Professional Advantage, the global spend control and eProcurement solution provider for the Infor SunSystems market, has signed an agreement with North Hertfordshire Homes that will see the housing association drive purchasing compliance with a single, integrated eProcurement solution, iPOS for SunSystems.

North Hertfordshire Homes is a not for profit housing association providing quality homes across eight local authority areas in the counties of Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire. They have invested £220 million in a continual improvements programme to make sure they meet the government's Decent Homes Standard as well as building over 800 new affordable homes to date.

Using iPOS eProcurement for SunSystems will enable North Hertfordshire Homes to cut costs and to manage spend across all departments "iPOS will enable us to introduce a 'no PO, no pay' policy and eliminate paper as well as introduce a robust, auditable solution across the organisation," says Cheryl Barsdell, Procurement Manager. "iPOS was an attractive proposition for us as it is an integral part of the SunSystems solution with no ongoing maintenance of data syncing between the two systems". North Hertfordshire Homes chose iPOS over other procurement solutions the organisation reviewed.

iPOS eProcurement for SunSystems will replace the existing purchasing process by providing automatic account coding, ability to set up contracts, approvals via mobile, as well as streamlined submission and full visibility of purchase requests. It will provide managers with electronic approval including immediate visibility of request details and related financial information to support budget control. iPOS eProcurement for SunSystems will also dramatically reduce the time, cost, and potential for error in North Hertfordshire Homes' handling of incoming supplier invoices. A later phase will link iPOS to the QL housing system.

Professional Advantage has seen an influx of new customers from the social housing sector looking for eProcurement, as a way to unlock big savings from their ordering and buying process. "We welcome North Hertfordshire Homes as an iPOS customer in social housing, a sector whose momentum has been building up over the years with the addition of customers like Thames Valley Housing Association, Newlon Housing Trust, Raven Housing Association and Aster Group" says Andrew Parsons, Country Manager of Professional Advantage. "It's great to see the housing sector recognises that iPOS is unique in its relationship with SunSystems and makes the difference in realising the full potential of spend control, while improving productivity," continues Andrew.

The agreement includes iPOS eProcurement for SunSystems and Dashboard reporting as well as integration capabilities to QL and TASK.