Procurement for Housing (PfH) is a national procurement organisation that is dedicated to the housing sector. By utilising the collective purchasing power of its Members it is able to tender for the most efficient agreements across a wide range of product areas, and thus, help social housing providers meet their efficiency targets.

How does PfH work?

PfH uses the collective purchasing power of its Members to negotiate better agreements for the social housing sector. Once an organisation has signed a Membership Agreement, they are eligible to take any of the agreements PfH has set up. An Advisory Committee made up of Members, and officials from the National Housing Federation, HouseMark and PfH decides upon product areas. A Product Group made up of Member organisations manages each product area. The Product Group decides on the specification of the product and helps to select the supplier that can provide the best terms.

PfH provides a framework agreement so that all Members can benefit, however on a day-to-day basis Members liase directly with each supplier and in some cases may have a contract with suppliers. Members place orders with and receive copy invoices directly from the supplier, although payment is made through PfH's Central Billing system.

Who runs the service?

Collective Enterprises Limited (CEL) won the contract to manage PfH through the European tendering process (OJEU). The service is run on behalf of The National Housing Federation, Chartered Institute of Housing and HouseMark. CEL has 20 years of experience in managing purchasing consortia and provides a unique Central Billing system for PfH.

When was it launched?

PfH was launched on 31 March 2004, but was preceded by a two-year pilot scheme called Network Procurement. CEL manages PfH and also managed the pilot.

How does PfH differ from other purchasing consortia?

Most other purchasing consortia serve particular regions of the country or are not specific to the housing sector. PfH is the only national purchasing consortium dedicated to the housing sector. As a national consortium we benefit from a large national Member base and unparalleled purchasing power. Being dedicated to the housing sector means that we only launch agreements that the sector wants and we tailor them to suit sector requirements.

What are the benefits of PfH?

PfH has a large and growing number of Members, which gives the consortium unparalleled purchasing power. This purchasing power enables us to demand better prices than organisations can individually. It also enables us to affect the supply chain in other ways. We can demand better quality all round, improved service levels, delivery timescales and new methods of ordering such as 'e-procurement' become viable as suppliers are willing to invest in new systems.

In addition, PfH's Central Billing system streamlines the ordering and billing process and can reduce administration time and increase the control organisations have over their costs.
All PfH agreements are OJEU compliant. This means that Members save the considerable time and expense of going through an OJEU tender for their own contracts.

What savings have you made for your members?

Typically, cashable savings are between 20 and 30% but you can get an accurate estimate in some product areas by benchmarking the agreement against your existing supplier. Members also make non-cashable savings by using central billing and by not having to go through OJEU tenders.

How are you funded?

PfH is entirely self-funding. The organisation earns small retrospective rebates from suppliers based on the sales earned through the consortium.

How many Members do you have?

We have approximately 600 Members collectively managing over 2.6 million properties. Please contact us for up-to-date figures.

What products do you offer?

For a complete list of of current products and timetable for the launch of new products, go to the 'Services', 'New Products' section of our website.

How much does it cost to join?

For HouseMark subscribers, PfH membership is free, otherwise there is an annual fee based on the size of your organisation.

Membership Fee Structure
Up to 200 units	£50
201 to 1,000 units	£100
1,001 to 3,000 units	£150
3,001 to 6,000 units	£350
6,001 to 10,000 units	£500
10,001 to 15,000 units	£750
15,001 plus units	£950
HouseMark members	Free of charge

Who is eligible to join?

Membership is open to all social housing providers including Housing Associations (HAs), Large Scale Voluntary Transfers (LSVTs), Arms length Management Organisations (ALMOs) and Local Authorities (LAs).

Is it only for large housing organisations?

PfH has Members of all sizes from organisations with 24 properties to many of the largest in the UK. All housing organisations are eligible to take PfH agreements and so each organisation benefits equally.

Are Members obliged to purchase all PfH products?

PfH's main objective is to make every agreement beneficial to every Member. However, there may be reasons why you do not want to take certain deals and PfH appreciates this. PfH operates a willing contractor principle, which means that you are not obliged to take every agreement, but if you don't, we do require that you tell us why. Your feedback provides vital information that helps us to continually improve the agreements that we offer.

What are the Member commitments?

Members are involved in PfH activities on many levels from answering product questionnaires to being Members of a Product Group or the Advisory Committee. If you want to help to influence PfH's future direction and you have expertise that may be valuable, there are opportunities for you to contribute. However, the only commitment we require is the completion of occasional questionnaires and surveys, and information about if and why you do not take up particular PfH agreements.

Can somebody from PfH visit my organisation to tell us more about its services?

PfH does organise seminars and Members of the PfH team can visit housing organisations to do presentations. To find out when the PfH team is in your area, contact us on 01457 891906.

Can we speak to an existing Member about the service they receive?

If you would like a third party reference from an existing Member before you join, this can be arranged. Simply contact us and we will speak to an existing Member in your area to let them know you will be calling.

Can you keep me informed about PfH and new products and services?

We publish a monthly E-Newsletter that keeps subscribers up-to-date with news about PfH and their Members. If you would like to subscribe to E-News, send an email to: info@procurementforhousing.co.uk.

How do you decide on new product areas?

PfH has an Advisory Committee made up of Members and senior representatives from the National Housing Federation, HouseMark and PfH. The Advisory Committee decides on new product areas following advice and research from PfH and their Members.

How do you choose suppliers for each product area?

Each product area is managed by a Product Group made up of up to 8 PfH Members. Group members are invited to participate by PfH and usually have a high degree of expertise in the product area. The Group decides upon the specification of the product and then it goes out to tender through the Official European tendering process (OJEU). Each tender that is received, is then awarded points across a broad range of important factors. The supplier/s with the highest score/s is/are awarded the contract.

Do you only consider price when choosing a supplier?

During the tendering process, tenders are judged on a broad range of factors including price, quality, service levels, delivery, flexibility, communication, invoicing, reporting, health and safety, sustainability and, equality and diversity. The Product Group decides upon appropriate weighting for each factor.

How long is each suppliers contract?

The suppliers' contracts with PfH are generally for three years with an option of extending to four.

Once we are using a supplier, do we have to use them exclusively?

Yes, but there are exceptions. A supplier of energy or telecommunications would generally be used exclusively, but you may have an emergency where you have to purchase office supplies from a local shop rather than through the PfH agreement. You will not be penalised for this, but we would advise you that it is probably more efficient in the long-term for you to use each PfH agreement exclusively.

How long are we contracted to the suppliers we use?

In most cases you can use the agreement for as long as it is economically efficient for you to do so (or for as long as the supplier's deal with PfH is in place). However for products such as Energy, you may sign up to an agreement for a number of years, directly with a supplier.

When we want to stop using a supplier, what is the notice period?

The notice period will vary according to the product and the contract you have with the supplier.

What is your strategy on Equality and Diversity?

PfH operates an Equality and Diversity strategy and insists on compliance from all suppliers. For more details go the 'About Us' section of our website.

What is your strategy on sustainability?

PfH has a sustainability policy which is located in the 'About Us' section of the website. The consortium monitors the sustainability credentials of current and potential suppliers through a comprehensive questionnaire.

Are you EU compliant?

Yes. We do comply with the OJEU tendering regulations. This means that you don't need to go through the costly process yourselves, if you choose to purchase products through PfH. For more details go to the 'About Us' section of our website.

What effect does the EU procurement rules have on us?

As housing organisations are regarded as public bodies, you must be EU compliant if you tender for business yourselves where contracts are worth more than approximately £3.61m for works and £144,371 for services. For more details go to the 'About Us' section of our website.

How do you monitor the performance of your suppliers?

PfH has regular meetings with suppliers to make sure that the services offered to members are operating properly. PfH also carries out regular Customer Satisfaction Surveys and operates a Customer Complaints Procedure. Details of this procedure are available in the Member section of our website.

How do I know your agreements are more efficient before we commit to buy?

Once you become a Member, each supplier will contact your organisation to discuss the details of their agreement before you make any commitments. Where possible, suppliers will also give you the opportunity to benchmark your prices against theirs to show you the costs savings that can be achieved.

Can we compare prices before we buy?

Suppliers will always provide you with detailed information about the deal they can offer, prior to you making any commitment. Where possible, suppliers will also give you the opportunity to benchmark your prices against theirs to show you the costs savings that can be achieved.

How do I register a complaint about PfH suppliers?

PfH operates a Customer Complaints Procedure which is available on the Member section of our website. If you would like to see this document prior to becoming a Member, please contact the PfH team at: info@procurementforhousing.co.uk.

I want to sign up. What do I do now?

You need to complete the Membership Agreement Forms and post them to us at the following address.
Procurement for Housing, Bleaklow House, Howard Town Mill, Glossop, Derbyshire, SK13 8HT.

The Membership Agreement Forms can be downloaded from the Home Page of our website (or you can call the PfH team on 01457 891906 and request a Membership Pack).

What happens once I've signed the Membership Agreement?

Once you have signed the Agreement, PfH will forward the relevant contact details to our suppliers (unless you specify otherwise). Suppliers will contact you to discuss their agreements and then you can decide if you want to take them up. You will also need to be set up with PfH's Central Billing System before you can start trading.

How quickly can I start using PfH products?

Once we have received your Membership Agreement Forms and direct debit mandate, we will write to you to say that you are set up for Central Billing. Once you are set up with Central Billing you can start trading, although in each product area you will first need to gather purchasing data for the supplier.

For more information call the PfH team on: 01457 891906