Latest GDP figures provide unrivalled opportunity for Chief Procurement Officers

BATH, U.K. - Nov. 6, 2014 - PRLog -- Latest gross domestic product (GDP) figures released by the U.S. Commerce Department show the U.S. economy grew at an annualized 3.5 per cent rate between July and September.

The figures cap America’s strongest six-month period of expansion since 2003.

With the Federal Reserve now saying the U.S. economy is ‘strong enough to stand on its own two feet’ with an improving labor market and growing oil and gas supply , it has announced it is ending its $1 trillion bond-buying program, signalling greater Government confidence in business.

The headline figure hides some less positive news, however. Defense spending which is always hard to predict, was up by a significant amount – 16 percent - and the trade deficit reduction could be further under-mined by a slowdown in China and concerns over a “triple dip” recession in Europe. Business investment and consumer spending was also down on the second quarter, according to the Economic Policy Institute.

A more reliable barometer which excludes some of the more volatile elements of GDP - consumption and fixed investment - shows that growth is at least becoming more reliable. In four of the past five quarters, the economy has expanded at a rate of 3.5 percent or greater, up 2.8 percent over the last year.

Overall, the news is good with the general consensus being that the first quarter was dominated by extreme cold weather; the second quarter by a surge in housing, showing the third quarter to generally be more settled.

Keeping a watchful eye against a positive backdrop will free up reserves to enable CPOs to further invest in automation which, in turn, will increase direct savings and deliver benefits straight to the bottom line, according to Claritum.

Commenting on the news, James Samuels, Founder and CEO, Claritum,  cloud based spend management platform providers, said: “CPOs now have an unrivalled opportunity that hasn't been available to them for a long time to support plans for further refinement of their spend management systems. This will strengthen visibility and control of the supply chain enabling them and their colleagues and partners to set a firm course for profitability as the economy continues to move forward.”

In recognition of this Claritum is offering CPOs a free audit of their expenditure.

For further information contact:

Sarah.olney@claritum.com

About Claritum

Claritum helps many of the world’s largest enterprises, leading businesses and fast-growing service providers control their complex, frequently ordered expenditure such as marketing & operational print, promotional products, uniforms & apparel, packaging, IT & consumables and related services.

Our cloud spend management platform enables our customers and partners to gain granular visibility and control of every transaction, globally and in real time.

Over 150,000 users in 35 countries rely on Claritum to deliver significant, measurable and sustainable savings.

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