Case Study - Leeds Federated Origin2

Who are Leeds Federated?

Leeds Fed are a housing association offering affordable housing to customers with around 4,300 properties based in and around the Leeds area. Breeze have supplied Leeds Fed with numerous bespoke software solutions through partnering agreements since 2004.

How did it start off?

In 2017 Breeze submitted a successful response to develop Origin²; a bespoke system that replaces their Civica ‘Contact Manager’ (W2) system. The system delivered was to become a crucial part of their housing management ‘ecosystem’, their central repository of customer related data and would facilitate Leeds Federated’s specific housing management processes.

How was Breeze involved?

As long-time partners of Leeds Federated, Breeze were able to play a significant and proactive role throughout the project lifecycle from scope definition, development and on to implementation and subsequent support. This included positive contributions to discussions focussed on business processes and practices.

Scope of Development

Comprehensive CRM functionality that allows users to manage in-depth customer information and use it to communicate with their tenants using emails, SMS, letters or even make/take phone calls (with optional call scripts) and record outcomes from them. Additionally, Origin² provides the ability to raise and manage cases to support the following areas of the business:

Arrears
Anti-Social Behaviour (ASB)
Complaints
Financial Inclusion
Hoarding
Lettings
Mutual Exchanges (MX)
Repairs
Risk Assessments
Safeguarding

The scope included an enhancement of the existing Breeze developed 'Origin' application; a feature rich Android app that extends the CRM functionality to field-based staff, supported with a comprehensive form building function and allows for legally admissible electronic signatures for tenancy agreements and alike.

In addition to the functionality outlined above, the project necessitated seamless real-time integration with numerous existing Leeds Fed applications and third-party tools including Docuware and Keyfax.

The Journey

Outcome

After meticulous planning and testing, Origin² went live in May 2021 and has received overwhelmingly positive feedback. Naturally, for a project of this magnitude there were some minor unforeseen teething issues, but Breeze were able to respond promptly and rectify issues to minimise business impact.

Arguably it was a bold move by Leeds Federated to embark on a bespoke solution, however now that it is live, there are few who would regret the decision.

The implementation was just the first step on the Origin² journey. This software belongs to Leeds Federated and the nature of bespoke development means that we will be able to work together in a timely-manner to further enhance the product as the business evolves, inefficiencies are identified or in response to imposed legislative changes.