Supply chain management

Our approach to supply chain management puts us well on our way to making potential savings of £1.5 million a year. We look at whole-life cost, rather than just the lowest short-term costs, and involve our asset management and maintenance teams in setting up supplier arrangements.

Collaborative procurement

Westworks is a collaborative group of 21 member housing associations and local authorities, based in the Wessex region, who are working together to achieve better value through the potential extra buying power of a ‘larger client’.

The group encourages all of its members to procure in ways that lower purchasing costs and raise service quality.

The Treasury is putting social housing providers under increasing pressure to provide higher-quality services and better value from their business plans. Westworks provides an opportunity for members to maximise the value of public sector spending: being part of a strategic partnership helps them to achieve greater efficiencies.

Indirect benefits

As well as the direct cost and service quality benefits that we have achieved through our collaborative procurement initiatives, there are several other advantages.

Collaborative procurement provides opportunities to combine knowledge and resources to develop best practice. We have removed duplication and waste in the administration of EU procurement procedures. Being part of Westworks makes us a larger, more important client and means we can get improved service from our supply chain partners. Our superior buying power allows us to use better-quality, more durable products, which will result in fewer maintenance callouts. For instance, procuring improved thermal insulation helps us to address resident fuel poverty, as well as reduce the carbon footprint of our operations.

OJEU expertise

As an organisation in receipt of public funding, we are obliged to advertise our supply chain contract opportunities in the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU). 

We recognise the value in establishing efficient supply chain frameworks that add value to the development process and the Sovereign Development Consortium has worked hard to achieve this. The Consortium has used its expertise, together with advice from international law firm Trowers & Hamlin, to develop a proven and highly successful framework that provides vital information on how to set up and mange framework agreements in relation to EU procurement, as well as the processes involved in meeting the relevant directives and how to avoid the pitfalls.  This invaluable framework has and can be used by other housing associations to help ensure compliance with OJEU regulations, whilst also delivering improved efficiencies in the process. 

For more information on navigating the OJEU process and adopting this framework, please contact Mark Jarrett at mark.jarrett@sovereign.org.uk