Outsourcing Center, Kathleen Goolsby, Senior Writer
Outsourcing Center has been studying the risks and causes of outsourcing failures. This article presents some of the findings from the Center’s 2004 survey on Leading Causes of Outsourcing Failures. This is the first in a series of five articles and several downloadable research papers on the topic of failure.
Isaac Cheifetz
What should outsourcing executives do to position themselves for career success in outsourcing? An outsourcing executive recruiter shares his list.
Outsourcing Center, Bruce McCracken, Business Writer
To paraphrase Mark Twain, the demise of ASPs has been greatly exaggerated. They are experiencing a remarkable resurgence, as enterprises small and large embrace their offerings. And one ASP, salesforce.com, just went public with the highest first-day price rise so far this year.
Outsourcing Center, Beth Ellyn Rosenthal, Senior Writer
Even though HR is the most mature BPO process, it still has growth momentum, according to a new Conference Board study. The reason: companies want to outsource HR routine transactions so their part of the process can become more strategic. The Accenture-sponsored study points out what still needs fixing.
Outsourcing Center, Kathleen Goolsby, Senior Writer
No other firms have exactly the same residential services model as ServiceMaster, but the company competes with a myriad of local-market, mom-and-pop operations. It’s a highly competitive market that allows almost no tolerance for cost increases – including the 15% yearly rise in the company’s healthcare benefits costs. So ServiceMaster decided in 2003 to change tactics for its employees’ health and welfare benefits administration.
Outsourcing Center, Kathleen Goolsby, Senior Writer
Effective communication is crucial to success in outsourcing, but it seldom happens automatically between two different corporate cultures. This is the story of how Sears and Hewitt Associates established change management techniques to ensure proactive communication, as well as an innovative program for continual process improvement.
Outsourcing Center, Kathleen Goolsby, Senior Writer
A few years ago, the typical 7-Eleven® store had a myriad of electronic devices that were not connected. For example, cash registers were not linked to the fuel pumps, which forced clerks to manually enter fuel sales into the registers, slowing the process and missing impulse sales. The situation prevented 7-Eleven from maximizing its profitability. Nor could the store managers effectively manage inventory; there was no way to know with certainty which items were moving well and which ones were simply taking up space. Shelf space in a small store is at such a premium that allowing five or 10 items to sit unsold for a week affects the bottom line.
Outsourcing Center, Kathleen Goolsby, Senior Writer
When Geographic Data Technology wanted to enter a new market, it turned to outsourcing to obtain the necessary resources. Its highly collaborative relationship with RMSI changed the buyer’s business processes so it could compete in the new market. The result: outcomes far greater than they imagined.
Outsourcing Center, Kathleen Goolsby, Senior Writer
We decided to move as many resources to education as possible. We really wanted to make a change from a 38-year-old system, states Pam Brown, Director of Facilities & Asset Management for the Portland Public School District (PPSD). The district’s facilities management processes –with its schools’ custodial services being contracted out to a local union — had been in place for 38 years when the decision to outsource was made in 2002.
Outsourcing Center, Kathleen Goolsby, Senior Writer
Things were going well for Entergy and its IT provider, SAIC; but they wanted their relationship to grow and produce more value. So they jointly funded an 18-month relationship health check-up. It was an eye-opener, and they subsequently renegotiated their deal to make it even better.
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