Busy Bees UK childcare centre showcasing its partnership with Avendra International

At a glance

About Busy Bees UK

Busy Bees is one of the UK’s largest childcare providers, operating over 350 centres nationwide and serving more than 30,000 children every day. With a focus on providing a safe, nurturing and enriching environment for early years development, catering plays a central role in the Busy Bees experience.

The challenge: managing multi-site catering and supply chain complexity

Busy Bees childcare staff managing catering operations across multiple centres

David Ayriss, Head of European Procurement and Contracting at Busy Bees, joined the business in 2023, bringing more than two decades of supply chain and procurement experience. When he stepped into his role, he inherited the company’s partnership with Pelican Procurement Services, now part of Avendra International, and quickly saw the opportunity to strengthen it.

“As a business feeding thousands of children every day, it’s absolutely key that every centre receives the right ingredients, on time, every time,” David explains.

Yet, as with any large-scale operation, managing catering across over 350 sites presented real challenges. Menus needed to adapt to nutritional guidelines including the NHS Startwell accreditation, while ensuring strict control of allergens and dietary requirements. Financially, the business was processing 33,000 invoices a year, making visibility and reconciliation difficult.

“You can’t improve what you can’t measure,” David recalls. “We needed greater visibility across our supply chain.”

Avendra International's Pi eProcurement ordering system used by Busy Bees UK

Using the Pi eProcurement system for ordering, invoicing and menu control

Avendra International’s eProcurement system, Pi, tackles these challenges head-on. It brings together invoice management, online ordering, and menu and recipe tools -streamlining admin and saving Busy Bees’ teams valuable time, while giving them clear visibility and control over their operations. The Avendra and Pi team have been providing them with onboarding, training, and system support to ensure the Busy Bees team get the maximum value from Pi.

Centres now order only approved products at agreed prices, protecting budgets and ensuring allergen compliance.

“Allergens are a massive deal in our environment,” David says. “We need centres to order from our prescribed product lists. With that control, we maintain alignment to our NHS-accredited menus – so it’s fundamental to our operations.”

The online ordering system has simplified daily operations, while its invoice management module has consolidated invoices into one monthly payment, replacing thousands of individual invoices.

“Their online ordering module is easy to use, and from an allergen and value-for-money point of view, it gives us the control we need.”

This has unlocked broader efficiencies too – reducing administrative burden, consolidating ordering systems, and improving collaboration across finance, operations, and procurement.

Avendra International and Busy Bees procurement teams collaborating as strategic partners

A strategic procurement partnership and supplier relationship management

For David, the real value comes from the way Avendra International integrates with Busy Bees.

He shares, “From the start, I’ve focused on supplier relationship management, and that’s where Avendra International has played a really important role – particularly Sarah Garnade, our Avendra account manager. She’s a procurement professional, just like me. We speak the same language.”

Avendra International team works as an extension of the Busy Bees team, bringing insight, systems support, and proactive supplier management. Beyond the day-to-day, the partnership also adds value through menu development aligned with the latest legislation, apprenticeship competitions, and supplier visits – all these initiatives strengthen Busy Bees’ operations.

Looking ahead, the focus now is on exploring how Pi can further support the Busy Bees’ supply chain. This approach is already delivering measurable results, from reducing credit card spend to strategic sourcing solutions.

“Avendra International understands our business and growth trajectory – they’re not a third party at arm’s length. Sarah is considered part of my procurement team.”

This close collaboration also enables strategic decision-making. “We’re now getting benchmarking insights that help us to understand where we sit in the market. Are we getting a good deal? Are we performing efficiently? That’s the kind of information I need and Avendra International delivers it. It allows me to always consider the bigger picture.”

By integrating at every level, the Avendra team ensures that Busy Bees can focus on what matters most: providing safe, enriching care for thousands of children every day, while knowing their procurement, systems, and supplier management are in expert hands.

How Avendra International can help your organisation simplify procurement

Want to simplify ordering, manage allergens confidently and gain clarity on spend? Get in touch with our procurement specialists at Hello_UK@avendra.com.

FAQs

How can childcare and education providers manage catering procurement across multiple sites?

Multi-site childcare and education providers typically benefit from a centralised eProcurement system that standardises approved product lists, pricing and ordering across every location. Avendra Pi platform gives operators this level of control, ensuring every site orders consistently while reducing the administrative work.

How does a procurement partner help with allergen and nutritional compliance in childcare settings?

A procurement partner Avendra International's Pi system has menu and recipe tools that include allergens and nutritional information support providers working towards accreditation standards such as NHS Startwell, helping catering teams stay compliant without adding extra administrative burden.

Can procurement system reduce the number of invoices a business has to process?

Yes. Consolidating suppliers invoice payments through a single eProcurement platform allows thousands of individual invoices to be combined into one regular payment cycle. Avendra International's Pi system includes invoice management functionality designed specifically to simplify reconciliation for finance teams handling high transaction volumes.

What does a strategic procurement partnership look like in practice?

A strategic procurement partnership goes beyond simple supplier sourcing; At Avendra we provide dedicated account management, proactive supplier relationship management, market benchmarking, ongoing negotiation and eProcurement system support. Avendra’s team of local experts work as an extension of our clients' procurement teams, providing the insight and day-to-day support needed to make informed purchasing decisions.

How can organisations benchmark whether they are getting good value from their suppliers?

Benchmarking requires visibility into latest market pricing, which many organisations struggle to access on their own. Avendra International provides clients with market benchmarking insights so procurement leaders can understand where they sit competitively and make confident, evidence-based decisions about supplier value.