Every year, we buy goods, services and works that help us provide homes and services for our customers.

This includes things like repairs and maintenance, construction projects, IT systems, professional services and community initiatives. 

We want to make sure we spend money wisely, receive good value for money, and work with organisations that help us deliver high-quality services for our customers. 

When we buy goods and services, we follow a fair and transparent process and comply with relevant legal requirements. 

How we choose suppliers 

When we're choosing companies and organisations to work with, we aim to:

  • Get the best value for money for our customers 
  • Be fair, open and transparent 
  • Work with suppliers who share our values 
  • Support responsible and ethical business practices 
  • Create benefits for local people and communities 
  • Meet legal and regulatory requirements 
  • Give local businesses, charities and smaller organisations opportunities to work with us where possible 

You can find out more about how we buy goods and services fairly, openly and responsibly in our Procurement Policy, which you'll find on our Corporate policies and documents page.

Opportunities to work with us 

We advertise contract and tender opportunities through our online tendering system, In-Tend.

If you're interested in becoming a Southway supplier, you can register on In-Tend for free.

This allows you to: 

  • View current contract opportunities
  • Receive alerts when relevant opportunities become available
  • Access tender documents and information 
  • Submit tender applications online
  • Register as a supplier 

Register and see current opportunities to work with Southway on In-tend 

For some larger contracts, suppliers may also need to register on the Government's Central Digital Platform. 

Social value & creating benefits for our communities 

We believe our contracts should deliver more than just goods and services.

When it's possible and appropriate, we look for opportunities to create wider benefits for our customers and communities through the organisations we work with. We call this social value.

Social value could include:

  • Supporting local jobs and apprenticeships 
  • Providing training and skills opportunities 
  • Supporting community projects 
  • Improving local neighbourhoods
  • Reducing environmental impact 

This helps make sure that our spending has a positive impact on our customers and the communities we serve.