Southern Water

Case Study

The Situation

Southern Water provides essential water and wastewater services to 4.6 million customers across Kent, Sussex, Hampshire, and the Isle of Wight. In the transition from AMP7 to AMP8, the business faced a critical period of regulatory, operational, and commercial alignment. With an expansive supplier base, stringent compliance requirements, and major transformation programmes underway, Southern Water required a procurement approach that could deliver strategic planning, enhanced governance, and data-driven supplier performance management to meet both business and regulatory commitments.

The Transformation

Pro Outsourcing partnered with Southern Water to manage the transition between AMP cycles, embedding expertise across governance, communications, and supplier performance improvement. The transformation included: · Leading the implementation of the Balanced Scorecard (BSC) framework across all key frameworks and delivery partners, embedding consistent performance tracking, KPI management, and evidence-based supplier engagement. · Developing and managing the Business Engagement Model, ensuring regular senior stakeholder engagement supported by monthly analytics dashboards. · Enhancing procurement planning and forecasting processes to align with AMP8 requirements and long-term business objectives. · Overseeing procurement communications and managing the Procurement Homepage to provide clear, accessible updates on governance, transformation, and operational priorities. · Driving procurement governance improvements, ensuring compliance with the UK Procurement Act, Utilities Contracts Regulations, and sustainability objectives. · Spearheading communications and engagement for company-wide and procurement-specific transformation programmes.

The Result

Pro Outsourcing’s work at Southern Water delivered improved governance, transparent stakeholder engagement, and enhanced supplier accountability. The BSC framework provided a structured, data-led approach to performance management, driving measurable improvements in supplier delivery and compliance. Strengthened planning and forecasting enabled a smoother AMP7 to AMP8 transition, while improved communications ensured alignment across senior leadership and operational teams. These combined initiatives positioned Southern Water to meet its regulatory obligations and deliver value-driven procurement in the new AMP cycle.

“…Tom worked with us at Southern Water on a programme of procurement transformation, leading activity across governance, supplier performance, reporting, and the wider operating disciplines of the function. As part of this he built and embedded our KPI and incentive frameworks, which gave us a much clearer view of supplier performance and consistent expectations across the team.He was particularly effective at aligning senior stakeholders around standard processes, decisions, and governance, which is rarely straightforward in an organisation of our scale. The result was noticeably improved visibility, accountability, and cross-functional coordination across our procurement initiatives.Tom is pragmatic, easy to work with, and gets into the detail without losing sight of the bigger picture. Happy to recommend him for similar work, and equally happy to talk further if useful…”

Linda Bowtle | Head of Procurement Excellence & Sustainability | Southern Water