Buyers of outsourcing services want their service providers to invest in technologies that bring continual improvement to the outsourced processes. Providers want to invest only where it is also beneficial to their margins in the long run. Therein lies a conflict. Are there reliable predictors of a buyer’s intent for a long-term, mutually beneficial relationship [...]
Most companies that outsourced a portion of their finance and accounting (F&A) functions in the early to mid-2000s generated great savings but are probably overpaying now for the service levels they are receiving. More than $2 billion dollars of outsourcing contracts will expire in the next 12 months, and sourcing buyers need to be prepared [...]
Ben Trowbridge responds Technology is great when it works. What does a buyer of cloud services do when something goes wrong, creating a service disruption? That question became a reality for users of Amazon Web Services on April 20. Its Northern Virginia data center suffered a service outage for its hosting service at 10:41 p.m. [...]
New delivery models, new pricing models, service providers’ new marketing strategies, moving up the value chain to intellectual arbitrage, new technologies, real-time customer interaction, globalization, and new standards and regulations – these factors set the stage for risks for buyers of outsourcing services in the next two to five years. (Read Forces of Change Shaping [...]
In studying outsourcing relationships through Outsourcing Center’s annual Outsourcing Excellence Awards program since 1996, Outsourcing Center has aggregated and analyzed the lessons learned – mistakes and successes – by hundreds of buyers of outsourcing services. These 100 lessons learned focus on issues related to each phase in the outsourcing life cycle – provider selection, contract [...]
Small and midsized businesses often have the same human resources challenges that much larger companies have. They grow by acquisition and have to standardize their human resources (HR) when they get a new family member. They have to change how they approach HR when they become global enterprises. Outsourcing often provides the answer. But it [...]
Acosta changed service providers so it could offer employer-funded health reimbursement arrangements. The new plan lowered premiums but pushed some employees outside their comfort zones. Together Acosta and Workscape created a communication plan to educate them. Here’s what they did to drive buy-in.
In the past, barriers to moving a call center back on shore included the high cost of staffing, training, technology, and terminating a contract early. Organizations can now handle their move back onshore cost-effectively and get up and running again quickly. Here’s how.
What are the real risks in offshoring both ITO and BPO work? Professor Ravi Aron, John Hopkins University, says understanding those risks helps buyers set up procedures to make their offshore engagements more successful.
Stiff competition from Wal-Mart placed the onus on Family Dollar to overhaul its IT, database, and application management processes if it were to continue growing. It made a couple of furtive attempts before finding the right outsourcing provider. Here is its story about shopping for the right supplier.
Elvis Presley Enterprises is counting on its supplier’s online expertise to turn its online sales numbers into a hunka, hunka, hunka burning change.
Many view having to change suppliers as the ultimate outsourcing nightmare. Larry Miller’s first task at STMicroelectronics was to switch to Unisys. Here are his four rules for change.
Successful outcomes from an outsourcing strategy depend on important first steps in the tactical and strategic nature of the arrangement. It also depends on the parties’ upfront planning in how to move forward together . . . especially if the transition involves mission-critical functions.
Exit provisions are among the most valuable contractual protections for a buyer. Here are seven important considerations in building a strong exit strategy.
Learn how the choice of an outsourcing partner is crucial in transforming a company’s catch-as-catch-can or by-the-seat-of-your-pants processes to world-class operations.
In any vendor relationship, you can let the vendor manage you and direct you, but I’m not sure that you will get full satisfaction and have your full expectationss met. Companies have to understand what they are expecting and actually make decisions based on that, advises Vickie Pettee, Manager, Global Compensation and Benefits for Nokia.
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