Many companies can’t afford to hire consultants for their purchasing department, but a new web-based forum means you could get the benefit of consultants’ wisdom without paying the fee. PMMS Consulting group has added a discussion forum for purchasing and negotiation professionals to its website, and it’s free of charge.

Andrew Pinder, a former director of IT at the Inland Revenue with private-sector experience in the operations and technology divisions at Citibank and Prudential, has been appointed as a stopgap e-envoy, following the resignation last month of Alex Allan.

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The Office of Government Commerce has moved to quash suggestions that the government procurement card (GPC) could be used to fund illicit purchases following a report highlighting widespread abuse of the US military’s purchasing card.