What we buy

Vision Statement

Our vision is:

"To procure goods, services and works by the most efficient and sustainable means, ensuring accountability, achieving value for money and deriving maximum benefit to meet the needs and aspirations of the community."

What Redbridge Council buys

Redbridge Council buys goods, works and services from a wide range of suppliers and service providers and awards opportunities to those organisations that can meet our requirements and standards. Opportunities can range from small, one-off purchases up to multi-million pound service contracts lasting several years.

We are always seeking ways to reach out to the extended business community and advertise various contracts through the ProContract Tendering system, in order to make procurement opportunities more accessible.

These opportunities can vary depending on the type of product we are buying as well as its value.

We buy a wide and varied range of products and services including:

  • goods/supplies
  • services
  • social care
  • works
  • commercial and residential property
  • highway network

It would not be practical to list everything we buy as we have thousands of suppliers. Much of what we buy is transacted through formal contracts. Details of our current contracts are available to view in the Contracts Register. 

We have a Strategic Procurement Team responsible for arranging, negotiating and monitoring core corporate contracts and buying products on behalf of the whole Council, including schools.

Although we do undertake some spot purchasing for low value items, the bulk of our general supplies are purchased through pre-tendered corporate contracts, set up in the form of framework agreements.

These are tendered by us or, more commonly, as part of a wider Public Service Consortia, e.g. Crown Commercial services (CCS), Central Buying Consortium (CBC), London Contracts and Supplies Group (LCSG), Eastern Shires Purchasing Organisation (ESPO), Yorkshire Purchasing Organisation (YPO).

These contracts are for no more than a 4 year term and are advertised via public advertisement through Contracts Finder and where applicable the Find a Tender Service. This method offers us choice, high quality standards and good value for money.

Many of our main services are open to competition.

These high value contracts typically last between 3 and 10 years. They have been designed and packaged to enable businesses to bid for the work in a competitive and equitable way. We use an evaluation model to measure the merit of each bid and base our decision on a range of factors that offers us the best value in terms of capability, quality of service and not necessarily lowest price.

Usually we will expect the contractors to hold recognised accreditation in both quality and environmental management where relevant. They will also have undergone a rigorous examination of their:

Contracts for our construction and maintenance works are undertaken by building services, providing a multi-disciplinary construction consultancy, appointing consultants as necessary. The unit deals with the preparation of tender lists and the management of the tendering process for construction projects.

Early payment discount for suppliers

We always aim to pay suppliers promptly, recognising the importance of a reliable cash flow. Whilst our default terms of payment are 30 days from receipt of invoice, where possible we will seek to pay within 14 days.  In return for offering the benefit of prompt payment, a deduction of 2.5% will be applied to the sum payable. This will apply to all suppliers as from 3 June 2013.

We calculate the 14 day payment period by counting from the day it receives a properly submitted and correct invoice, quoting the purchase order number, and sent directly to the Accounts Payable Team at the London Borough of Redbridge, PO Box 2110, Ilford, Essex IG1 9LG.

Alternatively, the supplier may email a PDF invoice to: einvoices@redbridge.gov.uk quoting the Purchase Order number starting with AGR80.

Further information

Information to enable you to use London Tenders Portal