Our supply chain

This area provides information and resources on how we acquire goods, works and services. 

Our objective in supply chain management is to support the United Utilities vision of being a world class operator of utility infrastructure.  Developing strategic relationships with our key partners and suppliers, based on common values and corporate objectives, is critical to achieving this goal. 

We conduct business with thousands of suppliers every year, from major international corporations to sole traders.  We are committed to meeting our obligations to our suppliers and we aim to deal fairly and ethically at all times in our supply chain activities.  We continually review how we operate to measure our progress against these commitments.

Our approach to supply chain activity is based on category management which takes a long term holistic view of our demand, our specifications and the supplier market to deliver the appropriate contract strategy.  Our third party spend is consolidated into a number of categories which reflect similar commercial considerations and supply markets, with each category having a dedicated supply chain manager.

Fast facts

Below are some fast facts about the supply chain within United Utilities.