Multi-Site Portfolio Saves $183K in First Year of Partnership with LCS Group Purchasing
Providence Life Services at a Glance
Providence Life Services portfolio, spanning across four senior living communities in Indiana, Illinois, and Michigan are designed to provide the right amenities, activities, and continuing care enabling seniors to live their best lives. Providence Life Services had a desire to lower costs, standardize operations across their communities, and improve foodservice which led them to seek help through a group purchasing organization.
Type
- Retirement Housing
- Assisted Living
- Memory Care
- Skilled Nursing
Opportunities
- Create balance between cost savings and organizational hospitality goals.
- Implement standardization across their four-community portfolio.
- Improve current foodservice program.
Celebrating Positive Outcomes
Providence Life Services communities saved $183,800, primarily in food and beverage, in their first year of working with LCS Group Purchasing. While some experience greater savings, on average, LCS Group Purchasing members realize cost savings between 8-12%.
$184K
Providence Life is expected to save hundreds of thousands more in the coming years due to LCS Group Purchasing's expertise.
11%
The LCS Group Purchasing F&B team assisted with rebates, cost-saving analyses and processes to maximize savings without compromising quality.
5
By partnering with LCS Group Purchasing, there is ability to achieve easy savings - now and in the future - with vendors Providence Life is already using.
Our Approach
Providence Life Services, which has senior living communities in Illinois, Indiana, and Michigan, has saved $183,800 in its first year of partnering with LCS Group Purchasing.
LCS Group Purchasing membership is free, with no obligation or minimum purchasing requirement. Communities that work with LCS Group Purchasing are assigned a dedicated Client Account Manager (CAM).
Their CAM plays a vital role in finding ways to improve the community’s financial performance through more than 300 strategic vendor partnerships, including food service, medical supplies, therapy, pharmacy, facilities and plant operations, property maintenance services, and more.
When asked in early discussions what their communities used for certain products, Providence Life’s team expressed their desire for standardization across their four communities in Illinois.
While Providence Life was already using five vendors through DSSI for maintenance, food and beverage and medical supplies, they didn’t have any standardized purchases or recommended products in place. And they weren’t getting the full savings advantages that LCS Group Purchasing group purchasing offers.
Providence Life was working with the following LCS Group Purchasing vendors:
>> HD Supply | >> Gordon Food Service | |
>> Staples | >> Medline |
By partnering with LCS Group Purchasing, Providence Life achieved easy savings–now and in the future–with vendors they were already using.
The Challenge
Providence Life’s portfolio spans four senior living communities in Indiana, Illinois and Michigan, including retirement housing, assisted living, memory care and skilled nursing. Their communities are designed to provide the right amenities, activities and continuing care enabling seniors to live their best lives.
In partnering with LCS Group Purchasing, Providence Life wanted to balance cost savings with organization and standardization across their community portfolio.
Although Providence Life was using a LCS Group Purchasing vendor for food service, LCS Group Purchasing recognized Sysco offered better pricing and worked with the food and beverage director to ensure he saw the value in that new partnership.
The Solution
Switching to Sysco resulted in major savings! LCS Group Purchasing’s F&B team assisted Providence Life with rebates, cost-savings analyses and processes to maximize savings without compromising quality. This resulted in an 11% savings, including rebates and incentives. This percentage represents $183,800 in savings for the four communities—all within the first year of their partnership with LCS Group Purchasing.
Because of LCS Group Purchasing’s expertise, Providence Life is expected to save hundreds of thousands more in the coming year.
During the quarterly business review process in Q1 of 2024, LCS Group Purchasing identified additional cost-savings opportunities in:
>> Facilities & plant operations | >> Clinical programs | >> Commercial building services |
>> Technology | >> Capital projects | >> Administrative services |
In 2024, LCS Group Purchasing has identified and implemented new programs for Providence Life, which include:
Food & Beverage
- Sysco
- Edward Don & Co.
- Coca-Cola
- Crandall Corporate Dietitians
- Alpha Bakery
- Fortune Fish
- Produce Alliance (Testa Produce)
Environmental Services
- Medtegrity Linen
- Mickey’s Linen (Dining / Kitchen)
- MedClean (Housekeeping / Healthcare)
Plant Operations
- Titan Energy
- New electricity contracts for the corporate office and two communities
- New natural gas contracts for three communities
- Utility Refund Agency
- Total state refund of $25,893 for two communities
- Total ongoing monthly savings between $550-$750
Additional Savings
LCS Group Purchasing has also identified additional cost-saving opportunities for Providence Life in 2024/2025, which include:
Facilities Operations & Maintenance Vendors
- Flooring Elevators
- Staffing Pest Control
- Roofing Landscaping
Administrative Services
- Business cards / Name badges
- Logo-branded merchandise and supplies
- Interior / Exterior signage
Commercial Building Services
- Direct Supply – TELS
- System4 Facility Services Management
Capital Projects
- Building renovations and repairs
- Room turns
Technology Services
- TV / Phone / Internet
- Computer hardware
- Resident / Staff communication