Supply chain

The majority of our work is delivered in partnership with our supply chain so we align key supply chain members with our culture and develop collaborative relationships that improve social, environmental and economic outcomes for us, them and our clients.

Delivering projects to achieve our customers’ requirements and achieving targets for improving the performance of our business on many social, environmental and economic performance indicators is only possible if we work with organisations that share our commitment and have good relationships.

Collaboration and delivering mutual benefits form the basis of our approach to our supply chain strategy which establishes and maintains long-term trading relationships with key subcontractors, suppliers and manufacturers.

Policies, management and compliance

Delivering projects to achieve our customers’ requirements and our aspirations relies on us having the best possible relationships. Achieving targets for improving the performance of our business on many social, environmental and economic performance indicators is only possible if we work with organisations that share our commitment.

We actively engage with our supply chain to promote our principles and practices.

Our supply chain predominantly consists of subcontractors, who operate on our sites, and suppliers, who provide materials. We select and manage our subcontractors and some materials suppliers at a local level to maximise local economic impact, but in accordance with robust procedures to minimise risk to our projects. This approach is coupled with the central procurement of key commodities to benefit from strategic supplier partnerships and economies of scale.

We engage with our supply chain using a range of methods such as Meet the Buyer events, meetings, workshops and conferences.

Via Advantage through Alignment, we work with leading supply chain members to create a mutually-beneficial understanding that ensures all parties involved recognise the values and underlying aims of all our businesses and reflect that as part of our long-term collaborative relationships. Simon Stone Head of Supply Chain Management, Galliford Try

Initiatives

Net Zero Partners
In 2022 we launched our Net Zero Partners initiative to help remove the main barriers for first generational net zero carbon supply chain in the collective journey to net zero carbon. The programme empowers our supply chain to make decisions around their own carbon strategy and understand what is required to work with Galliford Try on our journey to net zero, using a clear set of guidelines and recommendations, and in turn provides us with industry insight to inform and adjust that journey. The initiative is based on three key pillars of carbon literacy, upskilling and continual improvement, and quality. These encourage an understanding of what carbon is and how to measure it properly, the skills, knowledge and training required for low carbon instruction, and how to utilise low carbon construction methods and digital tools to maximise quality.

Advantage through Alignment
We continue to focus on developing collaborative, long-term relationships with our supply chain partners through our Advantage through Alignment (AtA) programme, with 58% of our core Aligned trades spend now with aligned subcontractors. AtA is a programme devised by our business which goes beyond pure collaboration with our supply chain, into a much deeper relationship. Aligned subcontractors are appointed a dedicated point of contact within our business for improved communication. Through support, training and education, we align our suppliers and subcontractors with our working practices, our values and our vision. This includes access to our award-winning behavioural safety programme, Challenging Beliefs, Affecting Behaviour; BIM training and access to Continuing Professional Development. This deeper understanding creates an aligned health and safety approach, greater efficiencies and opportunities for innovation, as well as upskilling workforces and allowing the small and medium subcontractors we work with to develop.

Key Performance Indicators

% of business unit core trades spend with Aligned subcontractors

Prompt payment – % of invoices paid within 60 days

Performance

Prompt Payment

As a signatory of the Prompt Payment Code, we are committed to paying 95% of supply chain invoices within 60 days. We maintained an excellent performance in terms of how quickly we pay our suppliers, with 98.1% now paid within 60 days (FY22: 97.6%) and the average days to pay is now 26 days. This places us in the top quarter of the sector, according to BuildUK’s report of its 123 largest construction industry members. We are also making progress against the additional metric of paying 95% of invoices from suppliers with fewer than 50 employees within 30 days, with 88% now paid within 30 days (FY22: 84%).

Supply Chain Sustainability School

We continue to retain Gold status from the Supply Chain Sustainability School, an initiative designed to upskill its members through free training and resources. During the year, and as part of AtA, we developed learning pathways to help our supply chain partners upskill their teams.

The ‘Energy and Carbon’ pathway consists of three 45 minute e-learning sessions which will see all participants taking the first steps towards making decisions around their own carbon strategy and understand what is required to work with Galliford Try on our journey to net zero through introductory, intermediate and advanced sessions. The pathway was launched in April 2023 and to date 46 partners have taken part.