Name:

Chris Judson

Position:

Director of Resources/Secretary

Number of properties and location:

1,600+ Cumbria (mainly rural locations)

Why did you agree to purchase your telecomms through PfH's Landline and Data Communications deal?

The primary reason is cost. The deal is so much cheaper than anything we could arrange ourselves, even though we have participated in other joint procurement exercises before. There are also the indirect cost savings involved with procurement and bill payment. The final reason is that we have always found changing telecomms provider to be relatively 'painless' (unlike gas and electricity suppliers) so we had no hesitation in signing up to the new deal.

What are the advantages of using ntl, the Landline and Data Communications supplier?

Everything has worked well with ntl since we signed up in February 2005 and the pricing is excellent.

What benefits has this PfH deal created for your organisation?

Prior to signing up to this deal with ntl, we took advantage of the previous PfH Landlines Agreement. The pricing on the ntl deal is cheaper for calls to landlines, but much cheaper for calls to mobiles. We have found that the proportion of calls to mobiles is increasing greatly. This is through more contact with customers on mobile phones, but also through a change in working practices, whereby all staff who spend time away from the office have been supplied with handheld devices (through another PfH deal). This allows them to spend more time in the field as they can keep in touch with the office more easily, by email as well as phone.

What savings do you expect to make annually with this agreement?

We have just done a cost comparison on our current volumes and mix of calls. The percentage saving compared with the previous deal is 38%! As a relatively small organisation, our spend on landline calls is not high, so the saving is about £1,700 for us.

Have you managed to reinvest your procurement cost savings?

The savings from this deal have allowed us to invest in the handheld devices to allow us to operate more efficiently and improve the responsiveness of our customer service.

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

Hopefully our customers will see more of our staff in their neighbourhoods and they will receive more prompt attention.

What do you expect PfH to achieve for the sector in the longer term?

In terms of the telecomms deal, I am sure that regular market testing will achieve greater cost savings. Maybe one-day calls to land lines will be free and I'm sure there is scope for the cost of calls to mobiles to fall significantly too.

In general, I know there are many more major areas to research and as PfH's purchasing power grows there should be scope for even better deals.

What would you say to other housing organisations that are considering becoming a PfH Member?

Do it now!