Tempe, AZ April 10, 2002 Industrial gases supplier BOC Group has tapped ICG Commerce to provide sourcing services in a bid to reduce costs on the $86 million in materials and services that the company buys annually throughout its European operations.
BOC, with 2001 sales exceeding $6 billion, employs nearly 43,000 people and operates in more than 50 countries. The company has engaged ICG Commerce to provide strategic procurement services across a variety of categories including telecommunications, IT services, logistics and technical items over the next three years.
Initially, ICG Commerce will conduct a corporate procurement assessment and category analysis. Then, based on the results of the early research, ICG will manage the entire strategic sourcing process of identification, qualification and negotiation to recommend suppliers that can best meet BOC's sourcing requirements.
"BOC is always striving for more effective supplier relationships to improve its supply chain," said Jim Ford, managing director for industrial and special products at BOC Europe. "ICG Commerce brings us additional capabilities and category expertise, and we look forward to the savings that their team will deliver to our organization."
"Our relationship with ICG in Europe compliments the goals of our organization in seeking both sustainable cost reductions and applying leading-edge procurement processes to underpin our whole organization's effectiveness ... now and in the future," added Craig Lardner, BOC`s group manager of supply management."
ICG will manage the sourcing activities on behalf of BOC through its European operations, based in London.
