Jewson News

Latest News from the UK's leading builder's merchant.

LANDMARK CONTRACT FOR JEWSON May 1, 2009

Jewson, the UK's leading supplier of sustainable timber and building materials, has signed a groundbreaking 12-year contract with leading housing group and long-time partner, Whitefriars Housing Group, following its integration with West Mercia Housing Group.

The deal, which was awarded to Jewson following a rigorous competitive tender process, will see Jewson deliver supply chain value throughout all response, void and planned maintenance activity across the 17,500 housing stock in and around Coventry. There will also be the potential to extend the service to the entire West Mercia Housing Group, which would see Jewson support the management of a housing stock comprising 24,000 homes throughout the west midlands.

Jewson is working with Whitefriars to support its strategy for meeting the sustainable retro-fit agenda and identify short, medium and long-term solutions that can be built into its ongoing repair and maintenance plan. Jewson is also ensuring that Whitefriars' sustainability plan is delivered through the supply of Chain of Custody certified timber and ongoing sustainability reviews of the range of products supplied to the group, all of which are supported by Jewson's ISO14001 accreditation.

Jewson and Whitefriars have also implemented on-site product training programmes to make sure that Whitefriars workforce remains at the forefront of current repair techniques and that operatives can deliver a first-fix approach every time.

Andrew Tait, Public Sector Director for Jewson, comments: "We applaud Whitefriars Housing Group's decision to take a long-term view and believe that the arrangement will continue to deliver substantial value across the 12-year period. This contract provides a platform from which sustainability and efficiency gains throughout the Midlands can be met and on which significant cost savings can be made."

Richard Osborne, Director of Property Services at the Whitefriars Housing Group, says: "The 12-year contract is a bold move in the current market and the decision to go for a long-term deal was based on the positive experience gained from working with Jewson under the original contract awarded in 2004. This convinced us of the benefits that could be gained through identifying a long-term partner and we are delighted that Jewson has won this contract against stiff competition."

"Jewson's flexibility and its ability to adapt to the requirements of Whitefriars, as well as its innovative approach, is what for us makes it stand out from the rest. We are already working with the merchant on a series of key initiatives that could only be delivered through such a long-term relationship."

The 12-year arrangement builds on Jewson's current contract, which includes a bespoke stores facility and the stock management of over 100 of the Group's vans under its repair and maintenance arm, Homeworks. Jewson and Whitefriars have already implemented consolidated paperless invoicing and are jointly developing an integrated electronic trading system, to enable 100 per cent paperless transactions, in a bid to further reduce the organisation's administration time and costs.

Whitefriars has also developed the Good Deal card in order to provide its tenants with direct benefits generated as a result of a streamlined supply chain and the Jewson branch network is supporting this initiative. In a bid to increase engagement between the Group and its tenants, residents will now have significant discounts off materials purchased at Jewson.

Andrew adds: "We've ensured that this partnership delivers efficiencies at every stage of the supply chain. Jewson has committed to maintaining over 95 per cent stock availability on all its products, a target that we have consistently exceeded, and a rapid 15 minute turnaround on collections. Our team of Jewson staff located at the bespoke branch have the knowledge and experience required to ensure that Whitefriars gets the very best from its merchant and we believe that we are well-placed to continue delivering a comprehensive service."

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