After achieving major cost reductions and improving quality performance by over 40% since introducing their Supplier Excellence programme in 2003, Rexam Beverage Can Europe & Asia, along with representatives from 33 of its top suppliers, had a lot to celebrate as they gathered for the annual Rexam Supplier Awards dinner at Sopwell House, St. Albans last week.

In addition to the usual awards in the areas of Cost, Quality, Supply and Supplier of the Year, Rexam added the "Rexam Way Award" to recognise the supplier which has worked with Rexam proactively to improve their performance and strengthen their business relationship.

Richard Downes, VP of Supply Chain and IM, Rexam Beverage Can Europe & Asia, commented: "It is a part of Rexam’s culture to constantly strive for improvement in every part of the business. We recognise that this cannot be done in isolation and that our suppliers play a major role in our success. We created the Supplier Excellence programme as a way of strengthening our relationship with suppliers and providing direction and milestones for improvement in the future. The Supplier Awards is a key component of this programme and is our chance to show our appreciation for all the hard work and successes of the previous year."

Francesco Veltri, Technical Director, METLAC, accepted the award for Supplier of the year on behalf of the group. He shared his excitement: "We are so pleased to be presented with this award. Our team has put in a lot of time and energy into improving our performance. We are very pleased with our relationship with Rexam and it is times like these that allow us to enjoy a job well done."

When deciding this year’s winners Rexam introduced some softer recognition criteria this year, including feedback from its manufacturing plants, senior management and other key functions as well as the previous year’s performance. This is just a small indication of the further changes Rexam Beverage Can Europe & Asia intends to make over the coming year, in particular the development of its Supplier Relationship Management programme, designed to facilitate two way communication and allow for better understanding of its suppliers. This should aid all parties in extending their strengths and delivering great value. There should be much to celebrate in 2011.