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Longevity rules in the 10 biggest selling business books at WH Smith. No Logo, described by some as a manifesto for the anti-globalisation movement, was published last January and of the remaining books, only Shackleton’s Way, Corporate Voodoo and Now, Discover Your Strengths came out this year. 1. No Logo by Naomi Klein (HarperCollins, £8.99)

Buying for the Future

Kevin Lyons Pluto Press, £17.99

An unethical practice

Buyers can, on occasion, request payment from suppliers, but charging them simply to secure custom is wrong, argues Melinda Johnson

Partnering no panacea

Few purchasers fully understand what partnering with suppliers is and the pitfalls involved, delegates at Coup 99 were told.

Douglas Macbeth, CIPS professor of supply chain management and head of management studies at the University of Glasgow, warned that partnering is not a “magic bullet”. “We’ll have a few shots with it and if it doesn’t work we’ll look for a new bullet,” he said.

UK top on outsourcing

Britain leads Europe with 37.5 per cent of its overall logistics market contracted out to third parties, according to a report from analysts Datamonitor. But Germany pips the UK in the value of its contracted market, at £6.3 billion in 1998. Britain’s £5.7 billion in 1998 is up from £4.7 billion in 1996.

FTA pushes for action

The Freight Transport Association (FTA) has published a report listing the key transport investment priorities for the government if it is to deliver its promises of transforming the UK’s transport infrastructure within 10 years and making it the envy of Europe.

Operations Management

Terry Hill Macmillan, £25.99

Firms get Sony advice

Sony UK will continue with a Welsh Development Agency programme designed to help to improve the standard of suppliers in south Wales, writes Vanessa Pawsey.

John Hoskins, general manager of procurement at Sony’s cathode-ray-tube factory in Bridgend, told SM: “It’s about lean thinking, taking out waste and, at the same time, improving the quality of suppliers.”

Stationery outsourced

London’s Great Ormond Street Hospital is set to outsource its stationery supplies in a move which the trust says will save it time, money and storage space in warehouses.

Michael Pace, Great Ormond Street procurement manager, said the deal, which takes effect in November, will see a single supplier handle the hospital’s stationery and various non-desktop item orders.

Wheel project triumph

Careful management of procurement and supply chains has kept construction of London’s 135-metre-high Ferris wheel on schedule, according to project managers, writes Elizabeth Bellamy.

The £20 million British Airways-backed London Eye - currently on its side on the south bank of the Thames - should start spinning on new year’s eve.