Anglia Farmers and Redfox have launched a new service for fresh produce businesses at the FPJ Conference in Cambridge.

The collaboration between purchasing group Anglia Farmers (AF) and specialist recruitment consultancy Redfox has been designed to offer significant savings for businesses in the sector.

Redfox AF Fresh Sector membership will help reduce the cost of goods and services, from key inputs to electricity, building materials and fleet vehicles. Members will benefit from a professional procurement service, backed up with streamlined administration and a clear billing system.

AF already helps to reduce its members’ administrative functions, improve efficiency and save time. Those firms that join the bespoke scheme will experience the benefits of AF membership, with savings being secured by the not-for-profit organisation’s large team of product-specialist buyers.

The new venture sees AF move into new industry sectors and will also be an added-value customer offering for Redfox.

Redfox MD Max MacGillivray said: “We believe that the purchasing group is going to be hugely advantageous to the fresh produce and horticultural sectors as a whole, enabling the members to benefit from on-going cost reductions for vital elements of their business.

“With margins under constant pressure, freeing up profitability from their supply chain will be to the long term benefit of their enterprise.”

Clarke Willis, chief executive of AF said: “Collaborative purchasing together with back office administration is a key competence of AF. We are delighted to be partners in this important initiative for the fresh produce sector.”