Hello! Here’s a little bit about us.
A quick catch-up with another business owner turned into a conversation about an unpaid invoice.
Then it was a supplier who'd taken payment and disappeared.
Then a business’ broadband going down mid-trading day with no help from the call centre to get it fixed.
A customer not responding despite multiple submissions of a proposal, time wasted.
Another conversation, and another. The same problems, over and over.
Crippling price increases, missed service deliveries, sleepless nights, no time to chase anything up.
There had to be a better way.
We're procurement specialists with decades of experience.
We've seen these problems from the other side in large organisations with dedicated teams, serious budgets, and the buying power to demand better.
Small businesses deserved the same, and nobody was giving it to them.
So we built The Independent Buying Group to bring large scale corporate procurement expertise into the SME market.
Our services cover four areas.
Our CALM Tender Management service supports you through the full tendering process, ensuring you get the suppliers your business needs to grow.
Your CALM Supply Chain Management gives you strategic visibility and control over your supplier relationships & contracts so no more wasted revenue or under performing suppliers. We audit your supply chain then work with you to resolve any issues.
The CALM Supplier Directory (launching in April ‘26) connects you with pre-vetted suppliers across 140+ overhead categories so you can quickly select from a short list and get projects moving in your business while having the assurance that suppliers will deliver.
And our new CALM Business Academy gives you valuable insights to common issues from our expert suppliers.
Every supplier we recommend is vetted on credibility, accountability, legal standards, and ethics. We give preference to suppliers who can demonstrate progress toward Net Zero.
However, we don’t just vet our suppliers. If you want to access our directory, each buyer commits to the same standards in return.
That's our CALM framework.
We’re building a community of trusted suppliers and buyers. When the relationship works both ways, everyone benefits.
The Independent Buying Group was founded by Shona Motherwell, who has spent over 25 years in procurement, including senior roles managing hundreds of millions in annual spend.
She built The Independent Buying Group on one straightforward idea: that small businesses deserve access to the same procurement expertise as the big players.
We're based in Glasgow and working with businesses across Scotland, with plans to grow across the UK.