This week a purchasing manager contacted us for advice on encouraging suppliers to become carbon neutral: “We are in the process of becoming a carbon neutral company. How can I encourage my suppliers to become carbon neutral themselves as I have good relationships with them and am not keen to source new suppliers?” Do you [...]
This week the OGC launched its Government Procurement Graduate Scheme for 2008. The programme is only entering its second year, and the number of places is still relatively small. What needs to be done to attract more graduates into the purchasing profession?
In the next issue of Supply Management, out on Thursday – Featured Articles Charity begins at home – Why don’t more charities have purchasing departments? Reverse logistics – How organisations can save money and achieve sustainability targets Deals of steel – Michael Ryan’s maverick procurement methods Hearing aid – The OGC’s supplier feedback service Also [...]
According to KPMG, the level of merger and acquisition (M&A) activity worldwide has reached a plateau. The firm expects the number of deals to be the same compared with 2007, but the size and value of the deals will be less. In the second half of 2007 there was a significant decline in the number [...]
The EU will today submit new proposals on toy safety. The aim is to improve the functioning of the internal market for toys and in turn, reduce their potentially harmful affects on children. In view of this, do you think these regulations are a good way of increasing safety? Or do you think firms should [...]
Research from the Aberdeen Group and print management firm HH Associates shows just 20 per cent of procurement departments have control over their organisation’s marketing spend. In many companies this is a growing area for procurement departments’ influence. Are you involved with marketing spend decisions? What advice do you have for those not yet involved [...]
In this issue’s Soapbox, Andrew Davies, Welsh minister for finance and public service delivery, explains the value of the public sector in the principality buying everything online. “An example of our approach is the Xchangewales programme that will provide an all-Wales system enabling every public sector organisation in the country to find suppliers, order more [...]
I was fortunate enough to attend the latest meeting of the Blueprint club in London yesterday evening. As some of you will know the Blueprint club is a networking group for women in the purchasing profession (they also allow men to attend). The group proved an great opportunity for networking with like-minded professionals and discussing [...]
“I can be the biggest pain in the backside for the procurement team and they can be the biggest pain in the backside for me, but together we can achieve what we need to.” So says David Williams, the claims director at insurance group AXA, who counts procurement among the functions that report to him. [...]
On the first day of his visit to China, Gordon Brown claimed that a good relationship between Britain and China is crucial to the health of the world economy. As a result, he wants to increase trade between the two countries by 50 per cent over the next two years. He predicts that the move [...]
