IBM Shifts Global Procurement HQ
IBM plans to relocate its global procurement headquarters to Shenzhen, China. The decision to move Chief Procurement Officer John Paterson’s office from Somers, New York, to China marks the first time the headquarters of an IBM corporate-wide organization has been located outside the US. This move illustrates the shift under way at IBM from a multinational corporation to a globally integrated enterprise.
“In a multinational model, many functions of a corporation were replicated around the world — but each addressing only its local market,” Paterson said. “In a globally integrated enterprise, for the first time, a company’s worldwide capability can be located wherever in the world it makes the most sense, based on the imperatives of economics, expertise and open environments.”
The other reason Paterson has relocated to Asia is to lead an effort to reshape the company’s supply base in the region. Although IBM has been sourcing in Asia for more than 50 years, most of it has been in support of its hardware businesses. But the demand for software and services skills, across Asia and worldwide, is growing. To meet the demand will require developing relationships with new partners and suppliers and working with existing ones to help them build skills, processes and management practices to compete globally in the services market.
IBM chose Asia as the global procurement headquarters because it already has more than 1,850 procurement and logistics professionals in the region, many of them at its China Procurement Center in Shenzhen, which has been in operation for more than a decade. The company also has strong and collaborative relationships with nearly 3,000 suppliers across Asia, accounting for about 30 percent of the $40 billion IBM spends annually on procurement.
India to Garner 400 Tech Jobs
Qantas Airways hopes to shift up to 400 IT jobs to India, and plans to cut more than 1,500 jobs by year-end. Australia’s largest airline claims that the move is to cope with a shortage of skilled workers available at reasonable cost. Two Indian companies, Tata Consulting Services and Satyam Computer Services, have been short-listed to take over the technology work. The airline said it will announce the awarding of the contract by the end of the month.
The Indian companies will provide services such as Internet bookings, frequent flier programs, operational logistics, crew and engineering operations, and financial and payroll systems. Satyam already won a contract to provide payroll technology services to the airline this year. Australian labor groups oppose the move stating that it is the latest tactic to dump more expensive local workers in favor of cheap foreign labor.
Huawei Wins Two Contracts in Pakistan
Huawei Technologies has been selected by Worldcall Group, a fast emerging telecom group in Pakistan, to deploy a CDMA WLL network. In the turnkey project, Huawei will provide Worldcall Telecommunications with civil engineering, infrastructure deployment, management and optimization. The new CDMA WLL Network will be built on Huawei’s CDMA Softswitch solution and its 450/479MHz base transceiver station (BTS).
Huawei has also won a $550 million GSM expansion contract to expand the wireless network of Ufone, a subsidiary of the UAE’s Etisalat. Under the agreement, Huawei will provide its future-oriented EnerG GSM solution to expand Ufone’s network to cover over 1,500 cities, towns, villages and all major highways in the country. The network will also allow Ufone subscribers to enjoy high-speed wireless data service. The GSM contract for Ufone also includes Huawei’s new generation GSM dual density BTS and Huawei’s Mobile Softswitch solution.
Environmentally Friendly Computers Available
The Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT) is a system in which manufacturers declare their products’ conformance to a comprehensive set of environmental criteria in eight environmental performance categories. Begun in July, EPEAT has already evaluated desktop computers, laptops and monitors from eight manufacturers. Some of the products identified in the online EPEAT registry highlight some truly innovative features, including computer monitors made partly out of plant-based materials.
Compared to traditional computer equipment, all EPEAT-registered computers have reduced levels of cadmium, lead and mercury to better protect human health and the environment. They are more energy efficient, which reduces emissions of climate changing greenhouse gases. They are also easier to upgrade and recycle. In fact, manufacturers must offer safe recycling options for the products when they are no longer usable.
IT hardware is identified as EPEAT-Bronze, EPEAT-Silver, or EPEAT-Gold depending on the number of environmental features incorporated in the product. More than $30 billion in purchases by organizations seeking more environmentally friendly computers already reference the EPEAT standard and the numbers continue to grow. Additional details on the EPEAT standard and the searchable database listing all EPEAT registered computer products is available online at www.epeat.net.
Microsoft to Release OS on Schedule
Microsoft confirmed that it is on track to deliver Windows Vista for worldwide availability to its volume license business customers in November and worldwide general availability in January. The company also confirmed that it would be releasing Windows Vista in Europe and Korea on schedule, following what the company called “constructive dialogue” with the European Commission and the Korea Fair Trade Commission.
Microsoft had agreed to make a number of changes to Windows Vista in response to guidance the company received from the European Commission, said Microsoft General Counsel Brad Smith. Microsoft has also incorporated changes to Windows Vista in Korea to comply with its legal obligations there.
HP Appoints Chief Ethics Officer
HP has appointed Jon Hoak as vice president and chief ethics and compliance officer. Hoak will be responsible for HP’s adherence to its Standards of Business Conduct and report to the company’s chairman and chief executive officer, Mark Hurd, until a general counsel is named.
Prior to joining HP, Hoak served as senior vice president and general counsel for NCR from 1993 until May 2006 and previously served for three years as an attorney for AT&T.
Among Hoak’s responsibilities will be working with Bart Schwartz, an outside counsel who was hired by HP last month to perform an independent assessment of current investigative practices and develop future best practices. Schwartz formerly worked as an assistant US attorney under Rudy Giuliani.
