Annual Review 2009: Leading from the front
Industry in action
Delivering value for our members
FDF is committed to delivering best
possible value for our broad-based
membership. As part of that commitment,
our new Member Services Director has
implemented a recruitment and retention
strategy complemented by an enhanced
account management service to foster
even closer relationships with member
companies.
During the year we relaunched our website,
with new features and functionality
developed on the back of feedback
from members. Other tools, such as our
membership database, are helping us to
improve the services we provide companies
and their staff.
We have refocused our efforts to ensure
we deliver a pertinent range of services for
our SME members including a dedicated
hotline for enquiries and help, as well as a
new monthly SME Bulletin and quarterly
executive briefings on the issues that
matter most to SME food companies.
The associations in membership and our
sector groups continue to provide us with
credibility when making representations to
policy makers and regulators. During the
year, we actively engaged and co-ordinated
lobbying efforts with their partner European
sector associations to secure important
derogations to residues and contaminants
legislation; to provide proactive issues
management; and to communicate
positions to key opinion formers and media.
FDF also established a dedicated incident
management team to keep members
informed on the swine flu pandemic,
offering advice on business continuity
planning and the latest predictions for the
spread of the outbreak.
Meanwhile, FDF continues to seek new
ways to generate income and provide
added-value services for members. The
launch of our new Commercial Partner
scheme has provided FDF companies
with a new range of discounts on services
provided by leading companies in the fields
of law, accountancy, consultancy, market
insight and insurance.
Our Sales Directors' Forum continued to
provide companies with opportunities to
meet senior retailers including Mike Coupe
of Sainsbury and ASDA's Darren Blackhurst.
In this review
FDF: steered by our members -
- By Jim Moseley, Managing Director, General Mills UK
- By Fiona Dawson, Managing Director, Mars Chocolate UK
- By John Sutcliffe, Chief Executive, ABF Grocery
- By Jonathan Bye, Managing Director, Vimto
- By Paul Freeston, Chief Executive, apetito
Industry in action:
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