North Devon Homes selects Proactis

North Devon Homes is the largest Registered Social Landlord in north Devon.

In common with many organisations in the social housing sector, they operate a financial management system based on Infor SunSystems.

The following direct quotation of their business objectives describes the context for their investment in Spend Control.

Business objectives:

• Efficiency. The management and administration of our business is effective
• Equality and diversity. We embrace equality and diversity in every aspect of our business
• Effective stakeholder provision. We consult on issues that affect our business, and engage and communicate with our customers
• A not for profit ethos. We re-invest surpluses and savings so that we can continue to provide quality homes at affordable rents, and improve the delivery and quality of our services

[Name], Financial Controller for North Devon Homes, explains:

"We were experiencing the difficulties that every company with manual systems has: chasing bits of paper around the building; carrying order books around the office trying to get things authorised and so on. A lot of time was being wasted... The feedback from internal customers was that they would like to see a better system for purchase ordering...

.. As an organisation, we want to use the most up-to-date technology and work in the most efficient manner...

.. And we also want to be up-to-date with other organisations in the social housing sector."

Systems Selection

[Name], comments on their reasons for the selection of Proactis from LAKE:

"There were three main reasons for selecting LAKE and Proactis. Firstly, from the user point of view, we liked the look and feel of Proactis, how easy it is to use and navigate around. We liked the user friendliness of it...

.. Secondly, from a Finance point of view, we really liked the reporting. The dashboard facility was particularly impressive...

.. and, lastly, it is widely used by other organisations running SunSystems."

Reflecting on the choice of LAKE as implementation partner, [name] also makes the following observations:

"We chose LAKE because we felt that we could build a good relationship with them. The company has a good track record and good experience in the housing sector...

.. LAKE came across as a professional, reputable company with strong technical knowledge and good customer service...

.. LAKE and Proactis wasn't the cheapest option for us but we felt that with the additional cost we would be getting value for money."