Referral standards
How We Select Farm Building Suppliers
Farm buildings vary enormously. A livestock building, machinery shed, grain store and rural workshop can require very different design, erection, ventilation, access, floor and planning capabilities. Our matching process is built around that difference.
What we look for
Agricultural-building experience
We look for evidence of relevant agricultural projects and specialisms rather than treating every steel-frame contractor as interchangeable.
Design and technical capability
Depending on the project, we consider structural/design capability, drawings, planning support, cladding/insulation knowledge, openings, ventilation, floors, drainage and other project-specific requirements.
Project and geographic fit
We consider coverage, likely project-size fit, supply-only versus supply-and-erect versus turnkey capability, and whether the supplier has experience with comparable livestock, storage, machinery or workshop projects.
Credentials and commercial basics
Where available and relevant, we record legal-entity status, memberships/accreditations, insurance evidence, warranties, references and case-study evidence. Unknown items remain unknown until verified.
Quote quality and delivery
As the network develops, practical performance matters: response time, willingness to quote, completeness of scope, exclusions, capacity, customer feedback and won-project outcomes.
How matching works
We do not simply send every enquiry to the nearest business. A sensible match considers capability, geography, project or service type, scale, access/technical requirements and timing or capacity. Where we hold verified evidence, we can also use relevant credentials, system experience and comparable-project information.
The customer remains free to decide whether to speak to, obtain a quotation from or appoint any business introduced. Suppliers are independent businesses responsible for their own surveys, advice, quotations, contracts, workmanship and regulatory obligations.
What “verified” means — and what it does not mean
Verification is evidence-based and item-specific. We may be able to verify one fact — for example a current trade-body membership or publicly listed capability — while another item such as insurance expiry still requires direct confirmation. We therefore record evidence sources and review dates rather than using a vague blanket endorsement.
Verified for referral does not mean that we guarantee future workmanship, price or project outcome. Customers should still read the supplier’s proposal, check the credentials relevant to their project and make their own contracting decision.
Why we matched this supplier
As our records develop, referrals should be accompanied by a short factual explanation such as: coverage includes your area; relevant specialism matches the project; suitable project-size capability; applicable accreditation or technical evidence; comparable work; and current capacity where known. We will only include facts actually supported by our records.
How performance improves the network
Public credentials are only the starting point. Where we have enough real activity, we can also monitor operational measures such as response time, whether appropriate leads are accepted, whether quotations are produced, won/lost outcomes, customer feedback and repeated issues. We will not publish or imply performance statistics until there is enough genuine data to support them.
Listed, verified and sponsored are different
Basic factual public information. Inclusion alone is not verification or endorsement.
Eligible for matching because relevant checks and suitability evidence have been completed to our current standard.
Paid enhanced presentation or visibility. Payment does not confer verification and does not make a supplier more suitable for referral.
Our verification framework is being developed alongside the supplier network. Where a fact has not yet been checked, we leave it unverified rather than guessing.