TECH BRIEFS

Supply Management, Mar 13, 2008

* TAYLOR WIMPEY SIGNS DEAL WITH LOGICACMG

Housebuilder Taylor Wimpey has signed a £30 million IT outsourcing deal with LogicaCMG.

The IT company will help integrate and manage Taylor Woodrow's and George Wimpey's IT systems, following the merger of the two firms in July 2007.

The construction group hopes to achieve savings of 20 per cent over the course of the five-year contract.

* PROCSERVE CUSTOMERS GET HELP TO GO GREEN

E-procurement firm ProcServe has teamed up with consultancy Green 2020 to help its customers measure and improve their environmental performance.

Buyers and suppliers who use ProcServe's services will be given advice on reducing energy use and carbon emissions. It said a purchasing decision is the first stage in a carbon emission lifecycle and it wants to encourage clients to buy from green suppliers.

* MAKELLA CHANGES NAME AFTER TAKEOVER

UK-based e-procurement firm Makella is to change its name to Amphire following the takeover last year by the US firm.

Makella provides purchasing technology to food and beverage firms and expects to get more scale from the merger. Amphire manages more than £10 billion of transactions annually.

* COMPUTACENTER WINS BT INNOVATION AWARD

An IT project designed to reduce costs and save energy has won one of BT's first supplier innovation awards.

Computacenter picked up the award for its IT project that has cut BT's costs and improved sustainability. There were 130 entries in five categories.

The project, which began in 2006, has saved BT £800,000 a year on its energy bills and reduced consumption by 5,000 megawatts an hour.

* HILTON HOTEL USES E-PROCUREMENT

The Hilton hotel in Sharm El Sheikh is to implement a new e-procurement system from Birch Street Systems.

The programme will allow staff at the Egyptian hotel to order goods from approved suppliers, and streamline the procurement process.

Steven Henderson, director of Hilton Hotel's procurement systems, said automated purchasing would reduce costs and save time.