Methods business and digital technology limited

The Defence Infrastructure Organisation (DIO) is mulling the possibility of splitting up a planned £6.6bn programme to maintain and improve service family accommodation. Plans from the Ministry of Defence body cover responsive repairs, property refurbishment, management of a capital investment regeneration programme, statutory compliance services and grounds maintenance for service family accommodation. The DIO said in a market engagement notice that it was considering breaking the programme into multiple contracts, specifically by separating planned works from repairs and maintenance. Feedback from suppliers will help shape the procurement strategy, contract structure and tender documentation before the competition is launched, it added. Interested contractors are being sought with experience of delivering repair and maintenance services for public sector landlords and a strong focus on customer service and safety. Suppliers wishing to participate must provide details of their organisation, relevant experience and areas of interest before completing the questionnaire. The DIO expects to begin the procurement in January 2027, with publication of the tender notice anticipated in early 2027.

# H&Z Group expands procurement technology capabilities with Jupitos acquisition. The move strengthens H&Z’s procurement technology and Ivalua implementation capabilities as demand for end-to-end procurement transformation continues to grow.***. As it looks to expand in the DACH region and beyond, it has added Jupitos to its group: one of Germany’s fastest-growing companies in procurement digitalisation. H&Z is a firm specialising in strategy and performance, procurement, transformation, and sustainability services. Joining forces will further strengthen H&Z’s capabilities to provide procurement services from strategy to digital implementation and AI deployment. With Jupitos in the team, we take a big step forward to drive those skills also for the Ivalua platform,” said Harald Enz, managing partner at H&Z. Meanwhile, the deal will help it offer clients a holistic set of services, from strategy to execution, with “stronger expertise, a broader international team, and a shared ambition to create measurable impact” for clients. ## M&A in consulting news.

# Consultancies merge in bid for growth. A specialist procurement and bid writing group has been launched following the merger of two established consultancies, creating what is claimed to be the UK’s largest dedicated bid writing business. Procurement Growth Group brings together Bolton-headquartered Thornton & Lowe and North East-based Executive Compass, combining specialist expertise in bid writing, tendering, procurement consultancy and bid software. Under the new structure, Thornton & Lowe founder Dave Thornton becomes group chief executive, while Executive Compass founder Neil Capstick takes on the role of group strategy director. “Bringing these businesses together is part of the group’s highly ambitious plans, and people should watch this space. “We are staying focused on procurement, tendering and business growth, and we will be driving hard to build on the strength, talent and reputation across the group. Christian added: “This is an exciting moment for our people, our clients and the wider bid writing and tendering market.

Better workforce decisions start with better workforce intelligence - Triad Business Journal. * Become a Member It’s FREE! **For the exclusive use of**. # Better workforce decisions start with better workforce intelligence. Image 1: Better workforce decisions start with better workforce intelligenceexpand. It's knowing what to do with it. For procurement and operations leaders, workforce decisions have become business decisions. The real question should be, "Is our workforce strategy helping us operate more efficiently six months from now than it does today?". The most successful organizations are moving beyond transactional staffing relationships and looking for workforce partners who bring insight to the conversation. It gives procurement, operations, and HR leaders a common language to make better decisions together. Instead of discussing headcount alone, they begin talking about productivity, retention, workforce stability, and the long-term health of the operation. At Workforce Unlimited, we believe every workforce decision should be backed by insight, local market intelligence, and a genuine understanding of each client's operation.

## Apple sues OpenAI, two former employees ## Meta scraps AI image feature days after launch ## Toll Group puts third-party risk at centre of AI-era data security ## State of Security 2026: Data Security ## CBA to cut 176 technology and engineering roles. # Toll Group puts third-party risk at centre of AI-era data security. Toll Group has adopted a more comprehensive approach to data security in response to a rapidly evolving threat landscape, extending beyond technology controls to embed requirements into vendor selection, contract management, and third-party risk governance. ***This story is part of the 2026 iTnews State of Security report. With operations spanning more than 50 countries, and logistics increasingly recognised as a high-risk sector within the global economy, Toll Group has embedded security requirements directly into procurement processes, contracts, and third-party risk decisions as a condition of doing business. The growing use of AI across Toll Group projects is creating an entirely new layer of complexity for data security and governance. ## State of Security 2026: Data Security.

***BearingPoint has announced the appointment of 14 new Partners, reinforcing its growth strategy as it continues to expand its business across markets and industry segments in the years ahead.***. “Empowering people and developing the next generation of leaders is a core part of who we are and a key element of our values and Strategy 2030,” said Matthias Loebich, Managing Partner of BearingPoint. “Our new Partners are known for their excellent leadership, deep expertise, and strong commitment to our clients, our teams, our purpose, and the values of our firm. Commenting on the appointment: “As a Partner in our Enterprise SAP Transformation practice, I focus on delivering tangible value through complex, large-scale international transformation programs, while strengthening our footprint in the consumer goods, food and life sciences sectors. Commenting on the appointment: “In my role as Partner, I am committed to actively driving the growth of our Sourcing & Procurement practice and shaping the next generation of procurement.

For Varo Bank's Riva Bobrowsky, every vendor negotiation is ultimately about helping everyday Americans realise their financial power. Riva Bobrowsky, is Chief Procurement Officer at Varo Bank, in her role she is responsible for overseeing the end-to-end procurement lifecycle and vendor governance. “My primary objective is ensuring that as America's first all-digital, nationally chartered bank, our external vendor ecosystem operates with the same velocity, security and innovation as our internal technology stacks,” says Riva. My team works in lockstep with our Legal, Compliance, Privacy, Technology, the various business requestors and we collaborate with our Third-Party Risk Management (TPRM) team to ensure that procurement fully supports and champions Varo’s risk program requirements,” says Riva. “Crucially, I realised immediately that building a successful function required integrating procurement as a strategic business partner,” says Riva. “Over the course of my career, I realised that procurement sits at the ultimate nexus of a company's strategy,” says Riva.

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has launched preliminary market engagement for a potential £1bn design-and-build contract to deliver the main buildings and infrastructure for its long-delayed health security campus in Harlow, Essex. In May 2024, the National Audit Office (NAO) said the job’s cost had risen to £3.2bn and the planned opening date had slipped from 2020 to 2036 at the earliest. A Containment Level 4 laboratory would be delivered under a separate contract and is outside the scope of this procurement, UKHSA said. It added that the market engagement process will test whether the remaining campus works should be delivered through a single tier one design-and-build contractor, or an alternative delivery model that could “improve competition, deliverability and value for money”. The agency will hold an in-person market engagement event in Harlow on 10 September 2026, and a tender notice is expected to be published on 30 November 2026.