As part of its overall focus on more transparency in government contracting, the Acquisition Advisory Panel is calling for a slew of changes to the way federal procurement data are gathered and processed.

http://www.purchasing.com/article/CA6404205.html

Tim McBride, director, global procurement center, for Microsoft Corp., will be the keynote speaker at the National Association of Procurement and Payables (NAPP) professionals’ annual conference on Feb. 11-14, 2007 in Orlando, Fla.

http://www.fcw.com/article97254-01-08-07

The business of information technology as a function of government is still in its infancy. Yet the advances IT has made in the past two decades are profound and continuously evolving. A review of the business of IT during the past 20 years sheds light on some major occurrences that have shaped the industry.

http://www.sdcexec.com/online/article.jsp?id=9101&siteSection=13

Boston — January 17, 2007 — Enterprises continue to undertake indirect procurement outsourcing initiatives, but a failure to achieve internal compliance in parallel with improved supplier management is driving lingering dissatisfaction with these programs, according to a new study from NelsonHall, the business process outsourcing (BPO) analyst firm.

http://www.fcw.com/article97413-01-19-07-Web&RSS=yes

Procurement practices shouldn’t impede the implementation of software as a service (SaaS) in government agencies as long as suppliers of such solutions educate federal buyers about the benefits of this software business model, said Dan Chenok, a vice president at SRA International.

http://www.sdcexec.com/online/article.jsp?id=9118&siteSection=27

Research Triangle Park, NC, and Carlsbad, CA — January 23, 2007 — SciQuest Inc., a provider of on-demand supplier management and procurement automation solutions, and Invitrogen Corp. Inc., a provider of essential life science

http://www.fcw.com/article97471-01-24-07-Web&RSS=yes

A group of Northern European countries has chosen a recently ratified version of the Universal Business Language (UBL) as the basis for cross-border electronic procurement transactions, with a view to making it the anchor of the European Union’s eProcurement platform.

http://www.sdcexec.com/online/article.jsp?id=9140&siteSection=27

Vernon Hills, IL, and Research Triangle, NC — January 30, 2007 — CDW Government Inc. (CDW-G), a source of information technology (IT) solutions to governments and educators, and SciQuest Inc., a provider of on-demand supplier

http://www.sdcexec.com/online/article.jsp?id=9146&siteSection=27

Sunnyvale, CA — January 31, 2007 — Access equipment manufacturer JLG Industries is expanding its relationship with spend management specialist Ariba, broadening its portfolio of Ariba solutions to include additional technology, commodity expertise and services, the solution provider announced this week.

http://www.purchasing.com/article/CA6406372.html?industryid=2161

For a number of years, companies have used team-based buying strategies to better leverage direct spend. But similar team-buying initiatives on the indirect materials side tend to be a lower priority if they exist at all. And very few of the companies that do focus on indirect spend take the initiative to create formal team structures to manage improvements in this area.