Both sides now

Posted: 06/06/2016 - 20:00
Author: Karen A. Morris

Almost twenty years ago, my son responded to the ubiquitous inquiry “What do you want to be when you grow up?” His interlocutor was his Italian godfather (the Milanese not the Sopranos variety). There were certain implicit cultural expectations about the response, the godfather being both a lawyer, an aristocrat and an exceptionally cultured Renaissance-man: doctor, lawyer at one end of the spectrum, bookended by painter, composer at the other with the (yes, stereotypical) accommodation to age and gender of train driver somewhere in-between.

Three reasons end-of-contract decisions are getting harder

Posted: 06/03/2016 - 19:59
Author: Peter Iannone

At the end of a contract term, buyers of outsourced services have several options. They can renew the agreement and sign on for more of the same, renegotiate terms, seek a new partner through a re-bid or take services back in-house.

Given the pace of technology change and the ferocity of market competition, these choices are becoming increasing complex. Standing pat and signing on for more of the same ensures falling behind market leaders. An aggressive all-in move to a new technology, meanwhile, could prove to be a disastrously wrong choice.

Avoid or Approach Those Who Purchase?

Posted: 06/03/2016 - 19:57
Author: Damian Scallon

Another rainy trip up north, I thought to myself, turning on the windshield wipers. A recent phone call from Anne, the head of global purchasing, requesting my participation in reviewing some ideas to build stronger partnerships with their inside-outsourcing service providers (IOSPs), was the reason for the trip. Over my forty years as an IOSP, I’d become very cynical and prejudicial towards purchasing departments. As an IOSP to the auto industry, I’d witnessed countless purchasing initiatives resulting in bankrupting IOSPs due to a complete lack of foresight.

Enter our writing competition to win a place at SIG University!

Posted: 06/03/2016 - 19:51
Author: Jamie Liddell

Are you a budding thought leader? Do you hunger for fame and glory – in the form of exposure on the world’s leading outsourcing publication? And do you want a FREE chance to enroll in SIG University’s Certified Sourcing Professional (CSP) course (for yourself or a colleague)?

That’s right: a SIG U certification AND coverage in Outsource could be yours, thanks to our new writing competition in collaboration with SIG University…

TOP TEN: Wonders of the Outsourcing World

Posted: 05/31/2016 - 19:55
Author: Jamie Liddell

We’re all familiar with the original Seven Wonders of the World, those marvels including the Great Pyramid and the Hanging Gardens of Babylon brought together as a kind of travelers’ bucket list for the ancients; probably far fewer readers, however, may be aware that there exists a parallel list of splendours enticing tourists from the global outsourcing community – and that in the spirit of adding value which permeates this space, this list numbers not a measly seven but a princely ten jaw-dropping wonders to visit, look upon and contemplate with awe.

Outsourcing in the public sector: unnecessary fear?

Posted: 05/26/2016 - 21:11
Author: Adam Bamford

Once more, the validity of outsourcing in the public sector has been brought into question.
Just this week, the National Audit Office released a report on the UK government’s programme to transfer back-office functions to two shared services centres. The report outlines that although savings were made, so far to date, it has not achieved value for money.

The boomerang outsource

Posted: 05/26/2016 - 00:49
Author: Megan Paul

Offshore outsourcing is controversial. No news there. For over 15 years customers have been moving services offshore as part of their global souring strategy. In the early ’00s businesses couldn’t offshore quick enough. Opponents of offshoring frequently quote the loss of domestic jobs, damage to economies, poor communication and quality, while proponents insist it facilitates competition and actually makes economies more efficient. But amid the furore, there is a rise in organisations returning from offshore.

Building a sales force multiplier

Posted: 05/18/2016 - 01:58
Author: Thom Mead

Likely all of us have heard the expression (or something close to it), “If I was starting this company all over now, I would do it much differently.” Often such break-away thinking yields new companies, or in some cases, new divisions or subsidiaries of companies. To achieve true transformation, one must employ “trans-process” thinking. I’m not sure if anyone has coined the term yet, but if they did my credit is hereby given. If not, I will claim it now.

Culture gaps in a shrinking world

Posted: 05/17/2016 - 02:23
Author: Alyssa Bantle

In so many ways the business world is smaller and more accessible in the modern era – a place where even tiny online companies can trade globally, where people travel for work as a matter of routine and where businesses become international by outsourcing tasks across all seven continents.

Pages

Subscribe to Future of Sourcing RSS