About SUPC and The SUMS Group

We help universities and colleges buy smarter. Members use our frameworks and support services to make sure their procurement activities deliver value for money to students, staff and wider communities.

Aside from the benefits of membership, SUPC is part of The SUMS Group (SUMS). The SUMS Group (SUMS) is a dynamic and values-focused organisation dedicated to supporting the UK’s Higher Education sector across our three divisions – SUMS Consulting, the Southern Universities Purchasing Consortium (SUPC) and the Procurement Shared Service (PSS). As a charity and not-for-profit, we are part of the community we serve. Our vision is to be the expert partner of choice for universities, delivering tangible, sustainable impact through high-quality consulting and procurement services.

Our subscription model and commitment to return the majority of member-earned framework levy on organisational spend means many of our members are able to partially or fully cover the cost of their membership – plus some!

Our Mission

To deliver a comprehensive set of high-quality procurement services that add tangible value to the members and the education sector as a whole.

Our Vision

To be the leading provider to the education sector of high-quality, innovative procurement services.

Our Members

We are one of the largest purchasing consortia in England and our members, who are mainly based in southern England, are charitable organisations that operate in the tertiary education sectors. To see a list of our members, click here.

How we Work

SUPC works very closely with the other regional and national higher education purchasing consortia in the UK to offer value for money agreements to members.  To support this, we have formalised our close links with the other UK University Purchasing Consortia (UKUPC).  You can learn more here

Accessibility Tools and Guidance

SUPC has been working with industry organisations, our members and our sister consortia to improve the accessibility of digital products and services relevant to the Higher Education sector. From our collaborative work with these institutions, we have developed two documents: an SUPC accessibility statement and a toolkit which our members can utilise for new tenders. Both documents can be found in the Public Files menu to the right, and for any further information please contact us at supc@reading.ac.uk.   

SUPC is an operating unit of Southern Universities Management Services, a Company limited by guarantee.