Fujitsu to centralise procurement

Global - Fujitsu is looking to centralise the global procurement of parts in a bid to shave annual costs by 2%.

The company said it will operate a single database through which all group companies and departments can conduct their procurement activities. The database will manage information currently being processed at seven locations in the world.

The database was created in April when Fujitsu ran a pilot programme for PCs and cell phones. It plans to adopt the system for all other products including servers in this fiscal year.

Group companies will be able to access the database from the product design stage to part selection. Fujitsu procurement expects to leverage on combined demand from all the groups to negotiate a better price with suppliers.

Competitors like Hitachi are already using a similar system to procure its home appliances and IT equipment.

The company hopes the centralised database will assist the company in attaining its goal of lowering costs by 2%, or US$196 million a year.