PA Media Group

PA Media Group is a diverse portfolio of specialist media and news companies spanning UK news and information, data, technology, marketing and communications. Its flagship brand, PA Media, is the national news agency for the UK and Ireland, providing a 24/7 feed of verified text, pictures, video, graphics and data. Across the Group, its businesses support customers in the media, sport, corporate, betting and public sectors, with PA Media Group creating more than 1 million words of news and features copy and 3,000 pictures each week.

PA Media Group had already moved from Excel spreadsheets to a dedicated contract management system before adopting Accord. But as the organisation developed, procurement needed more than a place to hold contract records. It needed clearer oversight, more flexible reporting and a platform that could support a more business-focused way of working.

This became increasingly relevant as PA Media Group moved towards a procurement business partner model. Team members were beginning to manage contracts for specific areas of the organisation, which meant each business area needed its own clear view of activity. The previous system could not fully support that shift. Reporting by business area was difficult, data had to be separated manually and stakeholders lacked a simple way to see the values, records and details most relevant to them. There was also a wider flexibility challenge, with changes made in the previous system being applied to all customers at once, whether or not those updates suited PA Media Group’s requirements.

PA Media Group chose Accord because it fitted the financial budget allocated for a new system, provided the functionality the team needed and felt like the right supplier relationship from the outset. The platform’s look and feel made a strong early impression, but the people behind the system mattered just as much. From the first engagement, PA Media Group felt Accord understood what the team wanted to achieve, rather than simply presenting a fixed product.

This gave the team confidence that Accord would be a practical supplier to work with as their requirements developed. Requested changes could be scoped around PA Media Group’s own needs, helping the system support procurement’s way of working rather than forcing every customer into the same update path.

Since going live, Accord has directly supported PA Media Group’s move to a business partner model. Using Accord’s contract register and business-area breakdowns, records can now be organised by the part of the organisation they relate to, giving each area a clean, self-contained view. Stakeholders can see, on one screen, the number of contracts they have, the total value and the detail behind individual records.

Before Accord, this level of clarity did not exist in the same way. Information had to be separated manually through a process that was messy and difficult to interpret. With Accord’s central repository, key details became easier to access, easier to understand and more useful for both procurement and wider business stakeholders.

One of the standout benefits for PA Media Group has been Accord’s Forward-Look functionality. The procurement team finds this especially useful for visibility of upcoming renewals, obligations and key milestones, helping them plan ahead and manage activity more proactively.

Accord’s reporting functionality has also become a key part of how PA Media Group uses the system. The team can view information by stakeholder, supplier, cost centre or other relevant categories without the same manual effort. This gives teams a clearer, more readable view of what they need, while supporting stronger conversations across the organisation.  As PA Media Group’s use of Accord has developed, the platform has also supported a more data-led approach. Additional categorisation, including commodity and service type, has helped the team explore different views of software licensing, spend and supplier activity. 

The relationship with Accord has continued to be an important part of that development. PA Media Group described the team as responsive, helpful and clear when discussing changes, including what could be done, what had already been delivered, what may require additional work and what was not possible. This open communication has helped PA Media Group continue shaping the system around its requirements while maintaining confidence in both the platform and the people behind it.

Accord helped PA Media Group move beyond a system that no longer supported the way procurement needed to work. With contract records, reporting, Forward-Look visibility and categorisation connected in one platform, teams gained clearer oversight, easier access to key information and stronger stakeholder conversations.

The result was a user-friendly and effective way to manage contract activity across the business, backed by a supplier relationship built on responsiveness, transparency and practical collaboration. Accord gave PA Media Group the structure and flexibility it needed to manage procurement activity with greater confidence, while continuing to adapt as requirements developed.