[Associations Save £3.8m Through Boiler Procurement Deal]
The consortium members expect to save around £2.1m over the five years against the current costs they pay for boilers plus a further £1.7m value in additional non- cash benefits including extended warranties.
The deal has been managed by PCA Management Consultants with specialist EU procurement assistance from Impart Links Ltd.
The idea originated from the Wayfarer development consortium in Hampshire but the number of interested RSL’s increased and they created the Five Counties Procurement Consortium reflecting the members spread over Hampshire, Sussex, Berkshire, Middlesex and Dorset.
Buderus is a well known name in domestic and commercial heating on the continent and North America and is a subsidiary of the world famous Robert Bosch group. The agreement principally involves Buderus 500 and 600 ranges, which were chosen under ‘Best Value’ considerations, including product life costs assessed over a typical 15-year period considering energy usage and maintenance costs.
Andrew Cobb, Chief Executive of Drum Housing Association said, “This is an excellent opportunity for those participating associations to gain maximum advantage from their collective purchasing power and bring efficiencies to their refurbishment and new build programmes.”
Steve Rice from PCA Management Consultants commented “The challenge was to get organisations to look beyond their long standing preferences and prejudices for particular manufacturers and construct a comprehensive package of requirements that addressed far more than the up front price. The Consortium believes it has a deal that provides its members with an excellent purchase price, long term price control, and reduced in use costs including for annual servicing whilst residents will benefit from having a very energy efficient boiler that has one of the lowest breakdown rates on the market”.
