The COVID-19 pandemic has amplified the level of uncertainty in an already volatile time for markets and supply chains.
When change is difficult it sometimes takes a little nudge to move in the right direction. Like many business environments, the contact center industry wasn’t nudged this year—it was pushed.
With most call center providers still cemented in the brick-and-mortar model, the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the need for transformation. This is due to the restriction of operations at these businesses as well as employees’ hesitations to work on busy call center floors.
From Asia to America and beyond, the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) industry has been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic.
At the time of writing this piece, I am just one of five million people emerging from the world’s longest coronavirus-related lockdown, in Melbourne, Australia. For nearly two months, I was only allowed to leave the house once a day for essential items and required to stay within three miles of my home. From takeaway meals to IT support, to doctor’s appointments, most of the goods and services I've needed have been ordered virtually. Since COVID-19 hit, I’m amazed at how quickly the world went virtual.
Since COVID-19 first arrived in the UK, some 9.6 million workers have experienced the furlough scheme. Despite many continuing to work from home, plenty of organizations are now transitioning back to the workplace. Decision-makers must carefully consider how they can best support staff through this experience.
Procurement’s role within an organization has changed dramatically over the past few decades.
Future of Sourcing Digital is excited to continue our popular series “Women in Global Sourcing.” This series highlights, celebrates, and acknowledges women who are pioneers and leaders in the industry and who have been influential in moving the industry forward. It is our pleasure to feature Aditi Pany this week.
It’s long been acknowledged that both hard and soft skills are needed in most jobs. They are no less crucial within procurement.
While hard skills include the teachable, quantifiable abilities you need to do the job and will be reflected in your qualifications, soft skills are, of course, slightly more difficult to measure. These can include teamwork, communication, conflict resolution and problem-solving abilities.
This summer, the World Federation of Advertisers published an illuminating report about the current state of marketing procurement and how the function needs to evolve to realize its full potential. The report is part of an ongoing initiative led by the WFA Global Sourcing Board. The initiative, Project Spring, is “designed to transform the value proposition of marketing procurement.”
Outsourcing provides businesses with easy access to a skilled and low-cost pool of talent. Rather than spend time and money to hire or train full-time employees, many companies hire an outsourced team.
Outsourcing your business processes helps to increase productivity and efficiency while freeing up employees for more meaningful work. From payroll to customer service to advertising, outsourcing is a flexible way to bolster your capacity without increasing costs or headaches.
We all think we know what dirty data is, but it can mean very different things to different people. At it’s most basic level, dirty data is anything that’s incorrect.
Within procurement, it could be misspelt vendors, incorrect invoice descriptions, missing product codes, a lack of standard units of measure (e.g., ltr, l, litres), currency issues, duplicate invoices or incorrect/partially classified data.
For various reasons, software development outsourcing is a smart choice for well-established organizations. It’s a proven option for businesses to achieve their digital transformation goals while minimizing risks and maintaining a cost-savings approach. Today, to outsource software requirements means helping the business gain greater economies of scale as well as focus on its core competencies without spending significant time and money.
The supply chain strategy paradigms we have held close and true for decades are being challenged. The questions are complex, important, urgent and without easy answers.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) defines the 21st century, impacting and driving transformation across every business and industry. With the new norms thrust upon us due to the pandemic, businesses and industries have had to find ways to transform overnight. Previously, it may have taken several years for an organization to make an incremental change or improvement.
In June 2020, in response to the coronavirus, President Trump signed an executive order to freeze access to new H-1B visas for professional and technology workers doing business in the U.S. This has a huge impact, considering in 2019 about 139,000 new H-1B petitions were approved, joining 250,00 which were extended.
