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The article reports on the temporary suspension of IBM from bidding for any U.S. government contracts while it is investigated by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) following allegations it violated public procurement rules. The company will continue work on existing contracts, but the suspension will hinder IBM from bidding for new work for up to a year, pending completion of the investigation.

The article reports that Great Britain's Office of Government Commerce (OGC) departments should develop skills. According to the National Audit Office (NAO), government departments must develop procurement talent to counter its weaknesses. The report "Commercial Skills for Complex Government Project" states that commercial capability in contract management, commissioning, and risk management are lacking in the public sector.

The article discusses statement of London, England Mayor Boris Johnson regarding the importance of responsible procurement as a key tool for guiding the business capital out of recession. The statement was featured in the paper published by the Greater London Authority (GLA), which emphasizes the vitality of purchasing to support businesses, and to promote skills and employment in the capital. The GLA's report also details their support in working on projects to encourage good procurement.

Information about the low-cost country sourcing discussed during the Low Cost Country Sourcing Conference in Prague, Czech Republic on September 2008 is presented. Topics include the importance of overcoming external differences and internal prejudices among purchasers and managing purchasing strategy through cultural change. The symposium featured several business executives including Atul Malhotra of Georg Fischer Corp., Philippe Advani of EADS NV, and Uwe Schulte of Unilever.

The article reports on the reduce of expenses by the clothing retailer Matalan Retail Ltd., by 2% regarding their supplier's payments. In order to save money and to obtain funds for their projects, Matalan cuts another 2% discount from supplier payments. The action that has been taken by the retailer company was criticized by the Forum of Private Business (FPB). A justification was requested by FPB's trade minister Margaret Hodge.

The article reports on the move of Kimberly-Clark to build a single global purchasing team in order to save as much as 500 million dollars by 2013.

The article reports that ITV procurement director Angela Porter and the Commonwealth Games England (CGE) are working together to raise 500,000 pounds to send English athletes to the Commonwealth Games in New Delhi, India in 2010.

The article discusses a study from the Everest Research Institute, which revealed a 20 percent increase in procurement outsourcing (PO) spending in 2010 to 1.3 billion dollars.

The article reports that Michael Portillo, former British cabinet minister, will be a speaker at the 2010 conference of the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply (CIPS) on September 23, 2010.

The article offers information on Care UK's procurement transformation project, led by group procurement director Christoph Marr, which consists of a central team of three buyers and 14 procurement champions across the organisation.

The article discusses the role of public sector buyers in Great Britain in achieving the government's savings targets of 11 billion pounds annually through 2013.

The article cites a report showing that the British Ministry of Defence (MoD) was spending millions of pounds on unproductive projects.

The article reports on the recommendation by the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) that the British government must reorganize public service delivery and improve procurement to make vital spending cuts.

The article reports on the 23.5 million pounds saved by ITV's procurement team for the year ending December 31, 2009 following its management buying strategy in Great Britain.

The article reports on the decision of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) to boost contract opportunities for women-owned firms by changing public procurement rules.

The article reports on the decision of Northrop Grumman Corp. and EADS NV to pull out the 35 billion U.S. dollars U.S. air tanker contract.

The article focuses on the SM100 poll that suggests 91% of Great Britain purchasers are not aware on possible job losses in increased procurement outsourcing (PO). It states that purchasers doubted the predictions and claims that PO deals enable them to have more strategic activities. It says that other organizations have included outsource management role to secure their jobs. Meanwhile, purchasers who are aware on PO impacts say that the increased outsourcing was an effort to have cost cuts.

The article reports that over 100 companies including law firms and multinationals like Warner Bros. and MediaCom in London, England will collaborate in a shared procurement plan to be organised by not-for-profit organization.

The article focuses on the audit report of Apple Inc. regarding the violations of its supplier code of conduct at factories in countries such as China and Taiwan in which Apple auditors revealed several violations including minor age workers, improper disposal of hazardous waste and signing contracts with uncertified vendors.

The article reports on the scam committed by individuals from Great Britain, wherein they pretended to be McDonald's Corp.'s personnel to purchase electrical goods from high-profile suppliers.

The article reports that the net profit of mining company Anglo American PLC decreased by 53% from 5.2 billion dollars in 2008 to 2.4 billion dollars in 2009, but the firm saved 1.6 billion dollars because of its improved procurement and asset management.

The article reports on the call of most senior buyers in Great Britain for a meaningful improvement in public procurement. Some government departments' directors rallied behind the comments of Nigel Smith of the Office of Government Commerce (OGC). Smith has told a procurement conference in London, England that ignorance and other problems were hindering the ability of procurement to restore public finances. David Smith of Department for Work and Pensions notes Smith's remark as a wake up call.

The article focuses on the report released by Ofgem which shows uncertainty in the ability of the market to distribute supplies over the succeeding decades due to financial crisis, rough environmental targets, and ageing power stations, and recommends radical reform to address the problem.

The article reports on the three government departments in Great Britain which attained progress on improving their procurement capabilities including the Office of Government Commerce (OGC), Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG), and Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).

The article presents the author's insights on issues related to bonus, incentives and procurements. It presents comments from various individuals associated to several financial institutions regarding the importance of bonus packages to an individual, and why they are more important than procurement. The author also cites the statement from purchasers that awarding incentives to meet savings targets could only trigger risk taking and produce unhealthy relationship to suppliers.

The article reports on the SM100 poll regarding the percentage of international buyers that did not receive bonus for slashing cost and buyers who were rewarded for their efforts in driving savings.

The article reports on the issue regarding the reduction of needless travels to lessen costs and emissions, which was discussed at the Business Travel & Meetings Show in London, England in April 2010.

The article reports on the disagreement between the Iceland's supermarket chief executive Malcolm Walker against chief executive of the Forum of Private Business (FPB) Phil Orford regarding the issue of new Grocery Supply Code of Practice.

The article reports on the acquisitions made by consultancy firm Capgemini Consulting on the e-procurement firm IBX in February 2010, which allows the Capgemini to use the technology and procurement outsourcing services of IBX.

The article reports on the accusations of the U.S. Department of Justice against 22 arms supply personnel of engaging in schemes to bribe government officials for arms contract in a country in Africa.

The article reports on the large procurement savings gained by the Kraft Foods Inc. following its acquisition of Cadbury PLC for 11.9 billion pounds.

The article focuses on a study conducted by the procurement recruitment consultancy Edbury Daley which shows that supplier relationship management (SRM) is experiencing an identity crisis as buyers pursue to establish a definition.

The article reports on the efforts of Starbucks Corp. towards cost reduction through driving down the prices of its suppliers, cutting the number of vendors, and improving the credibility of its procurement department.

The article reports the shift of handset and technology spend categories of O2, a telecommunications company in Great Britain, to Germany for its outsourcing deal.

The article focuses on the failure of purchasing department to use market information to alert senior management regarding supply chain risks.

The article reports on the plan of Toyota Motor Corp. to cut the cost of car parts by 30-40 per cent in 2013 to test the company's supplier relations.

The article presents the author's insight on supply chain risks. The author contends that most businesses are naive of the risks associated to supply chain. He mentions that during the global financial crisis, recessionary tactics emerge among businesses including cutting corners and hammering suppliers. He relates that firms are very preoccupied with their cost-cutting strategies that they disregard risk.

The article reports that China has accumulated an export record of 1.2 trillion dollars in 2009 which enabled it to become the world's biggest exporting country over Germany, who only got 1.17 trillion dollars in the same year.

The article reports on the 2010 SM100 poll which revealed that many organizations have no policy to prevent their staff from participating in transactions where the company has a conflict of interest. It mentions that 24% of the surveyed international buyers are not subject to rules that prevent them from obtaining the deals. Moreover, head of procurement David Smith of Walsall NHS says that procurement experts must be unbiased on such issue and should see where others are becoming fraudulent.

The article reports that the Chinese subsidiary of the U.S.-based telecommunications equipment manufacturing company UTStarcom Inc. (UTSI) was penalized for bribing Chinese officials.

The article reports on the plan of the British government on how the country would recover from financial crisis. It mentions that the government has adopted the "Policy through Procurement Action Plan" where public buyers are expected to contribute to the economic growth by supporting small businesses, boosting apprenticeships and cutting greenhouse emission. It adds that the government will establish a supplier charter to encourage vendors to have government-wide procurement priorities.

The article discusses the role of procurement in the manufacturing strategy of Ford Motor Corp.

The article reports that U.S.-based Alcoa Inc. has exceeded its 2009 procurement savings target by 500 million dollars and has reduced overhead costs by 412 million dollars.

The article reports on the collaborations among airlines to make cutbacks in 2010. It states that, like British Airways PLC (BA) and Monarch Airlines Ltd., Jetstar Airways P/L and AirAsia Bhd have also made a joint procurement agreement aiming to achieve a 200 million dollar savings by purchasing supplies and services together. Aviation expert Marcus Fromm of Accenture notes that these collaborations are signals to the market and that more deals among airlines should be expected in 2010.

The article reports on the investigation of Great Yarmouth and Waveney (GYW) primary care trust requested by the Association of Chief Executives of Voluntary Organisations (Acevo) and the British National Health Service (NHS) Partners Network. The two groups want the Department of Health's (DH) Co-operation and Competition Panel to investigate GYW. The probe was decided as GYW informed potential bidders to put its community services contract out to tender only for public sector health suppliers.

The article reports that Telefónica O2 UK Ltd. will end its 350 million pounds procurement outsourcing deal with 4C Associates Ltd. (4CA).

The article reports that British Prime Minister Gordon Brown called on the public sector buyers to go further before cutting costs. In response to this request, chancellor Alistair Darling confirmed that buyers will be central to rebalancing government finances. In addition, heads of government suppliers discussed a radical overhaul of public procurement at a roundtable debate.

The article reports that China has argued to the criticism on a new procurement rule.

The article provides information on the annual report by auditor general Jim McCarter indicating that buyers for the Ontario government must spend public money like it was their own to reduce waste.

The article offers world news briefs. According to Ray Shannon of Mayfair Buying Group, joint buying groups in Great Britain must be chaired by a peacekeeper to succeed. The Norwegian government has launched a web site to help buyers and suppliers to network and bring clarity to procurement laws. Cost and Expense Solutions has acquired Expenses4Less (E4L) for an undisclosed amount.