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Firms get Sony advice
Sony UK will continue with a Welsh Development Agency programme designed to help to improve the standard of suppliers in south Wales, writes Vanessa Pawsey.

John Hoskins, general manager of procurement at Sony’s cathode-ray-tube factory in Bridgend, told SM: “It’s about lean thinking, taking out waste and, at the same time, improving the quality of suppliers.”
Stationery outsourced
London’s Great Ormond Street Hospital is set to outsource its stationery supplies in a move which the trust says will save it time, money and storage space in warehouses.

Michael Pace, Great Ormond Street procurement manager, said the deal, which takes effect in November, will see a single supplier handle the hospital’s stationery and various non-desktop item orders.
Wheel project triumph
Careful management of procurement and supply chains has kept construction of London’s 135-metre-high Ferris wheel on schedule, according to project managers, writes Elizabeth Bellamy.

The £20 million British Airways-backed London Eye - currently on its side on the south bank of the Thames - should start spinning on new year’s eve.
Lean supply set to go
Lean supply chains will disappear within three years as firms become more agile to cope with customer demand and market competition, according to logistics experts.
Builders launch forum


The Confederation of Construction Clients, a public and private sector forum, will be launched in December. It will encourage value for money and measure improvement in the performance of suppliers. For more information, call 020 7931 9749.
PFI lacks deal-makers
“Serious weaknesses” in public-sector contract negotiation and project management skills are blighting the success of the government’s private finance initiative (PFI) for construction of government and departmental buildings, according to a new report.
Transport integration

Late payment seminars

Publish and be damned
Conservative MP Alan Duncan explains why he believes the government’s e-commerce bill is a ‘dog’s breakfast’
UK firms lead the way
British companies are ahead of French, Dutch and German firms in conducting electronic commerce, according to a survey by CMG.

More than 70 per cent of the 250 respondents believed e-commerce was essential to the success and survival of their company. Nearly 60 per cent agreed e-commerce is a revenue opportunity that cannot be ignored.
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