Unitas’ procurement service to its wholesalers has collectively saved the buying group’s membership almost £3m in non-resale purchases such as stationery, energy, packaging and payment solutions.
The service in partnership with Auditel, which saw member Direct Line Supplies (pictured) save more than £18,000 within just three weeks, negotiates preferential rates and service levels on purchases, and reduces the time members’ teams spend on sourcing deals.
“We provide strategic procurement services rather than traditional transactional buying,” said Sean Connaughton, of Auditel. “Real savings don’t come from buying the same things cheaper, but from changing behaviours and looking to do things differently.
Read more: Unitas procurement service saving 38% on business expenditure
“As an example, a Unitas member was using cash in transit services for five collections per week. By working with them and analysing their requirements, we pointed them towards installing Smart Safe technology where each day they would deposit cash which would be immediately credited to their account but collected weekly, removing the cost of daily cash-in-transit collections.”
John Kinney, managing director, Unitas Wholesale said: “At a time when margins are under pressure and wholesalers are having to manage cost increases, the incredible savings this service has achieved across the group have never been more welcome. This is a really powerful benefit for members as we go into the new year.”
