Service Level Agreement (SLA) Archives

E-Procurement Evolving in Europe

Outsourcing Center, Beth Ellyn Rosenthal, Senior Writer

Vincenzo Marino worked for a company that used robots on an automobile industry assembly line. There, he watched as workers sat idle while the plant waited for a crucial part that someone had forgotten to order. Every time you make a mistake, the company loses time and money, observes Marino. In 1989 Marino left to join Unitec, an outsourcing supplier specializing in supply chain management and logistics. The company has two offices in Europe, one in Augsburg, Germany, the other in Saubaudia, Italy. Marino, the CEO, was determined to improve the process….

The Long Arm of the Law

Outsourcing Center, Beth Ellyn Rosenthal, Senior Writer

Ecommerce between customer and buyer can be tricky. But the degree of difficulty increases when those two partners reside in different countries. If there’s an ocean of difference between the laws of the two nations, the transaction must adhere to the stricter set of regulations…..

A Gifted Outsourcing Relationship

Outsourcing Center, Beth Ellyn Rosenthal, Senior Writer

Today the company, now called Send.com, has 20 different product lines, ranging from cigars to cars. The company partners with local specialty retailers to fill its orders and deliver its gifts. Like a winemaker mixing a champagne cuvee, Send.com has merged e-commerce with old-fashioned retail…

Web Watch Dogs

Outsourcing Center, Beth Ellyn Rosenthal, Senior Writer

It’s 4 a.m. Do you know if your Web site’s working? If the Web site resides on a NaviSite server, you can leave the worrying to them. If one of its experienced trouble-shooters notices that something is not quite right with a Web server, the employee explores the problem and fixes it before it affects Web performance…. (outsourcing)

E-Government: From Standing in Line to Going Online

Outsourcing Center, Beth Ellyn Rosenthal, Senior Writer

Every year American individuals and businesses complete about $600 billion worth of transactions with the local, state and the Federal governments, excluding their various tax payments. To date, less than one percent of those interactions occur on-line, according to Adrian Moore, director of privatization and government reform for the Reason Public Policy Institute, a Los Angeles-based think tank that studies government management. But, like death and taxes, you can be sure that percentage will increase.(outsourcing)

Finding Marcus Welby in Texas

Outsourcing Center, Beth Ellyn Rosenthal, Senior Writer

Selecting a health care provider is tricky today because there are so many choices. To ensure the 1.8 million people enrolled in the Medicaid program in Texas have help in making that important decision, the Lone Star State decided to outsource that task, according to Larry Fisher, director, Contract Compliance division for the Texas Department of Health in Austin, Texas…

Seamless International Outsourcing

Outsourcing Center, Beth Ellyn Rosenthal, Senior Writer

The buyer and the supplier are just five hours apart by car. But from a business standpoint, they couldn’t be farther apart. The customer’s management grew up in capitalist western Europe. The suppliers’ formative years were spent in Communist eastern Europe. How do you fashion an outsourcing relationship that works?

Email, Not Phone Home

Outsourcing Center, Beth Ellyn Rosenthal, Senior Writer

Today cybercafes allow the kinder to email home from anywhere. Ryan Byrne formed Globe Drifters in September, 1999, to make it even easier for student travelers to keep in touch…

Corona: Model City in Proactive Approach to GASB 34

Outsourcing Center, Kathleen Goolsby, Senior Writer

When the recession snowball rolled downhill in California, it stopped at the city level. Because California laws require the state to reallocate portions of local property taxes in order to balance the budget, cities were faced with a choice: cut community services, raise taxes, or downsize. Corona chose to downsize and outsource.

How to Find Millions of Dollars in a Hurry

Outsourcing Center, Kathleen Goolsby, Senior Writer

If you don’t know whether your local city, county or state governments spend more than they take in, or whether they are able to pay the costs to maintain their assets, you’re not alone. Most people can’t figure out how to read governmental financial statements. The Government Accounting Standards Board (GASB) has been pushing for reform and has issued GASB Statement 34s.

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