• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
Housing Technology Main Logo

Housing Technology

Housing | IT | Telecoms | Business | Ecology

  • Free Subscription
  • Contact
  • Home
  • Research
  • Magazine
  • Events
  • Awards
  • Recruitment
  • On Demand
Home / Magazine Articles / Southern Housing gets Orchard e-procurement

Southern Housing gets Orchard e-procurement

Orchard Information Systems has completed the installation of an e-procurement system at Southern Housing Group. In addition to supplying the necessary software tools, Orchard was closely involved in educating SHG’s staff on the benefits of e-procurement and ensuring the new system was widely and correctly adopted by the relevant users.

As part of the pre-implementation planning, SHG and Orchard identified a number of key objectives. These included simplifying purchase-order processing, making coding easier, delivering automatic notifications, and ‘fool-proofing’ the system.

The backbone of SHG’s new system is Orchard’s OpenAccounts e-finance web and workflow solution. Information posted in OpenAccounts is then sent around clearly-defined workflows for approval and automatically posted into OpenAccounts Ledgers. The workflows include automatic notifications to let people know when they have work to authorise.

Better control & job satisfaction

Corinne Yates, assistant systems accountant, Southern Housing Group, said, “We now have almost every department using the system. Within the finance department, we now have much greater control over the process – we know exactly where an invoice is in the payment cycle and our job satisfaction has increased.

“The best advice I can give to anyone implementing a procurement system is to get the end-users involved early and plan thoroughly. We knew exactly what we wanted from the system right down to terminology and screen layout. We also spent a lot of time educating people on the benefits of a procurement system.”

Laxmi Patel, systems accountant, Southern Housing Group, said, “The time taken to approve an order is now just 30 seconds. Invoices are now paid faster so we have fewer queries from our suppliers. We used to get queries everyday but now we have more time to focus on our day jobs.”

SHG’s e-procurement project was recognised at Orchard’s 2010 customer conference. Orchard reported, “SHG worked in a true partnership to push the boundaries to ensure that its e-procurement process was vastly improved. This resulted in extra development work on the e-procurement forms for the good of all the group’s customers.”

See More On:

  • Vendor: Orchard Information Systems
  • Housing Association: Progress Housing Group, Southern Housing Group
  • Topic: Finance Management
  • Publication Date: 023 - September 2011
  • Type: News

Primary Sidebar

Most Recent Articles

  • Artificial intelligence in housing
  • Mobysoft – Data problems affecting complaints’ handling
  • Data, AI and private-sector strategies
  • Smart repairs & smarter homes
  • From firewalls to fortresses
  • Achieving three quick wins in AI
  • Rebuilding Selwood Housing’s IT infrastructure
  • Are you ready for organisational AI?
  • PIMSS releases AI Document Reader for compliance
  • Calico Homes cuts arrears with RentSense
  • FourNet launches digital transformation index
  • New income recovery software from Voicescape
  • Asprey Assets at YMCA
  • I love spreadsheets…
  • All watched over by machines of loving grace – AI assistants and adult social care
  • The rent revolution – The case for AI-powered payments
  • Unlocking safer living through data
  • Aareon acquires MIS ActiveH
  • Vericon launches MouldSense
  • Back to the future at Housing Technology 2025
  • FireAngel wins Which? Award
  • Maximising income and preventing homelessness
  • Anchoring digital innovation with Plentific
  • Cynon Taf Community Housing gets Housing Insight’s Arrears Manager
  • Tenants, AI & your biggest compliance risk
  • EDITOR’S NOTES – Data, standards & straight-through processing
  • AI as a social housing expert
  • South Yorkshire Housing halves arrears with Mobysoft
  • Bromford Flagship wins Aico’s smart-home competition
  • Putting VIVID’s customers in control of their tenancies

Footer

Housing Technology Main Logo
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube
  • Contact
  • Free Subscription
  • Book an event
  • Research
  • Update Your Subscription
  • Privacy Policy

Welcome to the housing Technology – Trusted Information For Business Professionals in HOusing

Housing Technology is the leading technology information service for the UK housing sector and local governments. We have always believed in the fundamental importance of how the UK’s social housing providers use technology to improve their tenants’ lives.

Subscribe to Housing Technology to gain market-leading research, unsurpassed peer networking opportunities and a greater understanding of your role to transform your business.

Copyright © The Intelligent Business Company 2025 | Terms and Conditions | Privacy Policy
Housing Technology is published by the The Intelligent Business Company. A company with limited liability. Registered in England No. 4958057 | Vat Registion No. 833 0069 55.

Registered Business Address: Hoppingwood Farm, Robin Hood Way, London, SW20 0AB | Telephone: +44 (0) 20 8336 2293