Local Business Scoops TCS Award
A Bath business, Zenith International Ltd, has received national recognition for its successful TCS Programme – a three-way relationship between Zenith, the University of Bath and graduate Tom Scotney - the ‘TCS Associate’. They will be presented with their award by Lord Sainsbury, Minister for Science and Innovation, at the TCS Awards 2002 event in London on 5 December 2002.
Zenith International is a business consultancy specialising in the food, drinks and packaging industries worldwide. The company has over 500 clients and has affiliated offices in Amsterdam, Copenhagen, New York, Siena and Tbilisi (in Georgia). In its Bath office Zenith employs around 40 people.
One of the objectives of Zenith’s TCS Programme with the University of Bath’s School of Management was to establish an e-commerce application to sell global drinks market data. They recruited Tom Scotney as their TCS Associate. The website, www.globaldrinks.com, has created new competitive opportunities, such as web and database development consulting, and has demonstrated a commitment and understanding of technology that was previously not present in the company. Evidence of the popularity of the Zenith web site is demonstrated by the number of monthly hits – around 19,000 in October 1999 to 237,000 on completion of the TCS Programme. From being a follower in the use of technology, the company has become a leader in its field.
Gary Roethenbaugh, Zenith International’s Research Director, explained;
“As our business has continued to expand we felt we needed a structured approach to develop our information base and Internet site into a real business tool. We knew that this would require a specific project and a dedicated resource to deal with it. This is why we decided on a TCS Programme. The combination of Zenith, Tom Scotney and Dr Richard Vidgen from the University, was a real success. We are already seeing real business benefits, a solid increase in sales turnover and are embarking upon a second TCS Programme to take forward our commitment to structured information delivery.”
Tom Scotney, the TCS Associate, said;
“TCS gave me a superb start to my career and built on my Masters degree in Management and Strategic Information Systems. My work had a direct and highly positive impact on the company’s performance. At the same time, it aided my own personal growth and has since led to contracting to Zenith and other clients as an Information Systems Consultant”.
ENDS
For further information, please contact Isabelle Clarke, Communications Manager, on 020 8943 6268/6937 or e-mail isabelle.clarke@npl.co.uk
Note to editors:
The Government-funded scheme known as TCS is a mechanism that enables the UK’s knowledge base, especially higher education institutions, to have a positive impact on business by passing on their knowledge to address strategic business issues.To find out more about TCS, please visit the website at www.tcsonline.org.uk
On average, a TCS Programme involving just one graduate can be expected to generate £47,000 for participating companies as a one-off increase in profit, further recurring annual profit increases and 4 new jobs. There are almost 950 current TCS Programmes in the UK.
TCS is funded by the following Government organisations and operates across the UK involving most sectors of business and relevant academic disciplines: Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC); Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA); Department of Health (DH); Department of Trade and Industry (DTI); Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC); Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC); Invest Northern Ireland (INI); Natural Environment Research Council (NERC); Particles Physics and Astronomy Research Council (PPARC); Scottish Executive (SE); Welsh Assembly Government.
TCS is managed under contract to the Government’s Small Business Service (SBS) by Technology Transfer and Innovation Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Serco Group plc. The SBS acts on behalf of all the public sector bodies that fund TCS Programmes. In England TCS is a Business Link service.
Zenith International is a business consultancy specialising in the food, drinks and packaging industries worldwide. The company has over 500 clients and has affiliated offices in Amsterdam, Copenhagen, New York, Siena and Tbilisi (in Georgia). In its Bath office Zenith employs around 40 people.
One of the objectives of Zenith’s TCS Programme with the University of Bath’s School of Management was to establish an e-commerce application to sell global drinks market data. They recruited Tom Scotney as their TCS Associate. The website, www.globaldrinks.com, has created new competitive opportunities, such as web and database development consulting, and has demonstrated a commitment and understanding of technology that was previously not present in the company. Evidence of the popularity of the Zenith web site is demonstrated by the number of monthly hits – around 19,000 in October 1999 to 237,000 on completion of the TCS Programme. From being a follower in the use of technology, the company has become a leader in its field.
Gary Roethenbaugh, Zenith International’s Research Director, explained;
“As our business has continued to expand we felt we needed a structured approach to develop our information base and Internet site into a real business tool. We knew that this would require a specific project and a dedicated resource to deal with it. This is why we decided on a TCS Programme. The combination of Zenith, Tom Scotney and Dr Richard Vidgen from the University, was a real success. We are already seeing real business benefits, a solid increase in sales turnover and are embarking upon a second TCS Programme to take forward our commitment to structured information delivery.”
Tom Scotney, the TCS Associate, said;
“TCS gave me a superb start to my career and built on my Masters degree in Management and Strategic Information Systems. My work had a direct and highly positive impact on the company’s performance. At the same time, it aided my own personal growth and has since led to contracting to Zenith and other clients as an Information Systems Consultant”.
ENDS
For further information, please contact Isabelle Clarke, Communications Manager, on 020 8943 6268/6937 or e-mail isabelle.clarke@npl.co.uk
Note to editors:
The Government-funded scheme known as TCS is a mechanism that enables the UK’s knowledge base, especially higher education institutions, to have a positive impact on business by passing on their knowledge to address strategic business issues.To find out more about TCS, please visit the website at www.tcsonline.org.uk
On average, a TCS Programme involving just one graduate can be expected to generate £47,000 for participating companies as a one-off increase in profit, further recurring annual profit increases and 4 new jobs. There are almost 950 current TCS Programmes in the UK.
TCS is funded by the following Government organisations and operates across the UK involving most sectors of business and relevant academic disciplines: Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC); Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA); Department of Health (DH); Department of Trade and Industry (DTI); Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC); Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC); Invest Northern Ireland (INI); Natural Environment Research Council (NERC); Particles Physics and Astronomy Research Council (PPARC); Scottish Executive (SE); Welsh Assembly Government.
TCS is managed under contract to the Government’s Small Business Service (SBS) by Technology Transfer and Innovation Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Serco Group plc. The SBS acts on behalf of all the public sector bodies that fund TCS Programmes. In England TCS is a Business Link service.