Located in Dartford, in the heart of the Thames Gateway and at the centre of their operating area, Moat is one of the main deliverers of affordable housing in three of the government's growth areas, as well as many other important localities throughout the wider South East.

As a result of an increase in both the size of the organisation and the volume of purchase orders generated, Moat determined that a formal system was required in order to maintain budgetary control and expenditure. The management team at Moat set about sourcing a purchase order processing system to manage the procure-to-pay process.

Moat short-listed both the "PROACTIS‟ and "Soprano‟ systems before making the decision that the PROACTIS Spend Control solution from Sapphire would best fit the requirements of the business. The Finance Team at Moat deemed that the proven track record of PROACTIS would meet the needs of the organisation today and in the future, with the sales ledger processing and dashboard reporting to be integrated into Moat‟s existing systems. Stuart McCreadie, Executive Director of Finance and Corporate Services at Moat, went on to comment "We were impressed with the positive referrals received from other customers of Sapphire and the quality of the sales and support offering."

Once the PROACTIS Spend Control solution is up and running Moat expects to see better management of resources, the ability to process orders more efficiently and increased control over expenditure.

Clare Howard, Account Manager at Sapphire, concludes "PROACTIS Spend Control helps housing associations meet the requirements of corporate compliance demanded both by legislation and best practice. Finance Directors require instant cost-base visibility and there is a need to have a procurement system across the organisation in order to impose vital controls over spending, manage increased buying power effectively and dispense with disparate systems.

In addition to this I think we will start to see more of a trend towards automating typically inefficient paper intensive purchase-to-pay processes, to bring savings from procedure efficiencies and economies of scale. Organisations such as Moat are leading the way to improved efficiency within the housing sector."

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About Sapphire Systems plc
Sapphire is the worlds leading reseller of SunSystems, an SAP Gold partner and PROACTIS reseller. Since 1986, Sapphire have offered their customers wide-ranging practical expertise in selecting and implementing advanced financial accounting and business management solutions and today provides software, services and support for hundreds of customers worldwide from their offices in

London and Manchester. Sapphire is a founder member of the British Application Software Developers Association and is featured in the Deloitte & Touche Fast 500 Technology 2006 rankings.

http://www.sapphiresystems.co.uk/

About PROACTIS
PROACTIS is a specialist in Spend Control software helping organisations achieve dramatic cost savings, streamlined procurement and corporate compliance since 1996.

PROACTIS Spend Control is an advanced eProcurement solution that moves responsibility to requesting users whilst maintaining complete budgetary and sourcing control. It incorporates purchase-to-pay, eSourcing, eCommerce and Supplier Relationship Management. Benefits include cost-pipeline visibility, source consolidation, reduction in maverick spend and major improvements to the month-end close cycle.

PROACTIS' customer base has grown to more than 200 user organisations across diverse industry sectors, including financial services, Government and Not-for-Profit.

PROACTIS is headquartered in the United Kingdom, and is represented throughout Europe and North America. It is listed on the Alternative Investment Market (AIM) of the London Stock Exchange under the symbol PHD.L

About Moat
Moat is a housing association that has provided affordable homes for people in the south east over the past 40 years. With particular strengths in affordable home ownership and key worker housing, Moat also provides general needs homes for rent. Employing 420 people and managing over 18,000 homes for rent and shared ownership, Moat is one of the Housing Corporation‟s development partners and is also the government‟s appointed HomeBuy Agent in Kent, Essex and Sussex. Moat‟s aim is to be a leading housing association offering excellent customer service and building high quality affordable homes within thriving communities. www.moat.co.uk