Philosophising

Question mark drawn in pencil within a light bulb alongside the pencil and a rubber.

"What exactly does VPP do?"

This is one of the questions I’ve been asked several times since launch.

The obvious answer is that I help independent veterinary practices make better commercial decisions. But the more I've thought about that question, the more I've realised it doesn't really explain why I started the business in the first place.

Clinical care is the foundation

If there's one principle that underpins everything VPP stands for, it's this:

“Clinical first, commercial second”

Every decision made within a veterinary practice should ultimately support better outcomes for patients. That's the reason we all entered the profession, and it's something I don't believe should ever be compromised.

But exceptional clinical care alone doesn't guarantee a successful practice. It helps, but a practice also needs to be financially sustainable.

• It needs to be able to recruit, retain and support it’s talented people.

• It needs to invest in equipment, facilities and technology.

• It needs the resilience to cope with uncertainty and the confidence to plan for the future.

Without those things, even the very best clinical teams can find themselves under pressure.

Changing the way we think about "commercial"

The word commercial can sometimes make people uncomfortable in veterinary practice. Too often it's associated with cost-cutting, targets or putting profit ahead of patients. And when I was at vet school, we didn’t receive any veterinary business training.

I don't see it that way. To me, being commercial simply means making informed decisions that allow a practice to continue delivering outstanding veterinary care.

• Sometimes that means negotiating a better supplier agreement.

• Sometimes it means reviewing contracts that haven't been looked at for years.

• Sometimes it means improving purchasing processes, reducing waste or making better use of existing supplier relationships.

None of those things are about cutting corners. They're about making sure every pound spent contributes as much value as possible to the practice and the patients it serves.

Why procurement?

People often assume procurement is simply about buying products, cheaply.

In reality, it's one of the few areas that touches almost every part of a veterinary business.

It influences cash flow, stock availability, supplier relationships, operational efficiency and ultimately the financial health of the practice. It also impacts the care that a clinic can deliver.

Done well, procurement creates opportunities. It frees up resources that can be reinvested into people, equipment, facilities and patient care. Done badly, it quietly drains time, money and energy.

The business I wanted to build

When I founded Veterinary Procurement Partners, I wasn't trying to create another procurement consultancy. I wanted to build a business that combines clinical understanding with commercial experience. One that recognises that successful veterinary practices aren't built on financial performance alone. Nor are they sustained by excellent clinical care in isolation. The strongest practices understand that the two depend on one another. I think it’s important that anyone working with vet practices understands this importance.

Clinical excellence remains the purpose.

Commercial excellence provides the stability to protect it.

That's the philosophy behind VPP.

It's the standard I hold myself to, and the approach we bring to every practice that we have the privilege to work alongside.