It is well documented through schemes such as the Operational Efficiency Programme that local government in the UK is facing pressure to make savings on its £42 billion annual spend. Reduced budgets and increasing demand mean failing to take action is no longer an option.
Motorists and skittery cyclists will be painfully aware of the pothole problem that has appeared in UK roads since the freezing weather began.
I was told this month that Capgemini is soon to announce one of the most substantial procurement outsourcing deals in the market. I have my suspicions as to who this is.
There is a team of dedicated employees at your organisation that meets secretly every day. Sometimes more than once a day. This cross-functional group is intentionally furtive and includes some of the most senior executives. And the chances are their brief and snatched conversations are often about you and your department.
The revelation that a 71-page brochure has been produced to help civil servants at the Treasury deal with stress is enough to make you, well, stressed.
A new fashion catalogue will land on the desks of NHS buyers next year – for designer hospital gowns. Finally, the traditional gown, famously lacking in material at the rear, is getting a makeover.
When you’re given a free gift at a conference, you don’t expect to get involved in something resembling a John Le Carré novel.
Working on a feature to follow up our recent coverage on procurement for Haiti, I’ve been struck by the passion, enthusiasm and energy of the buyers and supply chain experts I’ve interviewed. “It’s like a virus,” one told me.
The SM team looks forward to its after-work pint as much as anyone on a Friday, so it was partly with personal interest that I picked up on the story about the changing shape of pint glasses.
Volkswagen’s recent victory in this year’s Dakar rally was surprising, not due to the automotive company’s second consecutive victory and one-two-three podium finish, but because of the person selected to chosen to celebrate and announce the victory.
