Mission Critical
Outsourcing Center, Kathleen Goolsby, Senior Writer
Sunoco cracks its data center challenges by outsourcing its mainframe processing to (i)Structure.
Research & Insight
Vendor Management
No Time for RFPs
Outsourcing Center, Kathleen Goolsby, Senior Writer
Buyers are often in a hurry to outsource so they can implement their competitive strategies. But cutting short the supplier selection process can result in a failed outsourcing relationship. Here’s how to do it right.
When Business Crumbles, Who Ya Gonna Call? A Supplier!
Outsourcing Center, Beth Ellyn Rosenthal, Senior Writer
What does a business do when its sales crumble? Answer: Turn to your outsourcing suppliers who will do something creative to solve the problem. Here is how…
Berlin-Based Consultants Share Insights on European Outsourcing
Joyce Ahlering
The multinational team quickly reached a consensus that Germany is an exception to the rule in European outsourcing practices. Generally speaking, outsourcing has been accepted in many branches of German business. Postal service and call centers are often outsourced to German providers, whereas IT providers are often American-based. Dallas, Texas based Perot Systems, for example, is an American IT provider with a large presence in Germany.
How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Outsourcing Negotiations
Michael E.C. Moss, Gordon & Glickson LLC
Ask anyone how long it takes to negotiate an outsourcing deal, and the answer will likely be the same: much too long. In fact, some would say, the outsourcing will take at least as long to negotiate as you have time available to negotiate, and probably longer.
Outsourcing Payroll Check Printing Pays Off
Outsourcing Center, Beth Ellyn Rosenthal, Senior Writer
Employees get a sinking feeling when they look at their paychecks and they’re wrong! If they believe the payroll department didn’t calculate their overtime properly or deducted too much for their health insurance, the first thing they do is reach for the telephone. Then, the payroll staff has to drop everything and reconstruct what happened to determine if they were paid the proper amount.
Reverse Auctions Improve Quality, Price and Delivery of Custom Goods
Outsourcing Center, Beth Ellyn Rosenthal, Senior Writer
Like many manufacturers in America, BOCE is in the midst of a major slowdown, according to Tom Connelly, North American supply manager for the Wilmington, Massachusetts, company. Demand in the semi-conductor industry for its vacuum pumps, turbo molecular pumps and temperature control units is down.
We’ve Only Just Begun
Outsourcing Center, Kathleen Goolsby, Senior Writer
Jane Drasites, Director, Benefits Delivery for BP Amoco, swears that the first year in an outsourcing relationship is just like a marriage. Some marriages don’t work very well. When Amoco (prior to its merger with BP) signed an agreement in 1993 for Hewitt Associates to handle its HR functions, it was positive it had found the right mate. Unfortunately, they didn’t go for some counseling before they tied the knot, and the honeymoon didn’t last long.
Skill Building Minus the Frustration
Jerri L. Ledford, Business Writer
As little as five years ago, when you needed to train employees, there were three basic options for doing it-sit the employee down with a video, partner that employee with a more experienced employee, or put a group of them in front of an instructor. Those weren’t terrible ways to train employees, but they weren’t the most effective.\x0d\x0aToday, the Internet gives training new meaning, new interaction and new power by leveraging the flexibility of e-Learning.
Outsourcing Helps Trade Center Buyers Get Back in Business
Outsourcing Center, Beth Ellyn Rosenthal, Senior Writer
Outsourcing suppliers are responsive in a crisis. Forty-five minutes after the first plane hit the World Trade Center, Compaq executives were on the phone, putting together a triage of support for its eight financial clients with Recover-All contracts as well as its many other customers headquartered in the twin towers. Tom Simmons, vice president of Compaq Managed Services in Stowe, Massachusetts, says within three hours Compaq had organized a crisis center routing telephone questions to Colorado Springs and opened a walk-in facility near Madison Square Garden manned by its Northeast sales team. A crisis Web site was online that night.