Diageo agrees to Treasury supply chain scheme

Diageo has signed up to a Treasury-backed scheme to help develop its supply chain expertise.

Yesterday’s Autumn Statement by UK Chancellor George Osborne contained the line: “The government is working with large businesses, including Microsoft, Centrica, and Diageo, to develop new commitments to support and strengthen their supply chains.”

According to Diageo’s government affairs manager Peter Butler, who has been working with the Treasury on developing the scheme, this will involve apprentice exchanges with placements for Diageo employees at key suppliers.

Butler told the drinks business: “We hope that this will lead to the twin benefits of giving our suppliers access to talented Diageo apprentices, as well as providing Diageo with enhanced insights into the functioning of our supply partners.

“The development of this commitment is still in the very early stages of development, so we can’t provide specifics on number of apprentices or names of suppliers, but we hope these partnerships will lead to mutual advantage for both parties.”

For more on the Autumn Statement, see this week’s Finance on Friday column.