South Tyneside Council spends £207m every year with over 3,000 suppliers who help the council to provide a wide range of key services – from school and library materials and health and wellbeing services to highways maintenance and waste disposal.

One of the ways the council is working to ensure best value for money is through the Supplier Incentive Programme – an early payment scheme – which has already attracted many suppliers, with invoices approaching £62m signed up to receive early payment in the first year.

The initiative represents a new level of collaboration between the council and its supply chain, providing mutual benefits for both the council and businesses, with suppliers having their invoices fast tracked in exchange for a small rebate.

South Tyneside council partnered with Oxygen Finance to introduce the programme and the council has become a role model for other Local Authorities that wish to improve their purchase-to-pay (P2P) processes, boost suppliers’ cash flow and generate a new income stream.

Oxygen Finance has a wealth of experience with public sector clients throughout the UK and continues to help councils add social value, generate a new income stream and implement e-invoicing, which is fundamental in order to comply with the EU Directive on e-invoicing and payment performance reporting.