Managed Services, part of Travis Perkins plc, which provides maintenance materials and supply chain planning for public sector organisations, is set to improve cost and efficiency for Wolverhampton Homes after signing a new five year partnership with the housing organisation.
Under the five-year plus agreement, worth an estimated £3.5 million per annum, Managed Services is fully responsible for Wolverhampton Homes’ repair and maintenance supply chain and aims to create cost savings and improve efficiency for the housing organisation, which manages 23,000 homes on behalf of the City of Wolverhampton Council.
Managed Services says it is able to reduce costs and increase efficiency by providing the right range of products at a better value, whilst also providing easy access to materials – freeing up Wolverhampton Homes’ repair and maintenance employees and contractors to work more efficiently on the 70,000 responsive repairs carried out each year.
A dedicated Managed Services store has been opened on Colliery Road near the city centre, replacing the previous store in Planetary Road, offering safer access, more parking and better security. The new site is also much more spacious, allowing non-perishable materials such as bricks, blocks and paving to be stored in the yard, which makes loading onto vans safer and easier as well as providing more space internally to store Core and Hire Items in sufficient quantities.
A number of local people have been given employment opportunities and work experience by Managed Services, including Assistant Branch Managed Jeremy Wise who worked in the warehouse before taking on a Travis Perkins plc Advanced Management Apprenticeship. Upon completing his apprenticeship, he secured the Assistant Branch Manager position at the Wolverhampton Homes store. He says: “I have held this position for 2 years and have gained so much valuable experience, knowledge, but most of all confidence.”
Shaun Aldis, Director of Property Services at Wolverhampton Homes, commented on the partnership: “This partnership is the start of a much improved way of delivering parts for our repairs teams. It will be more cost effective as well as more efficient and that’s vital for our services to tenants. An added bonus is that some of the staff have been employed through our LEAP training scheme, which means it’s our tenants who have these jobs.”
