Kisimul Group

Kisimul Group provides specialist care, education and support for children and adults with autism, learning disabilities and complex needs. With more than 40 years of experience, the organisation is committed to delivering exceptional care while continually evolving its approach to sustainability and responsible operations.

Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) responsibility is central to Kisimul's strategy. As part of its commitment to being a responsible provider, the organisation wanted to work with suppliers that shared its values and could support its long-term sustainability objectives.

Following a supplier review, Blueleaf stood out not simply for product quality and value for money, but for its partnership approach, ethical values and innovative n-kind plant-based cleaning range. Although Kisimul had a positive relationship with its incumbent supplier, Blueleaf demonstrated an opportunity to further support the organisation's ESG ambitions while enhancing operational efficiency.

Adam Henderson, Director of Corporate Services at Kisimul Group, said "We were looking for an organisation that would work in partnership with us to provide great quality products, a really ethical value base and value for money. What really stood out for us right from the outset was the n-kind product, which would move us away from traditional cleaning products to an environmentally friendly cleaning solution."

Switching suppliers in a care environment naturally brings a number of concerns - particularly where continuity, safety and quality of care must never be compromised. For Kisimul, ensuring a smooth transition with minimal impact on residents and teams was critical.

Key concerns included:

• Risk to supply continuity during the transition period
• Potential for added pressure on internal teams managing the change
• Limited visibility or control over the mobilisation process
• Possible disruption to day-to-day operations across services
• Uncertainty around the level of ongoing support post-implementation
• Challenges in ensuring simple, consistent adoption for staff
• Concerns around flexibility and commitment when moving to a new supplier
• Lack of clear insight into how the new products, delivery model and processes would perform in practice

Alongside this, there was understandable hesitation in moving away from a long-standing supplier relationship that had been delivering a reliable service - even if there was an opportunity to enhance value, sustainability and partnership.

As Adam Henderson explained, "Whenever you look to switch suppliers, there's always going to be a little bit of trepidation. We'd been with the same supplier for a long time, and one of the biggest concerns was how operationally we would minimise disruption to our services and what the training would look like for colleagues."