Performance, customers and safety is at the forefront of everything we do. We expect all our suppliers to support us in working sustainably which helps us to deliver an efficient, high performing rail service.
Every year, we spend around £600m on works, services or products, and we’re committed to maximising the value delivered by each and every supplier. We currently have around 1,000 listed suppliers, all of which were engaged in the last financial year.
Working with suppliers that demonstrate our values
In order to provide a safe, reliable, efficient and sustainable railway fit for the 21st century, our ambition is to establish a world class supply chain that builds long term mutually beneficial relationships and encourages joint strategic development – in a fair, transparent and consistent way.
We set out our expectations in our Supply Chain Code of Conduct, which is cascaded through our supply chain.
We want suppliers of all sizes and types to understand what social value we want to be delivered, so they can bid successfully to work with Northern, creating a vibrant, healthy, innovative, competitive, and diverse marketplace of suppliers. We want to see services delivered with values at their heart, where the wider social benefits matter and are recognised.
Supplier Management is about enabling collaborative, innovative, value adding relationships with our suppliers, whilst ensuring that contractual obligations are met, and supply chain risks are effectively managed.
Our vision is to manage the relationship with our supply chain to drive value in a safe, efficient and sustainable way in line with Northerns values with an aim to be net zero. Supplier management is made up of three activities that support and build upon each other, namely, contract management, supplier performance management, and supplier relationship management.
Contract management is the process of effectively managing and governing contracts to ensure they deliver maximum operational and financial value, improve compliance whilst mitigating service delivery risk over the life of the contract. It focuses on realising the full anticipated value of the contract and managing contract changes.
Supplier performance management is the process of targeted evaluation, measuring and monitoring of supplier performance and to use the results to drive appropriate interventions to improve outcomes with suppliers in line with organisational goals. It builds on contract management to actively measure, report, monitor and enhance the value the supplier can deliver.
Relationship management are the practices and behaviours adopted to engage more collaboratively with strategic suppliers to improve delivery of Northerns core business objectives and commercial strategy and increase mutual value beyond that originally contracted. It builds on supplier performance management and is used to collaborate with suppliers to create new value above what they are contracted to do.
Net zero ambition
We believe that rail has huge potential to play a vital role in a more sustainable future and a greener economy. As a result, we have developed a net zero commitment to reduce our carbon emission, with targets that allow us to make deep emissions reductions within the short-term. As our emissions from our supply chain account for a large proportion of our total greenhouse gas emissions, we have developed a program to collaboratively work together with suppliers to reduce this.
The program will form a part of the contract management framework established within Northern, delivery of objectives and contractual obligations along with monitoring and reporting of targets will become a mandatory requirement for suppliers. Supplier targets will be bespoke and relevant to the types of goods and services provided to us.
Sustainable development for Britain’s SMEs and communities
We directly employ 7,000 people and support another 100,000+ in our supply chain, many of them providing access to employment, training and apprenticeship schemes.
Supporting local communities is an important part of our contract with suppliers. We not only ask suppliers to identify opportunities to recruit people from the local area and provide entry-level employment opportunities, but we also ask them to procure goods and services from SMEs and social enterprises, supporting local business and the local economy where possible.
Supporting local communities
Each supplier is also invited to volunteer in their local area and support initiatives that have a direct benefit to the local community.
Supporting the SME market
We are committed to achieving the government Small to Medium Sized Enterprises (SME) spend target and helping to build a strong and sustainable SME market. Find out more about our commitment to SMEs in our dedicated SME hub.
Find out more about our approach to sustainability (link coming soon).
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