ANNUAL PROCUREMENT FROM NON-JAPANESE CAME TO UNITED-STATES 784-DOLLARMILLION, 14 PERCENT OF ALL PURCHASES

The current procurement procedures of NTT, which have been in effect s ince 198 1, are carried out on an open, fair and non-discriminatory co mpetitive basis.They have allowed NTT to introduce high-quality, reaso nably priced telecom hardware, software, and other telecommunications products, to the Japanese market. However, the procedures are based on a government system. They have some areas where they can be improved. Revisions of procurement procedures for resale products, an investiga tion into means to ensure the viability of a long-term manufacturing r elationship, and an overall simplification of the procedures are all n ecessary, not only for NTT but for the benefit of suppliers and ultima tely users. With the present environment of change in the telecommunic ations market, I believe it is now an appropriate time for NTT to stud y how improvements to these procedures can be made, and therefore make it easier for suppliers around the world to participate in the NTT ma rket.