Clifford Chance hires Barclays for electronic tendering

City giant Clifford Chance has streamlined its move to Canary Wharf by signing up to an electronic tendering service which will enable it to save time and money on purchasing office equipment.

The firm recruited Barclays' business arm - BarclaysB2B - to provide training and technical support to carry out the electronic tender process.

The service means that suppliers are invited to bid on-line in a 'reverse auction', allowing the firm to select the most attractive deal.

BarclaysB2B will act as a specialist procurement consultancy, advising on how to make the best use of the system to deal with the 15 tenders, which cover supplies ranging from stationary to furniture.

Amanda Burton, Clifford Chance's regional chief operating officer in London, said: 'We are looking forward to our partnership with BarclaysB2B, to using this method of tendering, and to the potential savings.'

BarclaysB2B chief executive officer Alison Hutchinson said she was confident that the partnership could achieve bottom-line savings and create an open and auditable process.

'This package will enable Clifford Chance to manage their supplier relationships more efficiently than ever before,' she predicted.

Paula Rohan