vendor management - News, Features, and Slideshows

News

• The Instillery moves its headquarters to Hamilton

  CEO Mike Jenkins sees more growth ahead with their ‘co-pilot approach’ with customers

• Walgreens and Microsoft partner to develop digital healthcare services

  The two companies will also develop healthcare solutions to reduce emergency room visits

• HP launches ‘device as a service’ in New Zealand

  Contracts can cover support for a combination of devices, analytics around their use, and tech recycling.

• NZ Government opens digital procurement channel

  Over 90 per cent of suppliers involved in testing Marketplace are NZ-based SMBs, says Government Digital Services Minister Clare Curran.

• Expect more ‘mega partnerships’ among technology vendors

  These partnerships, exemplified by SAP and IBM are generally “good news” for CIOs, but those whose providers are outside these agreements should carefully look at their contracts and SLAS, says Holger Mueller of Constellation Research.
  

• Kiwibank: Taking a different approach to a business process

  The bank’s head of customer experience, Anand Ranchord, talks about his approach to business process when tasked to create a new mobile app for home loans.

• Vendors as partners

  Ken Piddington, CIO of Global Partners LP, an $8 billion energy company in the Northeast, recently implemented an innovative vendor partnership program that he hopes will improve the product and services the company gets from suppliers while helping those suppliers more efficiently serve the company and benefit from the relationship.

• Inside the next generation vendor management office

  Today, almost 50 per cent of companies have a centralized vendor management group in place, with 11 per cent planning to introduce one this year. Why are we seeing the growth of this unit within the organization? The main drivers for a business to invest in a VMO are to get more value out of existing suppliers and to lower overall costs through better rate negotiations and demand consolidation. Most often, the VMO is either housed in IT or procurement, depending on the business, and consists of two to ten people who are responsible for overseeing the big picture of vendor management.

• Datacraft purchase of Integral/Axon confirmed

  Datacraft has confirmed that it has made a conditional offer to buy Integral/Axon Computer Systems. The transaction is expected to be completed by November 1. Neither party will disclose the purchase price.
  It’s being positioned as an acquisition of capability. Datacraft NZ managing director Robin Hartendorp says. Datacraft set out to acquire a company that provided strong competencies in IT infrastructure management to complement Datacraft’s network management focus.

• Gartner buying AMR Research in US$64 million deal

  Gartner announced it is buying AMR Research for US$64 million, in the latest acquisition by the giant IT research firm. The deal is expected to be completed this month.
  AMR is known for its emphasis on supply chain management. It has roughly 40 analysts and 45 sales representatives, and is on track to gross US$40 million this year, according to Gartner.

• Ricoh secures carbon neutral tick

  After becoming the first local IT business to achieve carbon neutrality through Landcare Research’s carboNZero programme, Ricoh is encouraging others to follow suit.
  Managing director Mike Pollok says that while the world is going through some tough economic times, businesses all need to become more environmentally responsible or there will be serious consequences in the future.

• Vendor management offices provide value

  By itself, an ironclad contract can't save a soured sourcing relationship, any more than an ironclad prenuptial agreement can ensure a happy marriage. When the honeymoon is over and you realise that the vendor with which your company entered a multiyear relationship isn't all you thought it would be, you scramble for the contract to see what options you have. But at that point, it's probably too late to salvage the relationship.