AXA - Be Life Confident

The company, which provides tailor-made supply chains that remove cost inefficiencies and controls purchasing behaviour across organisations, goes forward to the grand final of the prestigious National Business Awards, dubbed by Gordon Brown as the 'Business Oscars', at the Grosvenor Hotel in London on 13 November.

Valueworks offer procurement, sourcing and financial professionals a straightforward approach to managing spend, helping them find cost savings, deliver the maximum cost savings possible and to retain those savings on an ongoing basis. wide variety of business and government clients across many industry sectors.

The AXA Small to Medium Sized Business of the Year Award recognises businesses for their entrepreneurship and innovation and highlights the importance of management excellence in maintaining a successful business today and continuing to grow it in the future.

Mike Butler, the North West Regional Judge, said: "Although it was a hard decision with such strong competition from the region, we chose Valueworks because it has they demonstrated strong performance in the key judging criteria of financial performance, innovation and customer focus. There was also clear evidence of quality running throughout all functions of their business. It now goes onto compete against four of the most dynamic companies in the UK today, and we wish them all every success in the future."

The other finalists battling to win the title of AXA Small to Medium Business of the Year are:

• Point Source, Southampton (www.point-source.co.uk) - Manufacturers of laser solutions for precision instrumentation.
• Tyrrells Potato Chips, Leominster (www.tyrrellspotatochips.co.uk) - Producers of gourmet snacks to over 5000 independent retailers in the UK and last year’s regional winner for the second time.
• Quartix, Newtown (www.quartix.net) - Producers of a vehicle tracking system to commercial fleet operators, and finalists for the second year running.
• Applied Language Solutions, Huddersfield (www.appliedlanguage.com) - Professional translation services covering the financial, medical, marketing or any other field.

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