Probrand receives Queen’s Award for Innovation
A BIRMINGHAM-based computer products website has been presented with a Queen’s Award for continuous innovation by HRH The Duke of Kent.
Situated in the heart of the Jewellery Quarter, Probrand delivers www.theITIndex.co.uk, which is believed to be Europe’s largest automated online computer products shop.
It daily updates and compares over 150,000 products and services from more than 2,500 manufacturers and ranks them by best price and stock availability.
The award is the first to recognise the growing information economy and technology manufacturing community in the Midlands.
The Duke of Kent is a patron of the British Computer Society (BCS) and decided to personally present the award to Probrand. The award recognises the firm’s achievements in continuous innovation over the last five years.
A recent innovation has automated complex e-auctions as an additional step in reducing ICT purchase price and process. It daily gathers product demand from the market before pushing that opportunity back out to suppliers at 2pm every day. Suppliers then have the afternoon to bid price down to win that business.
Peter Robbins, Probrand managing director, said: “We are focussed on giving IT buyers the most efficient ways of getting competitive deals on ICT from across a hugely fragmented, multi-level supply chain. We bring a competitive market into one environment where people can buy direct.
“This is the innovation that has interested His Royal Highness personally. It is a huge honour for us to be recognised as a leader amidst the growing and recruiting Midlands technology corridor.”
He said continuous innovation and investment in the Mercato technology behind the website was driving the business and supporting supply chain partners. It is deployed globally for IBM across 37 countries in 22 languages.
