In the fast paced market of supply chain management, efficiency is key. CHIC on behalf of our members, set out to improve supply chain management with the development of the CHIC Order Management System (COMS) back in 2022.
COMS was developed to provide our members and supply chain partners with a streamlined ordering platform, that is easy to use but has powerful options to help organisations with their cost control and budgeting.
CHIC’s direct materials supply solutions give members the ability to select specific products, at a price that reflects consortium volume purchasing. CHIC works with the member to select and source the materials that suit their project or programme and supports the contractor to establish the operational interfaces needed.
COMS de-risks pricing changes, as the member has selected exactly the materials they want from their chosen manufacturer or supplier.
Understanding COMS: A Practical Approach to Supply Chain Optimisation
Developed by CHIC in collaboration with Efficiency North (EN), COMS is an online ordering platform designed to simplify and optimise supply chain materials purchasing. Its features include programme and catalogue management, order processing and invoicing capabilities, all accessible via a user friendly browser interface.
Examples of COMS users
Recent adopters of COMS include Birmingham City Council for their planned investment programmes, purchase and install of numerous kitchens, bathrooms and boilers. Efficiency North has also integrated COMS with Hull City Council for boiler purchases and installations.
Future Development
Last year, we added a Merchant Reporting Module where key features include cloud-based data access at anytime, customised reporting solutions with classic and interactive dashboards, data driven insights on spending trends and comparing spend across multiple merchants in one report.
These updates enhance members decision making capabilities, ensuring real time insights and streamlined data retrieval.
Looking ahead, CHIC is committed to further enhancing COMS to meet the evolving needs of its members and supply chain partners. Plans include expanding the feature set and implementing API integration for seamless communication between systems.
COMS is available to all CHIC’s members – access is included within our normal transaction fee – there is no extra cost.
If you would like a demonstration of the system, please send an email to Martin Radbourne at [email protected]
