Like it or loathe it, globalisation isn’t going anywhere in a hurry, and the latest findings by a group of European academics – The European Economic Advisory Group – suggest that the continent’s businesses should be thankful for that fact.

The report even goes so far as to claim that globalisation is a “blessing”, arguing that far from increasing unemployment as a growing number of positions go offshore, it could actually bring about a Europe-wide increase in jobs .

"If so, globalisation will not be a curse for employment in western Europe, it could instead turn out to be a blessing," the report trumpets.

However, despite the generally upbeat tone of the report, the EEAG – try saying that after a few too many Chablis – claims that there is a danger of increased inequality as a result of globalisation, with the rich and higher skilled benefiting at the expense of lower-skilled worked facing increased competition of a growing influx of migrant labour.

The key element identified by the report was the impact that globalisation has had, and is having, on flexibility in the European labour market - a flexibility that, they argue, allows for increased market competition and demand for output.

Whether they’re right of course, remains to be seen, but the findings are, at the very least, likely to open a very lively debate.

Where are you reading this? In the office? On your Blackberry? Or, most likely, in a coffee shop?

If you are currently enjoying a latte whilst going about your daily business then you’re far from alone – in fact you’re now officially known as a “new Beduin”, a phrase first coined by the US media to describe the growing band of nomadic workers for whom coffee shops, wherever they may be, are their chosen place of work.

A new survey published here in the UK estimates that 75 per cent of workers visit a coffee shop regularly, with two thirds of them drinking their coffee - be it talle, grande or vente - whilst putting in the hours that, until recently, would have been spent behind a desk.

In London the growth of these new workers has led to a 160 per cent increase in the number of wi-fi hotspots available in the capital – a figure that reflects a growing global trend.

The Times ran interviews this weekend with two entrepreneurs who had set up their businesses from a coffee shop in Soho. One of them, Chris Jackson said: “You don’t need to work from one place anymore but people still sit there in offices grinding out emails. If what you are about is coming up with new ideas then it’s a pretty awful way.”

The coffee shops aren’t complaining either – normal business etiquette dictates that one drink should be purchased an hour – and although that’s a hell of a lot of coffee it seems to be a price worth paying for a more creative environment. Happy supping.

No subject is more likely to elicit a lively response from those managing procurement operations than one concerning the ongoing need to source and, crucially, maintain talent at a time when the need for it is more chronic than ever.

With that in mind, a recent article from Wharton Management caught my eye. In it, professor Peter Cappelli, argues that company’s need to take a new approach when it comes to talent management, claiming that failing to manage your company’s talent needs “is the equivalent of failing to manage your supply chain.”

Cappelli, is the author of a soon-to-be-published book entitled Talent on Demand: Managing Talent in an Age of Uncertainty, and says that it’s high time the principles of supply chain management – most pertinently those of ensuring stock and managing risk – were applied to talent. And he has a point.

"Managing supply chains is about managing uncertainty and variability,” he says. “This same uncertainty exists inside companies with regard to talent development. Companies rarely know what they will be building five years out and what skills they will need to make that happen; they also don't know if the people they have in their pipelines are going to be around."

In such an unpredictable business area, his views are bound to strike a chord with those operating in country’s such as India and China – the front line of procurement’s war for talent.

Those who work in procurement are accustomed to dealing with inflationary pressures, but a quick glance through the daily headlines suggest that after a period of relatively benign price increases we are about to enter a far tougher period.

Even the daily cup of tea (complete with chocolate bar) and, of course, the soothing evening glass of wine are hitting companies, and individuals, in the pocket.

The soaring price of sugar, coupled with ongoing concerns over tea supply from Kenya, not to mention a drought in Australia which is reeking havoc with the country’s vineyards, is having a worldwide impact.

However, of greatest concern, will be the potential effect of the decision from South Korean and Japanese steel mills to pay the Brazilian miner Vale 65 per cent more over the next 12 months (read here) – a decision that will undoubtedly place those sourcing from Asia under even greater pressure as the year unfolds.

Something that already stretched procurement operations could well do without.

Are you addicted to your Blackberry? Can you function without it? No? Well thank your lucky stars you’re on this side of The Atlantic.

Yesterday afternoon users in Canada and the US faced the terrifying prospect of life without the device for a full three hours, and although the company who owns the device, Canadian firm Research in Motion, insisted that no messages were lost, workers across North America were left furious as cold turkey set in for the second time in ten months.

Others though, seemed relieved to escape from the devices addictive pull. “It made my life a bit easier,” Canada’s Liberal Party spokesman Jean-Francois Del Torchio said.

For now Europe seems safe so keep emailing, but remember - when the US sneezes Europe catches a cold so make the most of your Blackberry while you can.

Risk is the word on everyone lips at the present time, hardly surprising given recent events, but some companies it seems are sweating more heavily than others.

Soaring oil prices, political and social unrest and the threat of terrorism are just four very good reasons why CPO’s are ducking for cover, but AON’s latest economic and political risk map gives businesses a global perspective on where to tread especially carefully over the next 12 months. And the message appears to be clear – if your global supply chain encompasses Iran, Nigeria or Venezuela then there could be trouble ahead.

Of the world’s top 50 economies, those three countries came out on top when it comes to civil unrest, war, terrorism and non-payment by governments for services rendered. Elsewhere, supply chain risks in Asia – graphically illustrated over the past 12 months – are once again high on the corporate agenda, as are the problems seen in some of the world’s fastest growing economies.

With the credit crunch also bringing some unwelcome side effects in both the US and Europe, times appear to be tough – a fact that no-one in procurement needs reminding.

The Luddites were a group of British workers who rioted at the start of the 19^th century opposing the introduction of automated textile machinery in the belief that it would diminish employment – since then the term has become synonymous with those who are opposed to the introduction of new technology. So why is this relevant to the sustainability debate? Well, check out the new Tata car, the Nano; it’s got one windscreen wiper, no air conditioning, and doesn’t need a gearbox. Best of all it only costs $2,500. Surely it must be a real step backwards as far automotive technology is concerned? Or is it…?

Well, excuse if you will for a moment the allegedly less than green credentials of its petrol driven engine, but what Tata have inadvertently done, (or even advertently for that matter) is driven a coach and horses through the innovate or die concept; they have in effect de-specified their product (or de-innovated), and reverted back to tried, tested and very simple technology, specifically focused for the markets that they are targeting.

Sophisticated? No. Cheap? Yes.

And fundamentally, there is nothing wrong with the product; it takes people, and their things, from A to B at a sensible speed of no more that 43 mph. Now excuse me if I state the obvious, but I would argue that this points a rather large arrow in the direction of a potentially critical sustainability management strategy. The bottom line is this, simpler products have simpler sustainability profiles. They have easier supply chains to manage, and their carbon footprints will be smaller than the all singing and dancing versions. Ok, so comfy western consumers may need to be dragged kicking and screaming to Nano showrooms, but that’s only because of the belief that our lives will be so much better if we drive a car with two windscreen wipers, and a gearbox. The reality is that we have all grown far too used to buying products with features that we don’t necessarily need, or potentially understand. Too much choice is a bad thing; not only is it confusing – I now have four remote controls in the lounge and I still can’t have a one–push change channel experience – but it’s bad for the environment.

Tata are boldly taking the car where no marketing team would ever dream of driving it; now what’s needed is the courage to embrace a broader agenda for product simplification, coupled with marketing strategies to promote its importance. We as members of the global procurement community have an obligation to look closely at this further and test its application within our own organisations. May be the Luddites had something useful to say after all.

E-procurement and North Korea are unlikely to have appeared in the same sentence too many times in the past but the world’s most secretive state has once again caught the west on the hop after they announced the launch of an e-commerce site for shoppers in the country.

The move is aimed at earning North Korea some much needed foreign currency and the site, available in Korean, English, Chinese, Russian and Japanese, will enable consumers to purchase machinery, building materials, vehicles and industrial art objects (you’re guess is as good as mine).

Sadly, I can’t tell exactly what the site looks like as, in keeping with the nation’s somewhat erratic record, it appears to be experiencing some technical problems.

At a time when procurement operations across Europe are coming under increasing pressure to cut costs, the last thing most companies need right now is the launch of the largest urban environmental control zone in the world.

But, yesterday in London, that’s exactly what they got.

The capital’s ‘low emission zone’ means that any lorries that fail to meet the European Category Three standard for airborne pollutants and nitrogen oxides will have to cough up £200 for the privilege of entering London’s streets.

Fortunately for the majority of businesses, most vehicles do now meet this standard although the Freight Transport Association estimate that up to 10,000 lorries may not.

Still it’s not all bad news - as an introductory offer the fine is being “waived” for the first month. This, however, will offer scant consolation to those companies who will be hit by the additional costs, and those in procurement who will feel the knock-on effect.

It’s not just the world’s largest companies that are leading the rush to become carbon neutral - the past week has seen the world’s biggest sporting event get in on the act too.

According to Canada’s Globe and Mail newspaper, the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver are pushing to be the first carbon neutral games in history.

Achieving the aim isn’t going to be cheap – a report by the David Suzuki Foundation estimates that it will cost the organising committee at least $5m to make the necessary cuts to the carbon emissions associated with the games – but making the Olympics carbon neutral is undoubtedly one of the biggest opportunities to highlight environmental issues to the widest possible audience.

“The 2010 Winter Games will be one of the highest-profile international events in the world and with an effective climate-change strategy the Games can significantly advance public understanding of global-warming solutions,” the report concludes.

Let’s just hope that global warming holds off long enough to leave the Canada will sufficient snow for the games to take place.