Doing Business with the Council

Context
Elmbridge Borough Council spent approximately £13.7m with over 2,000 suppliers of goods and services in 2005-06.

Purchasing
Typically, each department buys the goods and services it requires on an individual basis, although in areas such as IT, the IT department buys hardware and consumables on behalf of all departments.

The Council has a statutory duty to ensure that the procurement of supplies, works and services represents the most cost-effective solution and that the best possible value for money has been achieved.

These web pages set out the Council's purchasing procedures. It explains the method of purchasing and provides guidance on some of the key factors which need to be taken into consideration when seeking to understand 'how to do business with the council'.

Helping you understand how we do business
The Strategy aims to promote and guide efficient and effective procurement throughout the Council. Its primary objectives are to:

• Provide a procurement framework which supports the Council's Community Strategy 2006-2015
• Set a clear framework for procurement that supports the Council's Vision and Key Developments
• Bring about a corporate focus to procurement, thereby assisting coordination of procurement activity, which will help us to make the most of our available resources, and
• Map the way forward on developing and continuously improving the Council's procurement functions.

We are always keen to hear from new suppliers, and aim to provide you with the information and opportunities needed to compete for a share of Elmbridge Borough Council's business. Of course, success cannot be guaranteed; that depends on the quality, cost and availability of your products and services, as well as your organisation's equality, sustainability and health & safety policies. We hope you will find this guidance a useful introduction.

Opportunities for doing business with the Council
We will post any details for opportunities for doing business with us in this area.

|Further information about procurement