Eleven print suppliers named in housing association deal

Four-year print, related management and services framework agreement announced

Eleven resellers have been named as preferred suppliers of managed print services, print hardware and print management offerings to some 800 housing associations for the next four years.

Arena Group, Altodigital Networks and M2 have won spots as suppliers of managed print services as well as photocopiers and MFDs to the Procurement for Housing (PfH) consortium, with OCS awarded a place as a supplier of photocopiers and MFDs only.

CDP, Océ, InnerWorkings and Resource were named as suppliers in the third category, print management, on the framework deal, which covers 1 June 2012 to 31 May 2016, according to PfH.

Andy Hargreaves, regional sales manager at Altodigital, said the process involved a competitive tender.

"We worked extensively with PfH to understand how the different authorities operate and how to deliver best value for them. We have a great deal of experience of working with housing associations to provide the right mix of printer hardware and software monitoring services," he said.

According to a statement from Altodigital, the deal represents a renewal of its original three-year contract tendered for and won in 2009.

"[We] fully understand the desires of housing associations to reduce costs, improve service delivery and lighten the burden of maintaining their printing fleet," Hargreaves said.

The tender process involved "real" housing officers with real experience in the field, he said, and all prices are fixed to help the housing associations control their spend.