Recently added articles from Supply Management:
Public sector is open to business
Feb 19, 2009; ... "All the bankers who ruined the City are now moving to the Treasury. And the chances are they will probably ruin that as well." So went the quote and some of the sentiment in a radio programme last week about the migration of private sector workers to the public sector. This (slightly ...
BA overhauls £5bn spend
Feb 19, 2009; ... [Transport] British Airways (BA) has launched a review of its £5 billion annual spend following the appointment of a new head of procurement. Tim Richardson, previously general manager of procurement strategy and operations at the company, took over as acting buying chief earlier ...
EC: innovation needed
Feb 19, 2009; ... [Public sector] Many public sector buyers are not aware of the benefit of precommercial procurement and are not acting as "intelligent customers", according to the European Parliament. Pre-commercial procurement allows purchasers to buy the development of innovative products, and ...
BBC's 'bullish' strategy on travel
Feb 19, 2009; ... [Business travel] Buyers have to be "bullish" to win senior managers round to new procurement strategies, according to the Incoming chairman of the Institute of Travel Management (ITM). Jamie Hindhaugh, who is also head of sourcing for production resources, logistics and ...
Network Rail on track to meet costs target
Feb 19, 2009; ... [Transport] Network Rail is set to cut costs by 21 per cent over the next five years, following a demand from the Office of Rail Regulation (ORR). The regulator said Network Rail can spend about £28.5 billion from April 2009 to March 2014, £2.6 billion less than It had asked ...
DWP meets with suppliers to tackle downturn risks
Feb 19, 2009; ... [Whitehall] The Department for Work and Pensions is to work more closely with its suppliers as It adapts its commercial strategy to tackle the economic downturn. "There's a necessary increase on value for money across the public sector and we want to deal with that. Part of our ...
The CIPS
Feb 19, 2009; ... Supply Management Awards 2009 Buyers can enter the CIPS Supply Management Awards 2009 from today. The awards, which are free to enter, celebrate and reward excellence in purchasing and supply. There are 11 team categories as well as an overall winner. In addition to the team ...
NEWS BRIEFS
Feb 19, 2009; ... * UNILEVER CUTS COSTS Commodity costs at Unilever increased by euro2.7 billion (£2.4 billion) last year. But the consumer goods firm managed to save euro1.1 billion (£995 million) through the transformation of its European supply chain, including restructuring 20 factories and improving ...
E.ON opts not to renew deals
Feb 19, 2009; ... [Utilities] E.ON UK will not renew gas and electricity contracts with organisations that operate at more than SO sites and use certain types of meters. In a letter sent to the organisations and seen by SM, the energy supplier said it would not bid on new contracts with businesses ...
Olympic standards met so far
Feb 19, 2009; ... [Sustainability] The Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) is making good progress on targets to introduce sustainable procurement, according to an independent review. However, the Commission for a Sustainable London 2012 (CSL) said it had "significant concerns" that requirements for ...
UN investigations find political block
Feb 19, 2009; ... [Fraud] Political interference is damaging investigations into corruption at the United Nations, according to a US think tank. A report published by The Heritage Foundation said the shutdown of the task force investigating procurement fraud at the organisation is threatening ...
Networking sites are not for buyers
Feb 19, 2009; ... [SM 100] The popularity of social networking websites does not extend to their use in the procurement profession, according to the latest SMlOO poll. It found that 60 per cent of buyers do not use sites such as Facebook or MySpace, or their more business-orientated counterparts ...
TECH BRIEFS
Feb 19, 2009; ... * MOTHERCARE TURNS TO E-PROCUREMENT Mothercare has adopted an e-procurement system as part of a deal to automate some of its finance operations. The software, provided by CODA, will enable the retailer to complete purchases, accounting and invoicing online, and improve ...
Buyers: check market prices
Feb 19, 2009; ... Buyers must monitor market information on prices in real-time to inform their purchasing decisions, according to the head of procurement for sandwich chain Subway. Speaking at the World Class Food Buying Seminar this month, Mike Attwood, purchasing director for the European Independent ...
UK and China enter a new age of trade
Feb 19, 2009; ... [Sourcing] In a surprising turn of events, Chinese buyers will source from UK suppliers as part of trade agreements signed by the two nations. During his visit to Britain earlier this month, Chinese premier Wen Jiabao agreed a memorandum of understanding with Gordon Brown aimed ...
WORLD BRIEFS
Feb 19, 2009; ... * PHILIPPINES The ministers of finance, public works and ombudsman in the Philippines should resign over failure to prevent corruption in a road-building project. The World Bank blacklisted seven vendors, including three Philippine firms, and one individual for alleged collusion ...
Hitachi plans to save on sourcing
Feb 19, 2009; ... [Electronics] Electronics giant Hitachi aims to save ¥300 billion (£2.3 billion) from procurement over the next year. The Japanese company plans to further centralise its purchasing operations and take advantage of the strong yen by sourcing more materials from ...
Restricting procurement
Feb 19, 2009; ... [International trade] The financial crisis and fear of industrial action have raised concerns over protectionism making a comeback. Paul Snell investigates the implications British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has described protectionism as "the road to ruin". He has made clear ...
Sensitive information
Feb 19, 2009; ... [SECURITY] The implications of a data security failure can be devastating to business, but there are steps you can take to limit the risks. Lorna Kelly looks at how to manage your suppliers in this area Recent publicity about data security breaches will have given some of us a ...
COURT REPORT
Feb 19, 2009; ... [Mercury Tax Group v HM Revenue and Customs] THE CASE What steps need to be taken to ensure a contract is properly executed and enforceable? The decision of the High Court in the Mercury Tax case offered an insight into the formalities of ensuring a contract is valid and ...