International Business Machines Corp. will relocate the head office of its global procurement arm to the southern city of Shenzhen from Somers, N.Y. The division maintains relationships between suppliers and IBM's businesses around the globe, The Wall Street Journal reported. The move signals a growing outward shift for IBM, one of the U.S.'s leading technology companies and the second-largest software provider in the world in terms of sales after Microsoft Corp, said the paper. John Paterson, the company's chief procurement officer, said relocating the division's headquarters would increase efficiencies and cost savings, but he declined to give specifics. The move will benefit services world-wide without affecting jobs in other locations, he said. "We have a large customer and supply base in the U.S., in Europe and in Latin America," Mr. Paterson said. "This will help us on a global basis, not just in the local market."