Two months on from Incorporation - Reflections from our CEO

On 1 July we became a Company Limited by Guarantee. We’re still owned by our Members. And, remain a central purchasing body dedicated to supporting social housing providers. Two months on from our Incorporation, we sat down with our CEO Marc Baines on his reflections. 

So, why incorporate?

It’s a case of making sure our business is fit for the future. We wanted to update our governance model ahead of regulatory reform in the procurement space.  SEC is one of the most traditional central purchasing bodies in the sector – formed in 2005 by the NCA.  But over the last decade we’ve really grown in capability and in what we can deliver – and need to have the right infrastructure to continue on this pathway.  We’d outgrown our original model whereby we needed an accountable body to enter into contracts.   

We also designed our project so that it had minimal impact on our members and stakeholders.

2 months on, what have been the key takeaways? 

So far so good.  But there have been many takeaways – delivery of incorporation has been rich with learning.  I truly will see this project as unique.  We’ve effectively setup a start-up organisation – new everything.  But then had to novate contracts and TUPE colleagues over.  The project was detailed and not without challenge.   Notably the biggest takeaway for me was the importance of surrounding yourself with the right people – we’ve needed tax, contract, people, procurement and systems advice to name a few.  Our project really is an example of how good stakeholder management and early engagement works.

What's been your biggest success? 

The whole incorporation project should largely be seen as a success story for SEC.  The organisation was formed in 2005 – we’re now almost 20 years old and the people here have transformed the business.  It’s the quality of people that has made the journey and need to change so special. We’ve gone from supporting a small handful of RPs to having hundreds of customers.  We’ve grown in technical competence, framework/DPS range and training capability to really put ourselves on the map.  The business is resilient and always prepared to challenge the status quo.

What's been your biggest challenge? 

The biggest challenge for this project was untangling our organisation from the brilliant Southern Housing [SH].  We wouldn’t be in the position we are today if it wasn’t for the support from SH – but that means we’ve had to untangle all our platforms, people and processes from long term agreements with SH.  It was something that had to be meticulously planned and project managed.  We’re happy to say everything went well – but it took huge amounts of effort, collaboration and energy to get things done.  

What's next for SEC? 

Now we’ve made this change – and we are indeed fit for the future, it’s all about how we can take small steps to drive improvement on behalf of our members and customers.   We also have to weave the new procurement regulations [in force from October 24’] into all of our policies and procedures. In addition, we have some bold ideas that we plan to explore.  We feel that we can offer more technical support for tailor-made procurement and do more in the pre and post procurement space.  In addition, you’ll see us take our training offer to the next level – we want to support more people [members and service providers] to grow.

Interested in learning more about an Incorporated SEC? View our full press release here - Why are we incorporating? - South East Consortium

Marc Baines, Chief Executive Officer, South East Consortium