Supplier Forum: The way of the modern world, how to build a better business

The Supplier Forum are pleased to announce their next event is to be held at STIHL GB’s state-of-the-art office distribution centre. For this event we wanted to ensure delegates attending come away feeling inspired and have ideas they can put into action within their own businesses.

Kay Green, STIHL’s MD will start the day talking about the importance of a robust People Strategy. Kim Sones, MD of Sones Accountancy will follow on to speak about taking control of late payments and cash flow.

The two talks after lunch will be delivered from Jon Berry, MD of Tyler Grange who will be speaking about recruitment and B Corp certification, and Oliver Wood, Joe’s Blooms will finish with a talk about the digital tool built to help people measure BNG and how to use tech in an innovative way in the industry.

Alongside the day will be a tour and demo from STIHL and plenty of time to network together!

This is set to be a sell out event – make sure you don’t miss out and book your place today!

• 10:00am Welcome and refreshments
• 10.30am STIHL intro and talk Kay Green, Managing Director 
• 11.15am Kim Sones, Sones Accountancy - Taking Control of Late Payments and Protecting Your Cash Flow
• 12.00pm Buffet Lunch
• 12:30pm STIHL tour and demo, Darren Summerley and David Tingle
• 1.30pm John Berry, Tyler Grange - Recruitment talk and B Corp Certification
• 2.15pm Oliver Wood from Joe’s Bloom - BNG best practice and emerging trends
• 3-3.30pm Finish

STIHL

Ever since Andreas Stihl invented the first portable chainsaw, the STIHL name has stood for revolutionary technology, driven by significant investments in research and development and a single-minded passion for making people’s lives easier when working in nature.  It’s because of this that STIHL has been the world’s best-selling petrol chainsaw brand since 1971. 

In STIHL’s centenary year, their Research and Development team continue to focus on delivering exciting innovations and the latest technology, particularly when it comes to battery tools. STIHL’s investment in this area matches their ambitions for STIHL battery tools in the long-term and they are always looking to improve with increased working times, quicker charging options and even more impressive performance. 

This event, hosted by STIHL Great Britain, will deliver insights from STIHL’s experts about the newest tools and what to expect from STIHL in the future. They will share key information about battery charging, storage and management to help you understand how and when you can make the transition to battery tools. You’ll also get to see STIHL’s latest battery products in action. Finally, you’ll get a behind-the-scenes tour of the state-of-the-art distribution centre and office facility to see how STIHL supports their network of 750 STIHL Approved Dealers across Great Britain.

Kay Green

Kay Green is a senior executive with over 27 years of experience in marketing, sales, and general management within FMCG, Toy and Outdoor power tool industries. Kay spent much of her career at Hasbro in commercial positions in the UK and European team before relocating to Copenhagen to be the Nordics Country Manager. After two successful years Kay moved back to the UK to be the UK Country Manager, she held this position for three years and turned the business into a highly profitable market for Hasbro. In 2021 Kay became the first female Managing Director of STIHL GB, she continues to oversee strategic leadership and operational excellence today. She combines deep commercial acumen with expertise in integrated marketing, team development, and P&L accountability. Known for delivering sustainable growth and building high-performing teams, Kay is a proven leader with a proven track record of transforming businesses and achieving market leadership.

Sones Accountancy

Kim Sones is the Managing Director of Sones Accountancy Services Ltd, a specialist accountancy practice supporting landscaping businesses across the UK. Kim is passionate about helping business owners truly understand their numbers so they can make better decisions, improve profitability, and take control of their cash flow. Her approach goes beyond compliance as she works closely with clients to move them from reactive firefighting to proactive financial management.

Through a combination of technology, advisory services, and practical education, Kim helps directors gain clarity on their financial position, improve cash flow, and build more resilient, profitable businesses. She is a regular speaker within the landscaping industry and is known for delivering clear, practical advice that business owners can implement immediately.

Late payments are a common challenge in the landscaping industry, but they’re often accepted as “just part of the job. In this session, Kim Sones will challenge that thinking and show how late payments are not just a nuisance, but a key driver of poor cash flow and unnecessary financial stress.

This talk will move beyond theory and focus on practical, actionable strategies that business owners can implement immediately, including:

• How late payments impact your cash flow (and why profit doesn’t mean cash)
• Setting clear payment terms and expectations from day one
• Using automation to reduce awkward chasing and improve consistency
• Building a simple but effective credit control process
• When and how to escalate: from reminders to formal letters before action
• Understanding your options with the small claims process
• Creating a system that protects your cash flow without damaging client relationships
• Attendees will leave with a clear framework to reduce late payments, improve cash flow, and take back control of their finances.

Joe’s Blooms

Joe's Blooms was founded in 2022 to help planning applicants comply with the new 'Biodiversity Net Gain' regulations and improve biodiversity across England.

Joes Blooms helps you fully comply with England's Biodiversity Net Gain rules with our best-in-class digital tools and specialist support.

The Government has introduced a new ‘Biodiversity Net Gain’ regime to increase biodiversity across the country. These new rules will require most new planning applications to complete a statutorily compliant ‘Biodiversity Gain Plan’ (BGP).

Joe’s Blooms exists to solve these problems via a very fast, cost-effective online platform that provides planning applicants with a complete and easy-to-use end-to-end solution for producing BGPs in a fraction of the time and at a fraction of the cost.