SUPPLY CHAIN
Raising professional standards By observing the highest procurement standards , Clarion Housing Group was one of the first housing associations to achieve the CIPS Corporate Accreditation . Bower says that this demonstrates the company ’ s commitment to maintaining the highest level of processes and professionalism .
“ I think CIPS helped us to benchmark what we were doing and re-inforce that there are always new things that you can learn . It was a real eye-opener in terms of where we were doing really well and areas where we needed to do more work . I think the other benefit was that it demonstrated the value of procurement and my team internally to the company and externally to our supplier base . It also helped the junior members of staff feel more valued . It doesn ’ t matter how much you tell someone they ’ re doing a good job if they see themselves that they helped to achieve the CIPS certification - that is really empowering .”
Procurement is interwoven into all aspects of business life at Clarion Housing Group and not only does it help the company , it also benefits the supply chain . “ If we want people to bid so that we can get the best contracts , we ’ ve got to have the best processes , we ’ ve got to be professional , and we ’ ve got to be transparent . I think the CIPS accreditation demonstrates that and that ’ s really important from a procurement perspective , because the more diverse your supply chain the more value you can derive from it .”
A team effort Since its creation , Clarion Housing Group has achieved great things ; last year it built 1,340 homes , engaged with over 10,000 young people and provided £ 130,000 of grants to help communities . However , for Bower , these achievements wouldn ’ t have been possible without the dedication and expertise of the company ’ s staff .
“ I really want to stress that the success of procurement and the success of getting the CIPS accreditation is down to the team ,” Bower says . “ It ’ s an enjoyable organisation to work in ; it ’ s not hierarchal , it is innovationbased and the staff really drive the
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