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BAE Systems, the UK’s largest defence contractor and the third largest in the world, has warned it might pull out of UK naval shipbuilding if the Ministry of Defence continues to place orders at yards around the country for “political reasons”. BAE is insisting it builds all 12 of the Navy’s Type 45 destroyers, rather than share construction with Hampshire-based rival Vosper Thorneycroft.
Britain’s largest banks are overcharging small and medium-sized enterprises for loans and current accounts, according to a provisional report from the Competition Commission. Banks are operating a “complex monopoly” that could be against the public interest, said the commission, whose final report will be issued in June.
Prime minister Tony Blair has promised that the government will invest £100 million in renewable energy. Speaking at a World Wildife Fund conference, Blair said that the funds, to be spread over three years, will be used to promote solar power, offshore wind generation and wave power.
Car maker DaimlerChrysler is expected to reduce its number of vehicle platforms sharply and promote more component sharing between itself, Mercedes and Mitsubishi Motors as part of a major corporate restructure. The company has announced plans to axe 26,000 jobs and close six of its plants.
Irish firms have been criticised for their poor supply chain management in a report from the National Institute of Transport and Logistics. Among the findings was that less than a fifth of companies had any logistics function and that just over half could not identify their total supply chain costs.
Re-engineering internal business processes is the biggest obstacle in implementing e-procurement, according to a study of purchasing professionals at 200 large firms. Businesses using the web still purchase less than a tenth of their goods electronically, and achieve cost savings of 5 per cent or less, said the survey, conducted on behalf of Ariba.