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Marks & Spencer has blamed its worst-ever slump in profits on poor buying decisions stemming from a lack of communication with its customers.

“We have been criticised for taking our eye off the ball, and we probably did,” an M&S spokesperson told SM.

Partnering ‘conceals real issues’_2

Buyer and supplier partnerships are a “mask” that can disguise the true nature of purchasing relationships, an Australian expert has warned.

“Partnerships often mask the real issues that people should be talking about,” said Terence Burke, consultant at the Australia-based firm Public/Private Partnerships.

Top firms unable to name vendors_2

Most of the UK’s top companies want to have electronic procurement policies in place within two years, according to new research. Yet more than half were unable to name any suppliers of e-procurement systems.

New supplier pledges 20% savings_2

Savings of at least 20 per cent on water costs are being promised to large business users by a new national water supplier. The launch of h2go is expected to herald the opening up of the business-user water market.

Europe perseveres with UK action_2

The European Commission has referred the UK to the European Court of Justice over the alleged infringement of its public procurement rules, writes Cathy Hayward.

Laing to slash suppliers further_2

Construction giant Laing is aiming to reduce its number of core suppliers from 23 to 12 by the end of the year, as part of the final stage of a major supply chain revamp.

OGC examines marketplace options_2

The Office of Government Commerce (OGC) will examine the options for organising electronic markets with a team of economists, Jane Gibbs, the OGC’s head of e-commerce , told SM.

Big shake-up for NHS procurement_2

The strategic procurement function of NHS Supplies is to be split off and given to a new NHS Purchasing and Supply Agency from next April.

The government announced the shake-up to the £7 billion operation in the wake of a Cabinet Office review of NHS procurement aimed at increasing efficiency.

Sainsbury’s targets SMEs for EDI_2

Sainsbury’s is targeting 1,000 of its 2,400 small to medium-sized suppliers to take up its website electronic data interchange system, Web-EDI.

Around 40 suppliers are now using the system. The goal is to sign up 50 new users a week, according to David Simister, the supermarket chain’s logistics collaborative systems manager.

Web users warned about contracts_2

An IT legal expert has warned companies to be aware of contract law when doing business on the Internet.

While business-to-business transactions make up 80 per cent of electronic commerce dealings, Mark O’Conor, an Internet specialist and solicitor at Bird & Bird, said many organisations had misconceptions about conducting web-based business.