MATRIX SCM has scored another success in the country’s largest region, signing up its seventh council to its Matrix SCM.net technology.

The councils have adopted Matrix SCM.net – the company’s innovative services procurement technology which simplifies the process of buying services for public sector organisations. They are using it to streamline and automate the end-to-end process of procuring service providers and engaging temporary staff delivering the same, or better, services at dramatically better prices.

Savings on the cost of engaging temporary staff should be around 12% for the seven councils who spend around £15M a year on temporary agency staff.

The councils now using the technology are Calderdale, Kirklees, The East Riding of Yorkshire, Hull, Barnsley, Wakefield and North Yorkshire.

Said Andy Weston, Matrix SCM Sales and Implementation Director: “Government legislation is placing far greater emphasis on non-procurement professionals taking on more responsibility for day-to-day purchasing decisions.

“Matrix SCM.net creates a system for users which takes the guess-work out of procurement and blends the best procurement practices, clients’ own buying policies and an agreed set of procurement guidelines and parameters. The end result is a platform for procurement which delivers best quality services at the best price.”

And Julian Young, Matrix SCM, CEO, commented: “Matrix SCM.net has been developed to help councils and other public sector organisations, such as police authorities and the NHS, to make significant savings in the costs of services procurement.

“The seven Yorkshire and Humber councils are using Matrix SCM.net to engage temporary staff but now they have acquired the technology, they can apply it to the full range of services procurement categories to achieve further savings and efficiencies.”

NORTHAMPTONSHIRE Police Authority has become the first police authority in the country to acquire Matrix SCM’s innovative procurement technology to buy temporary staffing services.

Matrix SCM won the contract to supply the technology under the first mini-competition to be held on the MSTAR framework agreement, set up by the Eastern Shires Purchasing Organisation (ESPO).

Matrix SCM.net went live, after a three-week implementation, on September 5. It gives Northamptonshire Police Force the ability to procure providers who can supply temporary agency staff to the authority more efficiently and the Force expects to cut its expenditure on this by more than 4%.

Deirdre Newham, Chair of Northamptonshire Police Authority said: “Implementing Matrix SCM.net has been a simple, cost-effective exercise. Its use will contribute to Northamptonshire Police Authority’s commitment to getting best value for budgets and ensure our back office support is of the highest quality.”

Said Andy Weston, Matrix SCM’s Sales and Implementation Director: “Matrix SCM is the leading supplier on two of the lots on the MSTAR contract based on price. Our Matrix SCM.net technology platform consistently provides clients with a procurement process which secures services at best price and best quality.”

And Julian Young, Matrix SCM, CEO, commented: “Northamptonshire is using Matrix SCM.net to engage temporary staff but now they have acquired the technology, they can apply it to the full range of services procurement categories to achieve further savings and efficiencies.”

And he added: “The Matrix SCM.net system works equally well for organisations with small buying requirements or larger buying requirements. Implementation can be fast-tracked for 2nd generation buying organisations, as has happened in the case of Northamptonshire Police Authority and they can begin to see the benefits of using the system very quickly.”