South West buys smarter

21st February 2008

South Somerset Homes hosted the launch of the Advantage SW Procurement Consortium on 13 th February. 10 Housing Associations, which together manage nearly 50,000 homes across Cornwall, Devon and Somerset, have come together to set up the consortium with the help of a grant from the Department for Community & Local Government's National Change Agent programme.

Building on the existing Advantage SW and Partnership SW alliances, the consortium consists of Coastline Housing, Devon & Cornwall Housing Association, North Devon Homes, Ocean Housing Group, Penwith Housing Association, Riviera Housing Trust, South Somerset Homes, Teign Housing, Tor Homes, Westcountry Housing Association and is in final discussions with an eleventh Association.

David Renwick, Group Chief Executive of the Ocean Housing Group and chairman of Advantage SW, said “collaborative procurement has brought benefits in other parts of the country. By putting our volumes together through the Advantage SW Procurement Consortium we’ll buy more for less, providing better value to our customers in the south west”.

The consortium has already been quoted as an example of best practice by both the Housing Corporation and the Audit Commission.

Neil Biddiscombe, Advantage SW Procurement Manager, said: "We are committed to delivering improvements in value for money. Each member will be fully active in the consortium, helping to arrange contracts that will deliver long term benefits. Getting more for less will contribute to the continuing rise in tenant satisfaction because we’ll be able to do more with our money”.

Pictured here are housing corporation members who attended the Advantage SW Procurement Consortium