Parish Buying Launches

buying-and-saving-together

01st November 2011

 

 

Parish Buying, a purchasing resource for the Church of England and the Church in Wales, has launched – quietly! 

This service has been created by dioceses and the national church to support parishes in their buying decisions. Whether taking advantage of the national deals offered, or using the buying guides to inform local purchasing decisions, the Parish Buying service is intended to be a valuable resource to churches across England and Wales.

The key benefits of this service are:

  • Saving Money
    • Whether through national deals of improved local buying capability we have a target of savings parishes £10 million per year!
  • Saving Time
    •  The Parish Buying website offers access to a range of deals and buying guides all in one place.
  • Buying with Confidence
    • Every approved supplier has been screened and each contract has been reviewed to ensure no nasty surprises and offer peace of mind. A series of Buying Guides will identify areas where parishes can be disadvantaged and advise on good buying procedure.
  • Better Stewardship
    •  What we do with the entirety of resources entrusted to us is very important. Parish Buying hopes to enable parishes to be better stewards of their spending. Cost saving is important but this initiative extends beyond a mere efficiency drive it is fundamentally about releasing resource for church mission and ministry!

The service has been developed by the C of E's two National Procurement Officers, Rob Kissick and Russell Stables, who were appointed in April 2011. Rob and Russell can be contacted at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Why keep it quiet?

Good question! For the first couple of months we are keeping the launch of the Parish Buying service reasonably quiet to fine-tune the service and ensure everything is working smoothly. If we are to ensure this website is of maximum benefit to parishes, quality feedback from early users will be essential. We want to hear from users about how effective they found the website, and suggestions for improvement.

Will there be a loud launch?

Absolutely. This is currently scheduled for mid January – you'll be hearing from us!