Become a supplier to the University of South Wales

Working with us

Working with suppliers who share our values is so important to us that we’ve made it part of all our procurement decisions.

How We Buy Becoming a Supplier
three members of university staff having an informal meeting, smiling

At the University of South Wales (USW), we deliver courses that will change lives and our world for the better. This is education in practice, not just in theory. Our suppliers have a really important role in helping us to achieve this.

As a University, our procurement activities are governed by the Public Contract Regulations (2015) before the Procurement Act 2023 comes into force on February 28th 2025. eTenderWales is the eSourcing platform used by USW to run its tender opportunities, including those via a Framework agreeenent.  Adverts for non Framework opportunities are placed on Sell2Wales which will direct suppliers to eTenderWales for further documentation and to participate in the tender.   

eTenderWales:

  • gives suppliers easy access to tender documents
  • provides a secure way of returning tenders
  • provides a transparent process for raising queries during the tender process
  • Suppliers can register on eTenderWales free of charge via the link: etenderwales: e-tendering portal

eTenderWales offers free support to Suppliers either by telephone 0800 069 8634 or via a supplier support ticket. Please see their website for more information. 

The table below shows the procurement thresholds, and the routes open to us, for the purchase of goods, services and works:

Value Threshold (inc VAT) Procurement method/ route
Between £10,000 and £30,000 In line with USW’s internal financial regulations, 3 written quotations are required.
Between £30,000 and £214,904 Our tender is advertised via eTenderWales or via a framework agreement for the required goods/services.
Over £214,904 for goods & services Our tender is advertised on eTenderWales, procured via a Consortia or via HE/ public sector framework agreement.
Over £5,372,609 for works Our tender is advertised on eTenderWales, procured via a Consortia or via HE/public sector framework agreement.

Consortia & Frameworks

A purchasing consortium is a buying organisation that develops and manages framework agreements so that its members and/or public sector organisations have access to professionally tendered, Public Contract Regulations compliant agreements and Procurement Act 2023.

By using these framework agreements, buying organisations like USW can purchase competitively priced goods and services across a wide range of commodity areas.

The University is a member institution of HEPCW – Higher Education Purchasing Consortium, Wales.

Below are examples of some of the Consortia and Frameworks we utilise:

Consortia and Frameworks

If you would like to find out about working with any of these Consortia as a supplier on their frameworks, please contact them directly by visiting their websites or utilise the UK Universities link below which has links to all the Higher Education purchasing consortia:

eTenderWales

Sell2Wales

Find a Tender Service

UK Universities Purchasing Consortia

Becoming a Supplier

At USW, our suppliers are really important to help us deliver our 2030 strategy and our civic responsibilities. We focus on building strong supplier relationships, with a supplier code of conduct and supplier events which share our plans.
The University's Alfred Russell Wallace building
Supplier Code of Conduct
2 students sat outside the student's union in Treforest enjoying a drink
Supplier Relationships
a member of estates and facilities University staff standing in workshop smiling to camera
View Opportunities with USW