Sedex Global, a specialist in aiding companies in the development of responsible and ethical business practices within their supply chains, has partnered with the World Bank Institute to develop the Open Supply Chain Platform.

The Ariba sourcing and procurement network, now part of SAP AG, is moving to the SAP HANA in-memory platform for real-time computing.

State of Flux Technologies, provider of a Supply Management Platform, has launched a new supplier innovation module.

A new MIT study on supply chain risk shows no correlation between the total amount a manufacturer spends with a supplier and the profit loss it would incur if that supply were suddenly interrupted. This counterintuitive finding defies a basic business tenet that equates the greatest supply chain risk with suppliers of highest annual expenditure.

Traditional commercial vehicle manufacturers, such as Tata Motors and Ashok Leyland, are increasingly switching to providing vehicles fully built by them, rather than supplying only the chassis.

Ray Barger, research director with Gartner, describes the firm's five-stage "maturity model" for supply-chain management and procurement. He also grades companies' progress toward ultimate maturity.