Supplier Inclusion

How can I do business with Southern Company Gas?
Southern Company Gas’ Purchasing organization is responsible for facilitating and implementing the procurement and contracting of materials, supplies, equipment, software and services. Purchasing is responsible for seeing that applicable corporate procurement, contracting guidelines, and procedures are followed throughout the company. This role includes competitive bidding, requests for proposals, conflict of interest checks, contract awards, insurance requirements, and supplier/contractor performance management. Applications from suppliers/contractors that can provide materials or services to Southern Company Gas and its subsidiaries will be promptly received and given fair consideration as our needs arise.

Does Southern Company Gas have a commitment to small, local and diverse supplier communities?
Southern Company Gas purchases a large and diverse number of products and services from numerous suppliers/contractors (see Supplier Opportunities). Southern Company Gas is committed to doing business with quality suppliers/contractors that are representative of the diversity of the communities that we serve. It is also our mission to provide development, education, training and procurement and contracting opportunities for small, local, and diverse businesses.

What are Southern Company Gas’ expectations of their suppliers?
Southern Company Gas requires our suppliers/contractors to follow applicable laws, meet or exceed industry standards and conduct business in an ethical manner. Each supplier/contractor may be required to provide a certificate of insurance for approval that meets specific required coverage and names Southern Company Gas as “Additional Insured.”

Does my registration guarantee that I will be selected as a supplier?
No. However it does give suppliers/contractors opportunity for consideration as business needs arise.

What are the classifications of a diverse businesses?

• MBE - suppliers that are self-certified or 3rd party certified as a minority-owned business entity within our database
• WBE - suppliers that are self certified or 3rd party certified as a woman-owned business entity within our database
• VBE - suppliers that are self-certified or 3rd party certified as a veteran-owned business entity within our database
• Small - suppliers that are self-certified as a small business within our database
• Total Spend - total invoiced and paid spend (denominator)
• Supplier Inclusion Spend- total invoiced and paid spend with MBE, WBE, & VBE suppliers in a hierarchical view of MBE, then, WBE, then VBE
•  • Note: if a supplier is MBE and WBE, spend will only be counted once (single count)
•  MBE Total - total invoiced and paid spend with minority owned suppliers
•  WBE Total - total invoiced and paid spend with women owned suppliers that are not also minority owned
•  VBE Total - total invoiced and paid spend with veteran owned suppliers that are not also minority owned or woman owned
•  Small Total - total invoiced and paid spend with suppliers that are self-certified as small. These suppliers can also be considered as diverse
• *SCS - TO spend detail data is based on department ID

GSA (General Service Administration)

The General Services Administration (GSA) oversees the procurement of utility services for federal agencies. As a provider of these services, Southern Company is required to report its spending on Small Business Concerns to the GSA. The categories for reporting include:

• SBC (Small Business Concern) - a business that meets the criteria set by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) for size standards, which vary by industry. These criteria typically include factors such as the number of employees, annual revenue, and other industry-specific measures.
• SDB (Small Disadvantaged Business) - a small business concern that is at least 51 percent owned by one or more individuals who are both socially and economically disadvantaged. This can include a publicly owned business that has at least 51 percent of its stock unconditionally owned by one or more socially and economically disadvantaged individuals and whose management and daily business is controlled by one or more such individuals.
• WOSB (Woman Owned Small Business) - a specific designation given by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) to small businesses that are at least 51% owned and controlled by one or more women who are U.S. citizens.
• VOSB (Veteran Owned Small Business) - a specific designation given by the U.S. government to small businesses that are at least 51% owned and controlled by one or more veterans.
• SDVOSB (Veteran Owned Small Business) - a specific designation given by the U.S. government to small businesses that are at least 51% owned and controlled by one or more service-disabled veterans.
• HUB (HUBZone) - The HUBZone program is administered by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) and is designed to promote economic development and employment growth in distressed areas by providing access to more federal contracting opportunities. 

For more information, please e-mail questions or comments to Supplier Inclusion: R2SUPDIV@southernco.com