The HICA Group is a not-for-profit care provider operating 17 care and support centres across Yorkshire, Humberside, Lancashire and Lincolnshire. With a diverse portfolio spanning residential care, dementia support and learning disability services, hospitality plays a vital role in enriching the lives of those in HICA’s care.
With more than 150 suppliers spanning food, beverage, uniforms, waste, electricals, energy and more, procurement had become a significant challenge for the group. Consolidating and rationalising supplier relationships, while maintaining quality and service continuity, was a top priority.
Mark Midgley, Group Hospitality, Wellbeing & Procurement Manager, shares, “Managing this sheer number of suppliers was always our biggest headache.”
In early 2025, the group began working with Avendra International to bring greater structure, transparency and efficiency to its procurement activities. Mark confirms, “Having Avendra give their expertise and benchmark costs across our suppliers is very welcoming. We’ve already been able to push pricing down, hold rates and rationalise product lines.”
The initial rollout focused on securing better pricing and supply consistency for food and beverage including a wraparound supplier appointed through a fully managed tender process.
Mark explains, “We’ve got 1,500 lines just in food. If a supplier wanted to increase 300 or 400 of them, it would take me forever to go to market and check every one. Avendra handles all of that, saving me time, protecting margins, while giving me the confidence that we’re getting the best value.”
The partnership has however quickly expanded beyond food, as Mark shares, “What started as a food procurement conversation has very quickly developed into a much wider partnership covering energy, technology, reporting and several new categories.”
Avendra recently supported HICA with a full review of its energy procurement. One of Avendra’s partners, Radius Energy, specialise in helping organisations optimise how they buy and manage their energy.
Following detailed data gathering and requirement scoping, Radius took HICA to market to secure competitive fixed-rate contracts.
The result? Approximately £100,000 in combined gas and electricity annual contract savings, with gas proving particularly cost-efficient within the agreed deal.
Confirms Mark: “Avendra understood our wider needs, stepped in and handled the whole process. The savings were significant and, more importantly, it removed a huge piece of work from my desk.”
Early in the partnership, HICA introduced Avendra’s Pi procurement platform to centralise suppliers, orders, and spend while reducing administrative burden.
Mark confirms, “We’ve got 153 suppliers supporting our 17 centres, so our ultimate goal is to centralise ordering and invoicing through one digital platform.
Pi does all of that - from managing supplier quotes to tracking spend and ensuring governance. That level of control, cost management and forecasting in one place is a game changer. ”
Pi’s menu management module helps HICA’s chefs manage allergens, nutritional compliance and cost per serve.
Continues Mark: “Our chefs are loving the menu management module. They can easily track and amend recipes, see allergens and even the cost per serve. “It’s given us consistency and control, while ensuring we meet our nutrition standards. That’s a massive step forward and gives me a lot of confidence.”
The budget management module is also being phased in to support non-food procurement across the group, giving local teams more flexibility while ensuring spend remains controlled, as Mark explains, “Previously, every small order needed prior approval and that meant lots of to-ing and fro-ing. Now, services can order what they need but if they go over a threshold, it’s flagged. That balance between control and flexibility is really working for us.”
HICA is also beginning to utilise other modules within Pi, which provide access to enhanced intelligence reporting including resident cost-per-day insights, and stock management planned for later this year.
As the partnership continues to grow, HICA Group and Avendra are assessing results, benchmarking pricing and identifying new opportunities for improvement.
Mark confirms, “It’s great to continually review everything; “Avendra will benchmark what suppliers are proposing and check the market on our behalf. It means I can project costs more accurately and I don’t have to do the price haggling. That’s a huge time-saver, especially when you’re managing hundreds of lines.”
As a next step, the HICA team is planning to consolidate all procurement activities through the Pi platform, eventually centralising food, uniforms, chemicals, invoices, contracts and processes into a single digital system.
“Our chefs are busy,” says Mark. “They need to be able to go online, order what they need, and trust that it’s all tracked, approved and efficient. That’s where we’re heading – and Avendra is helping us get there.”
Take control of your procurement, reduce costs, and free up time to focus on resident care. Speak to our experts to find out how Avendra International can simplify supplier management, improve compliance, and drive measurable savings across your care homes: hello_UK@avendra.com.
Q: How can care providers reduce procurement costs without compromising quality?
A: By consolidating supplier relationships and benchmarking pricing against the market, care providers can push costs down while maintaining service standards. HICA Group achieved approximately £100,000 in annual energy savings alone by working with Avendra International to manage the full tender process.
Q: What is a procurement management platform and how does it help care organisations?
A: A procurement platform centralises ordering, invoicing, supplier management and spend tracking in one place. For HICA Group, Avendra's Pi platform gave 17 care centres visibility and control across 153 suppliers, reducing administrative burden and improving governance.
Q: How long does it take to see results from a procurement partnership?
A: Results can come quickly. HICA Group began seeing pricing improvements and supplier rationalisation within months of partnering with Avendra International in early 2025, with energy savings secured shortly after.
Q: How does a procurement partner help with compliance and nutritional standards in care?
A: Procurement platforms like Pi include menu management modules that help chefs track allergens, monitor nutritional compliance and manage cost per serve - essential for care providers with strict duty-of-care obligations.