Spend Control for Housing providers

Keeping pace with change is the new mantra for housing providers

Housing providers have changed substantially from the original roots of Social Housing, with many also becoming house builders (or working closely with house builders). And the sector is still going through massive change due to a number of factors:

• Demand continues to outstrip supply;
• property portfolios have become more diverse;
• new regulations are introduced;
• budgets are under mounting pressure;
• disparate, fragmented systems due to acquisitions and mergers;
• social policy is shifting constantly;

and often a mixture of the above.

Housing providers play a critical role in providing affordable homes, but in recent years, policy changes have heightened pressure to grow income from non-traditional sources – from providing social services, to partnering with commercial enterprises – that has resulted in an increasingly diverse set of operations and increasing demand on managing suppliers and contracts.
 

With the role in today’s society being more than ‘managing’ a property, it’s important for providers to encourage a holistic approach against a challenging economic backdrop. Your procurement and finance decisions play a pivotal role as to whether your organisation can meet the rising expectations of tenants, communities, employees, stakeholders, funding organisations and regulatory authorities. The Parliamentary Bill in late 2023 that holds Housing providers liable for mistakes made by their suppliers is just one example of this.

The trouble is, traditional operating models cannot cope with so many fast-moving pieces. So it's no wonder that innovative strategies, fresh operating practices and new technologies are the choice for forward-thinking executives.

Take a fresh look at how you manage spend

Gain greater value for money by improving methods for sourcing, purchasing and paying for the wide range of services and products your organisation buys, from building materials, furniture or services. Housing providers are constantly innovating, identifying ways to improve costs while making life better for tenants - for example, many associations now provide energy (gas and electricity) to tenants as part of the offering.

With Proactis, you can use new capabilities to run your operations more effectively and affordably. As a result, you can allocate more of your scarce budget to the central mission of providing homes, services and hope to disadvantaged communities. Respond to market and regulatory changes in a way that drives greater efficiency and compliance within key back-office processes.

Proactis SRM and Contract Management, for example, are ideally suited for Housing providers needing to manage their suppliers and contracts in a more effective manner and mitigate against any risk.