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Big boom on the cards


Figures to be released by the Association of Payment Clearing Services next week will show an 82 per cent rise in the number of Visa purchasing cards issued by its member banks. Total card expenditure was £272 million in the year to December 1998, compared with £155 million the previous year.
A saving worth taking?
David Gazeley points out some of the dangers of being enticed by companies that claim to save you money
Buyers' pay-back time
Salaries for purchasing professionals have been increasing by almost twice the rate of inflation over the past year, according to the latest Purcon survey. February’s edition of the six-monthly Purcon index shows average increases running at 5.6 per cent, with average total earnings now at £29,027.
Unipart loses MG work


Unipart, the privately owned UK parts distributor, has lost MG Rover’s business to US industrial group Caterpillar Logistics Services. Former Rover owner BMW had already served notice to Unipart that its contract would not be renewed in February 2002. MG Rover will benefit from most of the profits from the sale and distribution of aftermarket parts.
Leasing firms ‘suffer’


A fall in the price of used cars will lead to a wave of consolidation in the leasing industry, according to Lex Vehicle Service. It said firms offering cars on long-term contracts were particularly hit, as buy-back values are calculated three years in advance and are now worth less than predicted.
Single sourcing risks
Q: How do I manage the risk associated with a sole supplier policy for strategic materials and services?
FTA slams white paper

Roll out the software


Sainsbury’s Supermarkets will be introducing a system based on Microsoft’s Value Chain Initiative for hundreds of its suppliers. The software allows trading partners to share information and synchronise business processes.
M&S seeks flexibility

Measuring performance
Partnership sourcing may sound impressive but it can carry hidden dangers, warns David Pearson
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