Discover smarter ways to control your property spend

To offset the macro-economic and geo-political pressures of recent years, many have restructured their property portfolios, often becoming more diverse. With new regulations being introduced, shifting social policies, increasing interest rates and, in many cases, higher vacancy rates, competition has never been more fierce. This is where a strong balance sheet, protected by efficient operations and excellent service delivery becomes a vital competitive advantage.  

Supply of labour and the materials needed to increase build-rates has been affected by factors such as energy and fuel markets, and the upward trend of inflation has led to higher than anticipated procurement costs. Coupled with growing demands on property owners and agents to adopt sustainable practices, significant upfront investment is required for retrofitting and maintenance.

Clients are also increasingly expecting more from their spaces, including amenities, flexibility in lease terms, and enhanced services – including EV charging points, and Smart home technology integration – meaning differentiation by capitalising on technological innovation and providing superior client service, and flexible solutions has never been more apparent.

Additionally, many purchases are initiated by on-site personnel, such as orders with contractors and maintenance supplies, often resulting in increased risk of out-of-contract spend and use of unapproved suppliers, often across disparate, fragmented systems. And with renovation projects relying on reliable supplies of goods and services, not only does management of supply chains dictate the success of such projects, Property and Facilities Management companies carry out thousands of time-consuming and labour-intensive operations.

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 gaining traction with forward-thinking executives.

Navigating this landscape is vital for Property Management organisations, in order to keep their offerings in line with these evolving demands to maintain strong client relationships and win new business. Your procurement and finance decisions play a pivotal role as to whether your organisation can meet the rising expectations of agents, clients, tenants, communities, employees, stakeholders, funding organisations and regulatory authorities.
 

 

Take a fresh look at how you manage spend

Construction and renovation projects rely a constant, accurate and reliable supply of goods and services – a problem that many organisations are encountering at the moment. But you can gain greater value for money by improving methods for sourcing (including Service Partner Agreements), purchasing and paying for the wide range of services and products your organisations buys, from tools to heavy-duty building materials. It's now possible to seamlessly manage your supply-chain and contracts, reduce risks, and create more purchasing strength. You can organise and provide visibility of relevant agreements at all times, and link frameworks to contracts (per property/ portfolio), while ensuring that POs are raised within budget.

Up-to-date Supplier performance measurement and risk identification are critical, but possible via the correct system. You can control out of contract spend across the whole organisation via Guided Buying to ensure that all staff get what they need, when they need it, from approved suppliers – at previously negotiated contracts. This not only makes the whole process more efficient, but it also saves valuable time and cost.

With Proactis, you can use new capabilities to run your operations more effectively and affordably. You can respond to market and regulatory changes in a way that drives greater efficiency and compliance within key back-office processes. In addition to cost control, you can provide insight to everyone about the contracts that your association has concluded, all while ensuring that you do not have to deal with unexpected surprises. You will always have one version of the truth, even across multiple locations and portfolios.

Having visibility and control of cost against budgets via a strong P2P process helps department managers effectively manage budgets by driving value back into your business strategy through planning, forecasting and cost control. Having clear visibility into your “all in” transactional cost will help you make better-informed decisions, providing control over costs, including service charges.

Staff will also be freed up to concentrate on value-add tasks as a strong P2P process, underpinned by well-integrated technology, ensures that the processing of thousands of time-consuming and labour-intensive operations is automated. Straight-through invoice processing and ‘right first time’ invoices are possible with the right software. You can free up time so that you can focus on the things that really matter to you and your clients, whether that’s building more homes, investing in regeneration programmes, or improving your competitive advantage.

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