Contract Archives

Cinderella Syndrome

Outsourcing Center, Kathleen Goolsby, Senior Writer

An enormous impact on a company’s profitability comes from its procurement or purchasing process. Some companies are starting to recognize the impact, but most — particularly midsize or small companies — still treat this important process as though it’s unimportant. But, like the fairytale Cinderella, someone needs to do the onerous chores around the castle. Particularly in lean times when an economy is slowing, executives must pay more attention to the possibility of saving millions of dollars in this area.

Planning for an Outsourcing Evaluation

Dr. Wendell Jones

An outsourcing evaluation should follow a disciplined, managerial approach from planning through negotiation and implementation, to ongoing management of the relationship.

Virginia COMPETEs for the Common Good

Chris Pryer, Business Writer

Government Competes with Private Sector on Level Playing Field Today, as local and state governments struggle to provide services to an ever-growing, ever-demanding public despite inadequate financial resources, outsourcing and privatization of government functions is becoming more and more of an issue. Taxpayers expect their governments to deliver products and services commensurate — at least in their own minds — with what they pay in taxes. In the Commonwealth of Virginia, a unique organization works to ensure its citizens get the most for their tax dollars. The 15-person Commonwealth Competition Council, created by the Virginia Legislature as part of the Virginia Competition Act of 1995, is proving that there is a better and less costly way to serve its citizens. The Competition Council, whose members hail from government, academia and the private sector, was mandated to research and recommend ways in which state government can reduce the size and scope of its activity, as well as investigate h

From Hamstrung to Power

Outsourcing Center, Kathleen Goolsby, Senior Writer

Italy — its name brings to mind the pungent parmesan and garlic odors, magnificent golden treasures in the cathedrals and palaces, crowded canals of Venice and mysteries of Pompeii. The nation holds many charms for tourists. Part of the culture of this historic land is endurance and pride. Those characteristics carry over into the business arena. There are people who created their businesses from nothing, and they have worked all their lives in those businesses. They are not open to change, says Stefano Valentini, an outsourcing consultant in Rome. He explains that Italy has a lot of small (under 50 employees) and medium (under 250) companies and that 80% of production comes from these companies. Although many executives even in the United States are just coming to grips with it, the fact is that a company can’t be good at doing everything. An attitude of mistrust and not wanting to let go of control of business processes only results in being hamstrung — as crippling as cutting the tendons at the ham

Wireless: To Be or Not To Be

Outsourcing Center, Kathleen Goolsby, Senior Writer

Wireless scares people, says Adam Braunstein, senior research analyst with the Robert Frances Group. The concept that you can get anything anywhere is easy to understand and sounds great, and what company wouldn’t want to give those capabilities to its staff and customers where appropriate? The problem is that the application is extremely difficult. There are several warring technologies out there, Braunstein explains, and the wireless carriers are having huge difficulties. Financial institutions and the healthcare industry are the early adopters of wireless technology. It’s also an ideal solution for a mobile sales force, traveling executives, field technicians, logistics and other processes. The media has touted the enormous benefits for companies to adopt this technology as an extension of access to the Internet while, at the same time, making a lot of noise about the immaturity of the technology and its failures in addressing business applications and user needs.

The Future of Contract Manufacturing

Outsourcing Center, Kathleen Goolsby, Senior Writer

The Future of Contract Manufacturing In the food business over the last decade, innovation and new product introduction has been the key driver. Brand names no longer command the same premium they used to. Steinberg points to recent market shares for new candy bars, snack foods and specialty cereals that have come and gone as evidence that new product life cycles often are very short. This means the innovation engine has to be cranked up pretty high, he says. So most food companies have invested heavily in plants, equipment and process technology over the last decade. According to Steinberg, a growing number of food companies now have too much specialized and inflexible technology that often was designed to make a product that may not be as competitive now as it once was. To become competitive, many consistently over the last decade have been asked to take money out of the supply chain. Profitability has come from continuous cost cutting, rather than top-line growth. Innovation, after all, is difficult; and i

If the Shoe Fits

Outsourcing Center, Kathleen Goolsby, Senior Writer

Building for Future Competition and Growth Dramatic technological changes now regularly unsettle our ways of doing business, and this trend promises to wreak even more havoc in the future as technological advances occur even more quickly. Future organizational success already depends on strategies to make companies more agile in their ability to change so that their competitors don’t pass them by. Where will your company be five years from now? Successful companies will have evolved to operate in fresh new, more effective ways. Motivational speaker and author, John L. Mason, advises people that if the shoe fits, they shouldn’t wear it, for they are not allowing room for growth. Companies that don’t change but continue to operate as they do today will become eccentric, for growth and success require change. To stay in the game, executives must decide to stop doing things the way they have always been done, realizing that organizations have limitations and can’t be good at everything. To

Birthing a BPO: The Shared Service/Spinout Route

Outsourcing Center, Beth Ellyn Rosenthal, Senior Writer

pin outs often have a difficult time transforming themselves from an in-house division to a BPO provider. Understanding the location of dangerous shoals helps prevent ship wrecks and increases the odds of survival.

Wireless Billing Complexities Crave Outsourcing

Outsourcing Center, Kathleen Goolsby, Senior Writer

Current communication providers will need to revamp their system to handle billing processes for wireless services. Thomas Tunstall, Ph.D., at KPMG Consulting LLC, explains that the revenue streams that have come from voice will increasingly shift to data. Traffic from applications data traveling through the Internet will be usage based, rather than minutes based.

First Aid for HR

Outsourcing Center, Kathleen Goolsby, Senior Writer

Johnson & Johnson is the largest and most diversified healthcare company in the world. It manufactures world-renowned health care products and provides related services to consumers and pharmaceutical markets, selling products in more than 175 countries. With more than 190 operating companies in 51 nations, the company has more than 99,000 employees worldwide. It’s a human resources migraine, to be sure!

Research & Insight

Contract

Virginia COMPETEs for the Common Good

The Future of Contract Manufacturing

Birthing a BPO: The Shared Service/Spinout Route

Wireless Billing Complexities Crave Outsourcing

First Aid for HR

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