Name:

Neil Shire

Organisation:

Exeter City Council

Position:

Housing Repairs and Technical Services Manager

Number of properties and location:

5,000 properties in the Exeter area.

Why did you take up the PfH Materials Agreement?

At the start of the process of procuring our bathroom replacement contract we wanted to consider all the alternatives to ensure we obtained the best value from the work. We felt that, as the rates negotiated under the PfH agreement were based on a nationally negotiated basis, this would enable us to deliver this objective as well as it being transparent, accountable and allowing us to maximise efficiencies.

We also wanted the bathrooms to be of high specification and we saw the agreement as a way of procuring these types of products at a reasonable cost.

Which merchants do you use?

PTS - Plumbing Trade Supplies.

What benefits has PfH created for your organisation?

I feel the quality of the products we are currently using are far superior than those we have used in the past, this adds
value to the work and results in higher satisfaction with the tenants who benefit from having the work done.

Was it easy to set up with the Account Cards?

After the initial bedding in period the process of ordering and being charged for materials was a lot easier.

How did you make changes with your contractors? What did you have to consider? How easy was it?

Luckily we introduced the PfH materials agreement just as we were negotiating our bathroom replacement contract, we discussed this fully with the contractors and in the end they fully supported our position.

What savings do you expect to make annually?

This is hard to say as we have not used the bathroom items before so comparisons are difficult. We have done some checks on how much the products being used would be if we purchased them direct rather than through the scheme and on some of the items we are achieving savings of 15%.

Have you managed to reinvest your procurement cost savings?

Yes, we have managed to improve extra properties this year.

How will your residents and their neighbourhoods benefit from this reinvestment?

Hopefully the savings will allow us to accelerate our bathroom replacement programme. Also using better quality products will mean lower maintenance costs in the future enabling us to better use our financial resources.