Cutting Costs: Smarter Spending in Social Housing Repairs

The pressure on social housing repairs and maintenance continues to grow. In the coming years, social housing providers are expected to meet net-zero requirements, adapt to updated damp and mould legislation and embrace new tenant satisfaction measures. 

While all of these developments are positive for the industry, it does mean that social housing providers will have to be smarter in terms of their spending. Costs will inevitably rise, so housing associations and local authorities need to implement effective strategies to save money. This means tackling the cost of repairs and maintenance services. 

In this article, we’ll explain how ROCC can combat unpredictable repairs spending. Using the ROCC system and our materials management tools, social housing providers can reduce costs by minimising stock usage and managing materials more effectively through a series of game-changing measures.

Let’s take a closer look at how the ROCC system helps.

Real-time inventory tracking

Utilises real-time inventory tracking to help social housing providers control spending, reduce material waste and improve operational efficiency.

• Provides full visibility of stock levels across multiple locations, including central stores, depots and operatives’ vans.
• Operatives log materials usage in real-time via mobile devices, ensuring accurate stock records and preventing over-ordering.
• The system can flag obsolete or slow-moving stock.

Automated stock replenishment

Optimises stock levels and streamlines procurement through automation to minimise stock waste, administrative costs and emergency expenses.

• Sets minimum and maximum stock levels for every item.
• When stock drops below the set threshold, the system automatically generates a replenishment order, preventing shortages without overstocking.
• Integration with suppliers, such as Travis Perkins, Jewsons and Wolseley, allows for direct electronic orders (EDI), ensuring timely and cost-efficient restocking​.

Optimised materials allocation

Controls material distribution and tracking usage to help prevent financial leakages and improve overall cost efficiency. 

• Assigns materials to specific jobs, ensuring accurate cost tracking and preventing operatives from taking excess stock.
• Dynamic tracking of materials usage per job type helps optimise purchasing patterns, reducing unnecessary spending.
• Job costing analysis allows for better budgeting and identification of potential savings​.

Integration with finance and procurement systems

Seamless integration with existing systems and suppliers streamlines financial oversight, improves accuracy and reduces administrative burdens.

• Seamless integration with financial systems (e.g., Open Accounts, Civica Financials) ensures that materials spending is tracked against budgets.
• Enables automated invoice matching, reducing administrative time spent on reconciliation.
• Centralising procurement data allows housing providers to track supplier performance to make sure they’re getting the best value for money.

Mobile-enabled materials management

Embraces mobile technology to improve materials visibility and increase operational efficiency. Operatives can access all of the materials information they need for a job at the touch of a button.

• View available stock before requesting materials, reducing unnecessary orders.
• Van stock tracking ensures that field workers carry the right materials, reducing emergency store trips and improving first-time fix rates.
• Spend less time waiting for materials, allowing operatives to complete more jobs per day.

Reducing waste and improving efficiency

Cutting down on waste and optimising resource use improves service delivery and maximises budget effectiveness.

• Predictive analytics help forecast demand, ensuring materials are ordered only when necessary.
• Set rules to reuse or return unused materials, minimising waste.
• Analyses material usage trends to enable housing providers to negotiate better pricing, buy in optimal quantities and avoid costly emergency orders.

In 2024, social housing providers spent a record £8.8bn on repairs and maintenance. This was 13% (£1bn) more than the previous year and 55% (£3.1bn) above the pre-pandemic level of £5.7bn reported in 2020.

Unfortunately, in many cases, this has meant that providers are having to choose between maintaining financial resilience and investing in new and existing homes. At a time when smarter spending on social housing repairs is essential, providers who embrace materials management tools will gain a massive competitive advantage.

That’s why the team at ROCC work tirelessly to offer a system that embraces the latest technological advances, revolutionising the way you deliver repairs and maintenance to social tenants. 

To summarise what we’ve discussed in this article, here’s how your business could be positively impacted financially by partnering with ROCC:

• Reduce unnecessary stockpiling, freeing up capital.
• Minimise downtime due to missing materials.
• Improve financial control and transparency in material spending.
• Enhance contractor and operative efficiency, reducing excess trips to suppliers.

Benefit from these improvements and so much more by getting in touch with a member of our customer service team today. With our help, you can wave goodbye to overspending.