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M&S losses due to overseas policy
Troubled retailer Marks & Spencer awaits a review of its purchasing processes and interim results, but analysts are already suggesting that the company’s problems arise directly from its sourcing policy.

The review, which is being carried out by consultancy AT Kearney, will be released early next month.
SMEs most keen to buy via the net
Small businesses in the UK are more interested in e-procurement for maintenance, repairs and operations than medium-sized companies, according to a survey.
Firms under pressure to outsource
Bruce Freeland, chief economist of the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, said many Australian businesses are considering outsourcing procurement, writes Elizabeth Bellamy.

He blamed an Asian economic crisis during the past 10 years and increasing globalisation in the business world.
When Good Companies Do Bad Things
“Nike boss Phil Knight’s 1994 salary was $1.5 million. On current wages, a young woman in China churning out his shoes would have to work nine hours a day six days a week for 15 centuries to match that.”

“Some 13 years ago, a leak from the Union Carbide plant at Bhopal was responsible for the deaths of 3,800 and injuries of up to half a million.”
Sweb comes top in customer survey
Sweb has emerged as the top-rated electricity company in a recent survey. Yorkshire was ranked second, PowerGen third and MEB came home in fourth place.
EC to challenge procurement rules
The British government could find itself in front of the European Court of Justice over its procurement guidelines after the European Commission announced an inquiry into a government white paper.

The commission began infringement procedures this month over Setting New Standards: A Strategy for Government Procurement, published by the Treasury in 1995.
Mistakes inevitable, warn experts
Fear of failing when implementing an e-procurement system is not a luxury today’s purchasing professionals can afford, delegates were told at the question time debate. There will be many failures as procurement strives to get to grips with systems that ha
Ford seeks non-production savings
Ford has asked its non-production suppliers to cut their costs by 30 per cent over the next three years as it seeks further efficiencies in indirect spend.
Multinational Strategic Alliances
Books about alliances seem to fall into two categories. There is the slim volume for sale at airport bookstalls, which uses anecdotal evidence from a large number of existing alliances and then seeks to draw universal laws.
UK plc warned as Japan looks east
British companies looking to supply Japanese customers in Japan face increasingly tough competition from East Asia, according to a report from Partnership Sourcing, the joint initiative between the Department of Trade and Industry and the Confederation of British Industry.
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