Deciding What to Outsource
Dr. Wendell Jones
Outsourcing relationships have a better chance for success if they have an internal champion who believes in the cause. Find out what you need to know.
Research & Insight
Research & Insight
managing for success
What skills must be present in the executive team that manages the ongoing outsourcing relationship?
Dr. Wendell Jones
Question: What skills must be present in the executive team that manages the ongoing outsourcing relationship? Answer: from Wendell Jones, Outsourcing Center Analyst
Cultivating a High Yield in Outsourcing
Outsourcing Center, Kathleen Goolsby, Senior Writer
The fourth largest steel company in the U.S., National Steel manufactures steel for the automotive, construction and tin container industries and has annual shipments of almost six million tons of flat rolled products. The company outsourced the housing and operation of its mainframe and data center services to IBM in November 1998 with a seven-year contract worth nearly $60 million. John Davis, CIO of National Steel, explains that they wanted to reallocate its human resources to solve National Steel problems, rather than technology problems. I wanted them working on solutions that would differentiate National Steel from other steel competitors, he says. The company has accomplished that and other goals, and their agreement has yielded far more than they asked for. But, after all, National Steel is no novice to outsourcing. In the 1980s, National Steel spun off its data center (which then became a part of ACS).
Equity Creates ‘Sticky’ Outsourcing Deals
Outsourcing Center, Beth Ellyn Rosenthal, Senior Writer
Information technology is moving from legacy information into a commodity. This inexorable shift is altering the nature of the relationship between buyer and supplier. That has been a pretty big change in the market last year, says Bob Chaffin, contract manager of IS for General Motors Corp. in Detroit, Michigan. Today, vendors must differentiate themselves in the marketplace and create an important distinction between their value added abilities and the commodity they are selling…
2001: An Ecommerce Odyssey
Outsourcing Center, Beth Ellyn Rosenthal, Senior Writer
This year will be the year of ecommerce outsourcing. But the seeds were sown last year, according to Richard Raysman, a partner at Brown Raysman Millstein Felder & Steiner LLP, a law firm in New York City specializing in outsourcing. Last year startups popped up and new ecommerce companies gained market share. Raysman mentions i2, Commerce One and Ariba as three relative newcomers that last year proved they could be enormously successful in the ecommerce arena…
Outsourcing Responsibilities of Senior Management
Dr. Wendell Jones
A New Era for Outsourcing, By Dr. Wendell Jones When the word outsourcing came into common usage 15 or so years ago, this new business practice was usually associated with reducing cost and cutting headcount. Today, companies still look to outsourcing to reduce cost. But the global changes of the last five years have broadened the range of reasons to outsource.
13 Big Mistakes to Avoid
Outsourcing Center, Beth Ellyn Rosenthal, Senior Writer
Bill Bierce is in the catbird seat when it comes to watching outsourcing agreements go south. The founder of Bierce & Kenerson, P.C., a New York law firm specializing in outsourcing and technology law, has devised a lucky list of how to raise the odds on outsourcing success…
Outsourcing’s Little Dipper
Outsourcing Center, Kathleen Goolsby, Senior Writer
Ancient navigators found their way by following the Little Dipper. The constellation’s polestar, Polaris, always conspicuous and very near the north celestial pole, was used as a guide in traveling the seas. Outsourcing, often undertaken by buyers who have no prior experience navigating the depths of this intricate business relationship model, can end up in a shipwreck. Ted Williams, Vice President of Business Development for Compass America, reminds companies considering embarking on an outsourcing journey to make sure they are well represented by a neutral third party. Outsourcers write a lot more contracts than buyers. They are better at it than you are, he says……..
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…
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?