NEWS BRIEFS

Supply Management, May 8, 2008

* HERTZ OUTSOURCES INDIRECT SPEND

Vehicle rental firm Hertz has outsourced its indirect purchasing to ICG Commerce.

The company made the move to boost efficiency and make cost savings. Non-core spend categories covered by the deal include marketing, transport, IT and equipment. The amount of spend ICG will manage is between $750 million and $1.25 billion (£380 million to £633 million).

* CORPORATE PAYMENT SERVICES SELLS FOR $1BN

American Express is to buy GE Money's purchasing card business Corporate Payment Services (CPS) for $1.1 billion (£556 million).

The purchasing card scheme, set up by GE Money in 1992, has more than 300 corporate customers and covered $14 billion (£7 billion) of purchases in 2007.

* BUYERS URGED TO IMPROVE SPORTS BUYING

Buyers of sportswear and equipment should sign up to a range of commitments to help improve worker conditions in their supply chains, a study has urged.

Clearing the Hurdles, produced by Play Fair 2008 - a collaboration between trade unions and campaign groups - found there has been little progress in improving worker treatment since 2004.

* CPOs TOLD: FIGHT COSTS

Chief procurement officers should renegotiate contracts with suppliers to mitigate the risk of inflation during economic uncertainty, according to experts in the US.

A panel of six procurement consultants said buyers must renegotiate high-value, high-risk contracts for goods and services such as fuel.

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