The contract runs to the end of 2015 with Optimum responsible for managing £100M of annualised expenditure across GSH operations in the UK, North America and Europe.  GSH has locations in the UK, Ireland, the Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Switzerland, France and the US.

Optimum will utilise their deep procurement and supply chain expertise to reduce costs, improve sourcing efficiency and update internal processes.  Optimum will also manage supplier reporting to GSH.

Optimum will exclusively manage all GSH bought-out expenditure and services over 40 areas of spend. Non-core categories include Catering, IT Supplies, Office Equipment, Telecommunications and Travel. Core categories include Air Conditioning, Building Fabric, Electrical & Mechanical Distributors, Fire & Security, Lifts and Tool Hire.

In addition, Optimum Fleet will manage c.1250 vehicles; the majority being commercial units.  Fleet management and back office service provision includes a dedicated driver helpline and utilisation of a bespoke fleet management technology platform providing driver profiling and cost reduction tracking.

John Davy, Group managing director at GSH Group, commented: ‘Optimum Procurement, have a proven pedigree and track record of success with GSH.  Optimum is fully capable of servicing all of our procurement and fleet needs across the business. Having access to a first-rate procurement function is an integral part of our commercial strategy and outsourcing to Optimum ensures we are able to achieve this in the most flexible and cost effective way.’

David Griffiths, director of Operations at Optimum, commented: ‘We are well advanced in recruiting extra resources for our fleet and procurement teams to ensure we maximise our current year contribution to GSH. Our focus is on utilising local procurement talent wherever possible, to ensure we stay culturally aligned to the needs of the different businesses within the GSH Group.’

Peter Rushton, Optimum chief executive, said: ‘We are delighted to be supporting GSH across their entire global operation. This contract reinforces our strong international credentials in procurement outsourcing and the significant value available to clients by leveraging procurement expertise across different geographies.’