A specialist service for Weaver Vale Housing Trust.

Weaker Vale Housing Trust is the largest social landlord in Cheshire providing just over 6,000 homes in the Vale Royal area.

In addition, it provides ten Careline flat-let schemes for the over-55s, as well as shops and garages. Formed in 2002, it is a registered charity run by a board made up of five elected customer representatives, five council members and five independent members. Weaver Vale's Head Office is based in Northwich with further customer offices around the borough.

Previous arrangements for vehicle management

Weaver Vale's expanding vehicle fleet was due for renewal. Due to time and money constraints, they had decided to source a new contract hire and maintenance contract through Procurement for Housing, which offers a tendered framework agreement on behalf of housing associations.

Lex Autolease was confident that their dedicated Public Sector division could provide a specialist service at a competitive cost, and stepped in to show Weaver Vale the benefits they could achieve by considering other options.

The expertise of Lex Autolease's Public Sector team enabled them to establish common ground in the form of an alternative tendered framework agreement, making it possible for them to provide quotations for Weaver Vale.

Dawn Nancollas, Senior Finance Officer at Weaver Vale, praises the approach of Lex Autolease: "Nothing was too much trouble. We didn't have to chase for quotes as we had with other suppliers, and we couldn't believe how easy it was!"

Gary Hamilton adds; "Although we didn't meet with Weaver Vale until the eleventh hour, their initial feedback was that Lex Autolease was competitive on cost and obviously very enthusiastic about working together."

A personal service

Winning Weaver Vale's business depended heavily on the ability of Lex Autolease to provide a versatile commercial fleet, developing an understanding of the 24 different vehicle specifications it required. Site visits to vehicle suppliers arranged by Lex Autolease proved invaluable at this stage, enabling Weaver Vale's key decision makers to become fully involved in the process.

Gary Hamilton of Lex Autolease explains: "We wanted to provide a personal service and make sure we took our customer's needs into consideration at every stage. This process ensured that all vehicles would be bespoke and fit for purpose."

This personal service highlighted Lex Autolease as a trustworthy and reliable supplier, who, according to Dawn Nancollas at Weaver Vale Housing Trust, was "more proactive than any other supplier."

Outcomes

In total, Lex Autolease received an order for around 80 vehicles, including 24 different specifications. Thorough information gathering and evaluation of these bespoke requirements enabled Lex Autolease to develop a tailored solution to meet the needs of Weaver Vale Housing Trust.

As a result of selecting Lex Autolease, Weaver Vale has benefited from significant economies of scale, efficient systems and award-winning customer service, which are all particularly evident in the feedback obtained from Weaver Vale's Senior Finance Officer, responsible for the organisation's fleet procurement.

From the beginning of the quotation process, Weaver Vale was able to experience Lex Autolease's commitment to customer service, allowing a productive and successful relationship to develop and thrive.

For more information on the PfH Vehicle Fleet Management Agreement click here .