Developing a supply chain

AIMC4’s success hinges on a supply chain that can deliver a successful formula for building Code Level 4 (energy) homes using only energy-efficient fabric and building services solutions.

To create such a supply chain, AIMC4 engaged with suppliers across the UK and Europe in intensive ‘sandpit’ workshops to kick-start discussions and pool ideas. The companies with the best ideas and products were selected to work on the AIMC4 project.

The result is that AIMC4 has the most innovative solutions at its disposal, while energised suppliers get the opportunity to work alongside the UK's leading developers suppliers in a pioneering project with long-term commercial opportunities.

Further information

The selection process was divided into three stages:

Stage 1: 302 suppliers completed a pre-qualification questionnaire, which was assessed against a matrix. Suppliers selected to go through to the next stage.
Stage 2: the first 'sandpit' workshop comprising a series of exercises, begins filtering out potential suppliers. Successful companies were invited to the final selection stage.
Stage 3: even more challenging exercises and presentations at a second sandpit event identified the strongest suppliers for delivering AIMC4 objectives

Selecting our suppliers

AIMC4 held two sandpit workshop events to identify the suppliers that could deliver Code Level 4 homes.

A series of exercises challenged suppliers to demonstrate their understanding of the challenges.

Suppliers had to find solutions to common issues and demonstrate how their products could deliver.

Suppliers from different sectors were split into potential design teams to improve the specification of an example mid-terrace house in order to achieve a 44% CO2 reduction using their own products.

A panel of AIMC4 partners and technical 'gurus' assessed the products throughout the entire sandpit selection process.

The one-day event in March 2010 kick-started discussions about the challenges ahead and pooled ideas through a series of exercises to identify which companies best understood the AIMC4 challenges.

The day culminated in a series of presentations to an AIMC4 panel, in which teams of suppliers demonstrated how they would solve possible design, product, skill and supply chain challenges.

Practical solutions were assessed against technical, financial and teamwork criteria and suppliers were chosen to go through to the second more intensive sandpit stage.

The 50 suppliers selected from the first sandpit event gathered at BRE in May 2010 for Sandpit 2. The objective of the two-day event was to select the final AIMC4 marketplace of partners to help the AIM C4 homes become a reality.

Suppliers were first split into their respective sector categories, each giving a five-minute presentation and answering specific questions from peers and technical experts from all of the consortium members.

This helped to establish whether each product had been sufficiently tested to support performance claims, what stage of development it was in and its ability to be delivered at the required volumes. The experts assessed each product against a matrix of questions to identify the strongest contenders fairly and transparently.

Suppliers then had to solve key performance and process problems from their respective sectors before being split into potential design/construction teams.

Teams were challenged to improve the specification of an example mid-terrace house in order to achieve a 44% CO₂ reduction using their own products in conjunction with other members of the team. A SAP expert was on hand to do live modelling, with a facilitator helping to create cross sectional sketches, assessments of cost and innovation risk. .

The challenge culminated in a 30-minute presentation Q&A session before both the AIMC4 panel and their industry peers.

Suppliers judged to have been successful were those who demonstrated the highest performance products and a high degree of commitment to achieve the accelerated innovation required by AIMC4.