Purchasing

Microsoft's Silent Partners
No one will dispute that buying services globally is a challenge for purchasing operations at world-class companies. It's not so much that there are not many suppliers capable of providing services around the globe, it's that to be successful, purchasing has to ensure that its strategy is consistent from country to country, whether the business is buying, say, marketing services in North Americ...

• The Bridge to India (under construction)
• Tech talk: A buyer's how-to guide to working with engineers

Electronics and Technology News Electronics Leadtimes Most leadtimes shrink Electronics Trends NAND flash prices to fall despite strong demand from OEMs Business Intelligence-Electronics purchasers who say business is improving; Buyers who plan to increase purchase orders in the next 90 days; Purchasers who say semiconductor prices will be stable over the next 90 days Micron to open chip facility in China Passives: Expect stable prices and steady leadtimes for resistors Digi-Key, APEM ink deal Prices for large LCD panels to fall until the third quarter Cree's white LEDs warm up TSMC to use .18 micron

News and Departments Economy + Supply Growth Losing Speed Intel Outlines New Chips LSI Logic Owns Agere Firms Ink NAND Chip Deal Bidders Eye Palm DHL Automates in Calif. BOC Edwards Sold Xerox Buys Distributor Housing Index Slides IMF: No U.S. Recession PC Shipments to Rise PACT Favors Consumers SEMI Orders Take A Dip Airline Woes Continue Infineon Exits Fiber Optics Chip Firms Enter China Logistics CandleScience sheds light on inbound shipments with new tools Business Intelligence- Freight buyers reporting price increases in March; Buyers expecting freight rate hikes in the next 90 days; Total U.S. container traffic handled by LA and Long Beach Ocean freight rates and demand remain stubbornly high My Turn How to win friends and influence colleagues Office Business Intelligence-Employees that admit taking pencils or pens from work for personal use; What Xerox spent to buy Global Imaging Systems; Amount of the world's ink and toner currently made in China Office distributors give buyers greater access to green products Prices Keep an Eye on These Prices Prices Iran Boosts Oil Tags Nickel Rationing Ahead? Copper will Stay High Gold Bug is Bullish Microchip Tags Down NAND will Keep Sliding Materials May Inflate Price War not Over Watch Illinois Power LCD Panels are Down Drams are Dimmer Plasma Screens Drop Strategies + Tactics Rio Tinto purchasing uses e-marketplace for supply chain efficiency