North America

Local level governments take various approaches to procurement. Many use a traditional centralized purchasing system, while others have deregulated public procurement and allow departments more control over their purchasing decisions. Sullivan County, New York isn’t the only government adopting a hybrid system that combines the benefits of both centralized and decentralized processes.

Coal, fertilizer, salt, grain, and other valuable commodities depend on the Mississippi River for transport, but the nation’s largest waterway may soon be inaccessible to the barges that move these products. Recent drought conditions have diminished the water level of the Mississippi to the lowest its seen in more than a decade, with some experts…