RICK MAIN & ASSOCIATES

FOR local businessman Rick Main, redundancy from MG Rover did not mean the end of his career - instead, he set up his own business with the help of Mustard.uk.com's Fast Start programme and financial assistance from Bromsgrove District Council.

Rick Main & Associates is a business improvement consultancy specialising in procurement management. With over 30 years of experience in business planning and supply chain management for the manufacturing and service industries, Rick is able to offer a personalised, fast and effective style of involvement.

His aim is to provide tactical support to help businesses meet their short-term objectives, and to develop a strategy for long-term growth. Some of Rick's services include Commodity Portfolio Analysis, Value Chain Analysis, Quotation Comparative Analysis and Project Management.

Rick Main & Associates is also part of a collection of small businesses called the Vytal Business Clinic, formed by Rick and five former MG Rover colleagues who decided to pool their individual skills to help other small businesses. "It's beneficial to work together rather than independently, for instance in sharing expenses," says Rick.

The co-operative of independent business practitioners, each highly-skilled in a specific area, aims to increase business objectivity, improve strategic planning and enable swifter, more rounded solutions to be speedily enabled.

Vytal Business Clinic covers the whole spectrum of business management and is specifically geared to the SME sector.