CEO blog
Welcome to the CEO blog. Its aim is to draw attention to developments and ideas in the world of supply management and in the work of the profession’s Institute.
We change the blog weekly, and I would welcome your comments personally on ceoblog@cips.org
David Noble FCIPS
UK economy grows by 1.1% - 23 July 2010
It’s never advisable to read too much into one set of figures, but today’s announcement from the Office of National Statistics that the UK economy grew by 1.1% in the second quarter of the year has to be good news. It’s a big jump from 0.3% for the first quarter and the fastest quarterly growth for four years. Most of the growth has come from the services sector, but the construction industry also seems to be picking up. It will be interesting to see if next month’s PMIs (Purchasing Managers' Index) back this up.
It’s a move in the right direction but it doesn’t mean that the recovery won’t stall or even go backwards. The smart money is on rollercoaster results for the rest of the year as the government’s cuts begin to bite deeper.
All procurement professionals know how seriously to take waste management. It’s always going to be up there on your CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) agenda. So you have to wonder what controls were in place at multinational giant Trafigura which has just been found guilty in a Dutch court of illegally exporting toxic waste to the Ivory Coast. Trafigura denies any wrongdoing and lays the blame on local contractors, but in the last five years the company has been fined €1 million and has paid out over $200 million in out of court settlements to Ivory Coast inhabitants. That’s a heavy price for mismanagement of this end of the supply chain.
Finally this week, I’m delighted to welcome on board Andre Coetzee as Managing Director of CIPS Southern Africa.
Andre takes the reins on 2 August and brings with him almost 30 years experience of South African and international markets. We’re looking forward to working with him to develop the procurement community in this rapidly expanding region.