Greenergy, a supplier of fuel to UK supermarket petrol stations, has launched a £1 billion bid to buy the UK retail network of Total France.

The French oil major, which is the world's fourth largest energy group, is selling its 780 petrol station forecourts as part of a review of its UK downstream operations.

Greenergy's new chief executive Paul Lester said he had held preliminary talks with Total about the sale.

David Gladding, senior global director of sales at ACT Conferencing, explains why, as we slowly emerge from recession, technology can help contribute to business as well as environmental sustainability.

Effective and dedicated sales and operations planning (S&OP) is a crucial aspect of any successful business. Andrew Kinder of Infor examines how the right S&OP system can deliver healthier financial results and help de-risk the supply chain.

As a co-author of a new book entitled Vested Outsourcing, Kate Vitasek outlines the 10 key ailments that commonly afflict outsourced partnerships and presents five golden rules for success.

Connecting the people, processes and knowledge of an organisation is a challenge common to many small to medium sized businesses (SMBs). Jamie Stewart, UK managing director of Exact, takes a closer look at how collaboration systems are revolutionising the way SMBs manage data across their organisations.

Rio Tinto has announced a C$10 million investment over five years to create a center for underground mine construction in Canada.

The Rio Tinto Centre for Underground Mine Construction will be based at the Centre for Excellence in Mining Innovation (CEMI) in Sudbury, Ontario, and will focus on innovative rapid mine construction and ground control for mining at depth.

Eskom, the South African electricity utility, is to receive additional government support for its 440 billion rand build programme.

The South African government has pledged to inject 20 billion rand to strengthen Eskom’s balance sheet, ensuring it can complete its programme while remaining financially sound.

The R20 billion injection, originally announced in principle two weeks ago, was confirmed yesterday by Public Enterprises Minister Malusi Gigaba.

Based in Russia, Vagonmash has achieved a number of firsts in the railway car production sector; and with a commitment to innovation and excellence in design, the company is continuing to go from strength to strength.

In previous eras, fortunes have been made in Africa through gold, diamonds and oil. Today, the smart money is on telecommunications, as Alan Swaby learns in discussion with BT South Africa.