Member Article

Grafton Supply Chain Solutions Wins Social Housing Contract

Grafton Supply Chain Solutions (GSCS) – part of the Grafton Merchanting GB Group – has been awarded its largest single-site social housing contract worth £5 million per annum.

The contract with leading Midlands housing provider whg, which is for five years plus an additional five based on performance, will see GSCS take over three of the company’s leased stores. GSCS will also fully integrate various Grafton group companies into the managed stores, giving the housing group access to a one-stop-shop solution to service their requirements.

GSCS is fully integrating its IT systems with whg to enable goods to be ordered electronically, ultimately making the order process more efficient for employees. whg is also partnering with mobile ordering solutions company 1st Touch to provide all its employees with a PDA solution to improve efficiency both on site, and with back-office administration. Grafton are working on a customer portal which will integrate the electronic ordering and mobile solutions.

Jade Woodward, Bid Manager at Grafton, said: “We are extremely pleased to be working with whg. We have many years’ experience working with social housing organisations and understand each has unique requirements; we worked hard to make sure our tender was flexible and innovative to meet whg’s ultimate requirements and make us stand out from the competition.

“We will have 14 fully-trained staff dedicated to serving whg, its employees and customers to ensure our expert knowledge and excellent customer service are delivered.To support the delivery of good service within the local area, we will also be providing Tenant Privilege Packs to all whg customers, which offer discounts on selected DIY goods from the local Buildbase branches.”

Nigel Harris, Director of Home Maintenance Services, said: “Grafton was successfully awarded the contract because the quality of their submission was unrivalled.”

“There are innumerable elements to their tender that will be beneficial to us and our customers, especially improving our van stock process, remote ordering, a fully managed waste and recycling solution and a tool hire and repair service which will ultimately assist whg in delivering its 10 year corporate plan and help and embed whg’s corporate aims:

• Take every opportunity to delight our customers
• Improve health and prosperity where we work
• Create great neighbourhoods where people and communities flourish
• Be an exceptional place to work that attracts, develops and retains talent
• Grow and expand our services, our reach and our range
• Deliver a strong business, fit for today and prepared for tomorrow.“

Grafton Supply Chain Solutions will be supplying whg with a number of tracked vehicles with full signage, along with a plant hire workbench for in-house portable appliance testing and plant hire servicing, and a fully managed on-site waste segregation facility.

GSCS will also be working with the housing group’s in-house Skills Centre, which trains apprentices to work for whg and other local construction companies, with a number of apprentices working throughout the duration of the contract.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Grafton Merchanting GB .