Impact on suppliers

We procure a wide range of products and services from suppliers and contractors across all our businesses. These relationships are governed by contracts and service level agreements designed to deliver on our business objectives.

Local management has the autonomy to procure from their area of operation, in line with Imperial’s decentralised management approach. Through our transformation policy we encourage businesses to spend a portion of their procurement budget on local suppliers and to invest in enterprise development initiatives to grow small businesses in their up- and down-stream industries. In some of our divisions, preferential procurement in accordance with B-BBEE codes exceeds 50% of the total discretionary procurement budget.

Imperial’s drive towards local procurement is balanced by the need to establish secure, reliable, cost-effective supply chains that conform to high standards of quality and delivery. This is critical to our ongoing sustainability as a business and the delivery of value to all stakeholders. Some businesses within our divisions – such as those involved in selling and distributing vehicles – rely on particular suppliers for their products, and local procurement is not always possible in these operations. These businesses look for other opportunities to procure non-core products and services from local and black-owned businesses.

Enterprise development

Many of our motor vehicle dealerships offer rent-free space to small business contractors who provide wash bay and canteen services, while other small enterprises benefit from early settlement and favourable payment terms.

Europcar has helped small black business owners to establish car rental agencies in Bela Bela, Mafikeng, Mogale City, Venda and Newcastle. Each year the company invests around R8,8 million in providing training programmes, technical and other assistance, expert or specialised advice and information and guidance on running a successful car rental company. The vehicle fleet – which represents the biggest capital outlay and therefore the biggest hurdle to entry for a start-up car rental agency – is supplied by Europcar. These businesses benefit from the strength of the global Europcar brand and its established processes and systems.

Regent Insurance has invested in a number of small businesses including catering companies, panel beaters, eco carwash enterprises and printing services, among others. Regent Insurance has made some significant investments in Enterprise Development Initiatives (EDI). Some of the major investments include funding of an EDI printing business as well as funding for panel beating businesses. These EDI’s spend for the reporting period were around R3.5 million.

CASE STUDY Imperial Health Sciences drives entrepreneurship while delivering accessible healthcare to rural communities Imperial Health Sciences drives entrepreneurship while delivering accessible healthcare to rural communities. Imperial Health Sciences’ Unjani Clinic franchise provides an ideal opportunity for entrepreneurs from historically disadvantaged backgrounds to start a business while providing quality, affordable healthcare to communities. The clinic-in-a-box model is funded through enterprise development funds from the Imperial group. Each clinic is staffed by an owner-operator trained primary healthcare nurse or a professional nurse who holds an authorised dispensing license. They are set up in a converted shipping container which is equipped with air conditioning, work benches, surgeon chairs, an examination couch, a toilet and wash basin, separate areas within the container for consultations, and a storage unit for medicines. The clinics move private-sector primary healthcare facilities into the rural areas to create sustainable local businesses. Many people who seek public healthcare do so for illnesses and problems that are both easily diagnosed and treatable by either a Primary Health Care (PHC) nurse or a professional nurse. The entrepreneur nurses who run the clinics get the benefit of Imperial Health Sciences logistics for distribution of medicine and equipment. To date Unjani Clinics have been established at Etwatwa, Villa Lisa, Kwaggafontein, Delft, Orange Farm and Bram Fisherville, thereby creating employment and providing local nurses with a viable business opportunity while delivering healthcare services to under-resourced communities.