three weeks before the start of our event season in Q2. The job and skill set are very different to her previous role, but Mhairi jumped straight in and picked up the GO Awards Scotland and Wales, showing a passion for these projects, and a commitment to making them the best events possible. She worked with stakeholders across the business to ensure all requirements were met, showing, after only a short space of time, a clear understanding of the key aspects of this new role. Mhairi really stepped up to the mark and I’m delighted to have her as Co-Ordinator in the Events Team”

Congratulations, Mhairi!

The final winner of our Q2 Awards was Rob Atherton, who was the worthy winner of the Values Award.

Rob’s line manager, Grahame Steed, said: “Rob is a highly deserving recipient of the Values award. He exemplifies our values with his consistently high level of professionalism and openness – whether dealing with external clients or colleagues. He is always willing to embrace change and try new approaches. He is also an excellent content creator who supports his colleagues and strives to deliver outstanding results. Anyone that works with Rob has only positive things to say about their experience, so it’s great to see this recognised.”

Well done, Rob!

The quarterly winners will go through to our finale, held at the annual staff awards dinner, where our overall winners will be crowned.

We look forward to seeing the nominations for next quarter.

A spotlight on… Stephen Allan

We’re welcoming Autumn as the clocks go back and we’re commuting in the dark, so let’s catch up with another BiP team member, Stephen Allan in our finance department. Stephen joined in 2018 as a Trainee Management Accountant

In what capacity did you join BiP?

I joined straight from university (well technically whilst still studying).

What does your role in Finance entail?

My main duties include producing the monthly accounts and other financial reports, presenting financials to the SMT & Board, collaborating with different areas of the business, various financial analysis, assisting in the yearly financial audit and lots of different ad-hoc finance related tasks. I spend a lot of time using Excel, Sage & Salesforce.

What do you like most about your job?

I like looking for trends or the reason why things have moved in a certain direction, so the problem-solving element.  

What do you like most about working at BiP?

I have had the opportunity to learn, grow and progress whilst working at BiP. Also, the people really do make BiP – everyone is very welcoming and friendly!

What does a great day at work look like?​​​​​​​

Day one of month end – big cup of coffee and a lot of excel, sage & salesforce reporting!

Do you have any unusual hobbies?

I am really into sim-racing… basically its virtual car racing using VR headsets, motion simulators, wind simulators, fancy steering wheels & pedals – it’s very immersive!

Quick fire, choose one option:

  1. Coffee or tea – Coffee
  2. Book or film – Film
  3. Cat or dog – Dog
  4. Hot or cold – Cold
  5. Salty or sweet – Sweet
  6. Tattooed or not – Not
  7. Night out or night in – Night in
  8. Email or meeting – Either or!
  9. Teams calls: video call or audio? Video call
  10. Eating: al-desko, break room or break out altogether – Desko
  11. Mountain or beach – Beach

A spotlight on… Aimee Crawford

This month’s spotlight falls on our new scrum master, Aimee Crawford. Having joined the business in August Aimee is working hard with our tech teams on developing BiP tech and keeping up with the latest developments.

If you caught the knowledge sharing session earlier this year, you’ll have an idea of how she fits into the BiP family – but what does a Scrum Master really involve? And has it got anything to do with rugby?

Thanks for joining me, Aimee, first off:

What does your job as Scrum Master entail

My job is a bit of a mix of things and fortunately for me, doesn’t involve anything to do with rugby! I work to remove any impediments from the development teams, help them become more productive and efficient. Capacity planning and stakeholder management is key. It’s often compared to the work of a Project Manager. However, I’m also responsible for coaching and training in agile ways of working. Ideally, not just in IT, but across the whole business.

What are the biggest challenges you have in your role – how could your colleagues help?

Currently my biggest challenge is learning what is going on in here! I’m still pretty new. I need to learn more about how our products are built and what the future looks like for us. However, that aside, I guess the challenging aspect of this role can often be communicating with stakeholders. Often you have to bridge a gap between the development world and the wider business. I think the best was for colleagues to help is to be open to learning about other people’s roles within our company. A better understanding of what each other do, and what impact it has, will bring people together and communicate better.

​​​​​​​​​​​​​

What do you like most about your job?

While the communication side of things can be challenging, it is also my favourite part. I like to work with all different areas of the business as well as my team. I also like working with a variety of personalities and finding ways to make them all work together more effectively.

Who/what has had the most positive impact on your career?

This can sometimes be a hard one to talk about, but I truly believe that this is the case…my Dad passing away when I was 18, has and continues to have the greatest positive impact on my career. I am more determined, ambitious and empathetic. I proved to myself some things I didn’t think I was; resilient and brave. It’s given me a different outlook on life and continues to make me want to work hard to achieve my dreams, while not losing who I am.

With IT and software changing before I can comprehend them, what major developments do you think are on the horizon?

I really do feel like anything is possible and things are changing very quickly as you say. Technology has developed extremely fast over the last number of years, and I feel this is only set to increase. Over the next few years, I think there will be greater use of machine learning and artificial intelligence. I also think we will see more companies moving to a distributed infrastructure model and heighten their attention to cyber security.

Achieving a more diverse workforce in some areas, such as tech and construction, has been a priority for government and sectors for a number of years, can you tell me what led to your career in tech?

I was always interested in technology and engineering from a young age. I do think it was heavily influenced by my parents. After university, I was offered a dream job in Woking but I knew I wasn’t quite ready to leave home. So, I looked around at what was booming in central Scotland, with good opportunities and quite literally thought, that sounds interesting, I’ll give it a go. I was fortunate to get the opportunity to try many different roles within the IT/Digital sector and now I’m here!

Are there any changes or initiatives you’d like to implement into BiP?

I’d like to help bring more women into our IT workforce for sure. I’d also like to help the business as a whole move to more agile ways of working and promote knowledge sharing.

What initiatives could make tech a more appealing career for women?

I actually think a lot of perspective starts very early in life. I fortunately grew up knowing I could give anything a go, but many young girls believe maths and other subjects alike, are ‘boys’ subjects. I recently was part of an Empowering Women to Lead Digital Transformation course where we done some primary school level research, and this view really came through. I remember feeling so shocked and disappointed. So, we must let our young women know that nothing is out of their reach! I also believe in showcasing the female talent we have and how they got into their current role, sometimes it’s not a path you would have expected. I think encouraging women to take up a career in tech could be helped with something as simple as talking about and celebrating the women already there.

Quick fire, choose one option:

  1. Coffee or tea – Tea
  2. Book or film – Film
  3. Cat or dog – Dog
  4. Hot or cold – Hot
  5. Salty or sweet – Sweet
  6. Tattooed or not – Not, not brave enough!
  7. Night out or night in – Night in
  8. Email or meeting – Meeting
  9. Teams calls: video or audio? Video

A spotlight on…Simon Inman

This month finds our spotlight back on Media City and part of our Senior Management Team, as we have a chat with Simon Inman, our Head of IT Operations.

Simon was a fairly new face to the old Ingenium business when BiP Solutions bought the company. He has since made himself an invaluable part of the team – and not least because he keeps the Media City office in coffee and loo roll! (We’re very grateful, Simon!)

He’s also an i-serve master and knows how to fix computer problems with witchcraft – he tells me it’s a ‘picnic’ issue?

Simon was also a winner at this year’s annual awards, coming joint ‘Manager of the Year’ – a popular and well-deserved choice for this accolade.

In what capacity did you join BiP?

I joined BiP on the first day back from Christmas of 2017, in a cosy, unglamorous office in Stockport as “Web Development Manager”, with a team of just me. Although it felt like I’d already been there some time after having my interview a few months prior and stealing Donnys ticket to attend the Christmas party.

What does your job as Head of IT Operations entail?

This month finds our spotlight back on Media City and part of our Senior Management Team, as we have a chat with Simon Inman, our Head of IT Operations.

Simon Inman, Head of IT Operations at BiP.

My role at BiP covers our network infrastructure, desktop support, Cyber Essentials, and our organisation’s quality and information security management. My team and I ensure our products remain live and on modern, secure systems, our colleagues have the technology and support to do their jobs and that our organisation is continuing to improve with effective quality management.

I also change the odd toilet seat, which I like to roll out at dinner parties when my partner’s trying to impress people.

With IT and software changing before I can comprehend them, what major developments do you think are on the horizon?

IT and software are growing massively every day, with offensive and defensive developments in information and cyber security but also in more at home areas like artificial intelligence. The growth of AI, is beginning to take away manual effort and user error from many everyday tasks and we will see this really take off to automated intelligent workflows, predictive services supporting report and content writing and even intelligent defences. Roll on Skynet!

Are there any changes or initiatives you’d like to implement into BiP?

We’ve changed so much in the past couple of years and are in such a better place than when I joined Ingenium, we have our innovation day coming up and I think if we’re really able to grow that, it could be spectacular.

When are you at your most productive?

Definitely at the start of the day after a couple of coffees.

What’s your favourite thing to do outside of work?

Swift half with Stephen Donlan (DCMC) to break up our magical commute, catch up on any of the days gossip, or just simply talk about the up-and-coming town of Stockport. That, or I’ll be often found on away missions with some chums drinking Romulan ale. So… In the pub or in a different pub.

Quick fire:

  1. Joggers or Jeans – Jeans
  2. Ties or T-shirts – Ties
  3. Coffee or tea – Coffee
  4. Lager or ale – Ale
  5. Book or film – Film
  6. Football or rugby – Rugby
  7. Cat or dog – Cat
  8. Hot or cold – Cold
  9. Salty or sweet – Salty
  10. Tattooed or not – Tattooed
  11. Night out or night in – Night in
  12. Janeway or Picard – Janeway

A spotlight on: Courtney McCusker

This month we say hello to one of our newer employees based in Glasgow HQ.

Courtney McCusker joined BiP as part of our HR department earlier in 2022, working alongside HR Director Alan Mathie.

In what capacity did you join BiP? What did your previous job entail?

I joined BiP as a HR Advisor, my previous role was HR Coordinator for an Energy Company.

Why did you choose to join BiP?

I chose BiP as after my three (yes three!) meetings with Alan I got a nice feel for the place. It seemed like a really nice place to work, and I wasn’t wrong! Everyone has been lovely, and I feel like I have been here forever already 😊.

Also, stability was a big thing for me due to losing my previous job when the company unfortunately collapsed. So, I am here for the long run…

How has your BiP journey been so far? Is there anything we could do differently to welcome new colleagues?

I am loving it so far, three months down the line and I still want to come back every day, haha! Honestly though, I am enjoying every minute and still learning new things every day which is keeping me on my toes. At this point I wouldn’t change anything.

This month we say hello to one of our newer employees based in Glasgow HQ. Courtney McCusker

Courtney living her best life in Hoi An – Vietnam

Can you sum up what your job involves?

My role involves being first point of contact for dealing with all HR queries, managing the HR system with any updates, compliance, new starts, leavers etc. I also support with the delivery of Talent Acquisition so any CV’s interviews, job offers etc.

The BiP One Programme is also a main part of my role so the overall engagement with the wider business is something I work on daily.

How is working at BiP different to your previous roles (company and position)?

It is very different. My previous position allowed me to build a lot of knowledge and experience around dealing with complex HR queries that I maybe wouldn’t have been able to do elsewhere, so now I am at BiP I am learning a whole new side to HR that I am loving.

When are you at your most productive?

Definitely the morning.

What’s your favourite thing to do outside of work?

Being in a different country, eating nice food and drinking nice wine

Quick fire:

  1. Football or rugby – Neither (football if I HAD to choose)
  2. Cat or dog – Dog
  3. Hot or cold – Hot
  4. Joggers or Jeans – Jeans
  5. Ties or T-shirts – T-shirts
  6. Coffee or tea – Coffee
  7. Lager or ale – Neither sorry!
  8. Book or film – Film
  9. Salty or sweet – Sweet
  10. Tattooed or not – Not
  11. Night out or night in. – Night in

New staff hatch from incubator

Following a four-week nurture process, we’re delighted to see new colleagues Ciaran, Dave, and James complete their BiP induction and hatch out into the Business Intelligence sales team.

Our new team members have undergone an initial induction to the company, combining sales and product training. The public sector marketplace is a huge beast to get to grips with and BiP is working hard to ensure every team member has a good understanding of the public sector landscape, how it’s changing, and how we can help with procurement and tendering.

Comprehensive training

Comprehensive training has been delivered to the new team members on their product – Tracker – ensuring that they have a full overview of its benefits and services and understand the system completely before demonstrating it to customers.

New staff hatch from incubator

Ciaran, Dave, and James.

As well as dedicated time with head of training ‒ Colin Stewart ‒ the new ‘onboarding’ approach has also been actively supported by a number of stakeholders from across the business, who provided an overview of their products/marketplace and how the jigsaw of BiP’s holistic services fits together.

Team leaders, senior key account managers, product owners and researchers have all been involved in sharing their knowledge with the new team members, providing invaluable insight into the company.

Colin Stewart, Sales and Product Trainer, said: “These were invaluable sessions, and I would like to take the opportunity to thank everyone for their engagement.”

Following each module, the new team members successfully completed assessments, returning great scores in each.

Incubate and integrate

Colin continued: “The group have responded really well to the training and have been engaged and enthusiastic throughout the initial weeks. All are now on the phones and putting it all into practice.

“The next phase is an incubation on the sales floor working through leads to engage our customers and secure demonstrations of Tracker Intelligence before their integration into the Team.”

There’s still lots to learn for our new team members and the training process will be ongoing, as procurement never stands still! Big changes are on the horizon, which were outlined in the Government’s Procurement Green Paper ‘Transforming Public Procurement’.  These will overhaul the public sector procurement process and BiP will be able to guide you through these new challenges.

Brilliantly innovatively People

BiP is committed to investing in new colleagues and ensuring they are nurtured through their initial employment, while incumbent staff benefit from regular knowledge sessions and updates from the procurement training team.

We’re dedicated to developing our Brilliantly innovatively People!

Spotlight On: Vivien Chan

This month our spotlight falls on Media City again as we talk with one of our newer faces, Vivien Chan.

Vivien joined BiP as part of our DCMC and Cadence Marketing services in August 2021, she has quickly established herself as a vital part of the survey team – bringing some great new ideas and problem solving skills, along with some amazing baking skills and Chinese dumplings to the team!

She was also nominated for our New Employee of the Year award – a thoroughly deserved nomination.

In what capacity did you start at BiP?

Research Executive

What did your previous job entail?

Project management – meaning I had to be organised and detail minded, with a good pair of eyes!

Why did you choose to join BiP?

I like the market proposition of Cadence and it’s good that I can continue working in a research related job role.

This month our spotlight falls on Media City again as we talk with one of our newer faces, Vivien Chan.

Vivien Chan, Research Executive at Cadence.

How has your BiP journey been so far?

Exciting, I’ve been working with various clients on different research topics, and I’ve been given great the support by all my lovely colleagues.

Is there anything we could do differently to welcome new colleagues?

A team welcome tea break in the pantry? ​​​​​​​

Can you sum up what your job involves?

Understanding a client’s research needs, and transforming that into a survey which will engage the target audience. Then it’s a case of analysing that data collected and turning it into a meaningful research report/whitepaper for the client.

How is working at BiP different to your previous roles (company and position)?

In terms of the target audience, it is quite different. In my previous role, the projects were more related to commercial/consumers/employees. Now it is more focused on public sector audiences.

When are you at your most productive?

Morning time is the best.

What’s your favourite thing to do outside of work?

Baking, cooking and enjoying delicious food!

Quick fire:

  1. Joggers or Jeans – Jeans
  2. Dresses or T-shirts – T-shirts
  3. Coffee or tea – Coffee
  4. Lager or ale – neither – cider please if you’re buying!
  5. Book or film – film
  6. Football or rugby – neither, haha
  7. Cat or dog – cat
  8. Hot or cold – hot
  9. Salty or sweet – sweet
  10. Tattooed or not – not
  11. Night out or night in – night in

Spotlight On: Amy Bourne

This month our spotlight focusses on our Salford office, and a stalwart of the sales team there, Amy Bourne.

Amy began her BiP journey in 2013 starting as an Account Development Manager with what was Ingenium.

It was back in 2016 that the BiP family expanded with the acquisition of the public sector marketing specialist to help boost the BiP brand.

Now, six years on and an evolution of the department has seen our Cadence brand embed itself into BiP, with its direct engagement of the public sector reaping rewards. As SME spend becomes ever more crucial to government procurement, the department helps facilitate early engagement of buyers and suppliers, bringing new innovations to the public sector market.

amy bourne

How would you sum up your job at BiP, Amy?

New business management is the main aspect of my role, supporting clients with external marketing activity, I also help train any new staff that join the team.

When did your BiP journey begin?  

Through the acquisition of Ingenium.

In what capacity did you start? Why did you join BiP? Why did you stay?

I started as an Account Development Manager, worked my way through to Sales Manager, then back to a full time portfolio management role with an added training function.

I joined Ingenium originally because I saw how much Sam Gilding enjoyed the role and wanted a new challenge outside of the world of customer service. I had dabbled in sales and marketing a little in previous roles at BHS and Direct line (B2C), following the acquisition I stayed in the role as not too much changed at first – same people, same product. I’m still here now because I like the client engagement and both the internal and external relationships I’ve built up over the years.

It’s a completely different organisation to the one I joined, but I like to think that I’ve adapted to the change and continue to apply my knowledge and experience to the business.

When are you at your most productive?

Definitely in the morning (I should say all day, right?)

What are the major differences you’ve seen between Ingenium as was and becoming part of BiP?

With a few exceptions, a completely different team in the Manchester Office, it was a very informal office. BiP definitely has more ambition to grow the business unit and there are more progression opportunities now, which is a positive.

What are the biggest changes you’ve seen in sales and marketing throughout the years?

There’s been a big shift in process. Everything has become far more processed driven for onboarding clients and raising PO’s and measuring performance metrics.

What’s your favourite thing to do outside of work?

Before becoming a mum, I would have answered with socialising, spending time with friends, day drinking, having a good laugh. Now its spending time with my daughter, watching her develop into a little character and teaching her new things. Of course, the other stuff would be nice but I’m still finding my feet post lockdown.

Quick fire:

  1. Joggers or Jeans – Jeans
  2. Ties or T-shirts – T-shirts
  3. Coffee or tea – Coffee
  4. Lager or ale – Lager
  5. Book or film – film
  6. Football or rugby – Football
  7. Cat or dog – dog
  8. Hot or cold – Hot
  9. Salty or sweet – sweet
  10. Tattooed or not – Tattooed
  11. Night out or night in – Night in​​​​​​​

Join us next month for our spotlight on Software Developer – Alvaro Sanchez.

BiP Solutions Limited is a company registered in Scotland with Company Number SC086146 and VAT number 383030966 and having its registered office at Medius, 60 Pacific Quay, Glasgow, G51 1DZ.

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