Introducing CHIC Ltd as a new commercial partner member

Why did CHIC want to be a CHC commercial partner member and join up with the Welsh housing association sector?

CHIC is delighted to become a commercial partner with CHC. We know that CHC plays a pivotal role in supporting housing associations across Wales, representing the sector and providing a collective voice.

We view our membership with CHC as a partnership in which together we can further support housing associations to deliver their goals and objectives.

Whilst primarily for us it is around developing the right services and solutions to meet the needs of housing associations, we also believe in a more holistic approach to our involvement in the sector, recognising both the huge challenges faced but also support for innovation, wider collaboration, and information sharing.

What benefits can CHIC bring to our housing association members and the work that they do?

We bridge the gap between strategic thinking and operational delivery, providing asset management expertise, fully managed procurement, hands on member support, dedicated supply chain liaison and commercial support.

Our Asset Management knowledge and experience enables us to easily understand what housing associations are trying to achieve and by working closely with them we can help deliver efficient procurement and contract solutions.

What services do you offer?

CHIC offers a wide selection of services for our members in the affordable housing sector, for other public sector bodies and for charities. We provide procurement and contract support solutions, delivering savings, efficiencies and added social value.

• Our members have access to a diverse range of contractors, suppliers, merchants and consultants through our frameworks and DPS (Dynamic Purchasing System), which can be sourced through mini competition or direct award.
  
• Membership of CHIC is free and available to any public sector body. Once you become a member of CHIC, the Head of Member Services (Wales) will help you along your procurement journey. There are no obligations to use CHIC’s services once you become a member, but the more you use our suite of solutions, the more you save.
  
• Our dedicated Head of Member Services, who is based in Wales, provides a single point of contact for members.
  
• Through our managed service we provide extensive support throughout the procurement process, including dedicated member services and supply chain management support. After contracts are awarded, we continue to offer support by providing ongoing advice and reporting to our members.
  
• We manage competitive price catalogues.
  
• We can provide Member Transaction Reports and Industry Cost Analyst Reports to those members with live contracts.
  
• Our Charity CHIP (Communities and Housing Investment in People) is supported by CHIC to ensure that social value dividends are delivered as a direct result of CHIC’s asset management and procurement activities.