Parishes across the Church of England stand to save £10 million a year thanks to lessons learnt responding to floods and earthquakes. Robert Kissick and Russell Stables have been appointed as National Procurement Officers to establish deals that will aim to save parishes that much and more.  

Robert Kissick brings a wide range of procurement experience in a variety of challenging situations: responding quickly to floods, earthquakes, cyclones, wars and famine, while managing a range of purchasing contracts for the Department for International Development.  Russell Stables brings complementary experience, with additional expertise in the marketing, operations and customer support arenas - all essential parts of a successful church buying operation.

Rob and Russell founded 2buy2, a procurement service for churches, two years ago. They will work on contract for the Church of England to build a web-based service for parishes, as well as spend time helping churches save money and buy better. Russell Stables commented "We are delighted to be working on this project.  The potential for operational savings is huge and we look forward to working together with parishes enabling them to buy and save together! This is far more than a cost saving exercise - it is a means of demonstrating good stewardship and releasing money which can be directed towards mission and ministry."

A National Procurement Group was established some years ago, with members drawn from parishes, dioceses and the national church, and identified the £10 million savings target. Without a dedicated resource, progress was slow; although early work on electricity and gas has realised savings of £0.5 million a year.

Procurement Group chairman, David Briggs, said "These appointments will enable us to make much more rapid progress. Rob and Russell bring a wide range of skills and the passion and energy to help parishes cut their costs. This will allow parishes to access attractive deals from good suppliers, yet also to have the freedom to make their own choices about whether or not they participate." 

The posts have received three years initial funding from the Church Commissioners. Ian Theodoreson, Chief Financial Officer, commented: "I'm delighted to welcome Rob and Russell to these challenging new posts.  This is exactly the right time for parishes to work together to save money - and there are plenty of opportunities to do this.  Putting in place a scheme where parishes can save money year in, year out, is exactly the right use of this kind of seed corn funding."