Firms can manage their sourcing better by developing relationships not only with their suppliers but with their suppliers' suppliers, according to two papers co-written by a University of Illinois supply chain management expert.

Vinimaya Inc., a vendor of applications and services for procurement and catalog management, has released Vinimaya vTransport.

Hubwoo and GEP have entered into a partnership to provide a cloud-based source-to-pay service.

Basware, a provider of electronic invoicing and purchase-to-pay technology, has launched an "E-Invoicing Switchover" initiative.

Highroad Consulting Ltd. has launched a new post-audit firm, known as FrateAudit.

Seventy percent of chief procurement officers (CPOs) say their suppliers do not provide sufficient innovation and value to their companies, according to a new survey by Consero Group, which creates invitation-only events for senior executives. The results were reported as part of the 2013 Global Procurement & Strategic Sourcing Data Survey.

Using cutting-edge pulp molding equipment, researchers at Bangor University have begun a process of heating mixtures of ryegrass to press and mold into prototype fruit and vegetable packaging products.

Factoring uncertainties into supplier strategy decisions builds agile procurement into the whole supplier life cycle. Procurement leaders of the future will measure uncertainty through quantitative analyses, modeling scenarios to take key uncertainties, such as supplier bankruptcy or material scarcity, into account.

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.

In the United States, B2B e-commerce revenue has now more than doubled that of B2C - with $559bn annually in sales - and B2B players that fail to embrace online and mobile as leading channels risk losing market share in the short and medium term, and sustainable competitive advantage in the long-term.