The week that was: 10 June 08 - 17 June 08
On a day when inflation in the UK hit its highest rate for 11 years (3.3 per cent), Procurement Leaders has been noting that the situation over here in Europe is nowhere near as worrying as that in Asia. A quick flick through the Times of India (during an admittedly quiet moment the other day) revealed that inflationary concerns in Asia could soon force a significant change of strategy for those companies sourcing from the region. The situation appears most desperate in Vietnam where, if Procurement Leaders believes all it reads, inflation hit 25 percent last month. With those sorts of figures it’s little surprise that many corporates are beginning to look to suppliers closer to home. As Procurement Leaders has always said to anyone prepared to listen the grass isn’t always greener.
Quote of the week - "We see phones as becoming less phones and more a bridge between the analog world we live in and the digital world of the Internet," Nokia chief technical officer Bob Ianucci looks into his crystal ball.
It’s safe to say that Bill Gates won’t be rushing out to get a Christmas card for the European Commission this year, although recent events suggest that maybe he should. The EU has been a vehement opponent of Microsoft in the past 12 months, lambasting (and fining) the company for monopolising the technology sector at any given opportunity. However, reports today claim that the EU is falling short in its own attempts to promote more competition in the technology sector. Neelie Kroes, the European Competition Commissioner, said last week that the Commission’s pledge to buy open-standard software needed “to be implemented with vigour.” Christos Ellinides, director of corporate IT solutions and services, then dropped a clanger after admitting that the EU was still “working in a Microsoft environment”. “The Commission should be more thorough in following their own policies,” one clearly baffled bureaucrat said. Quite right.
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