Outsourcing Buzz Blog » Manage Relationships

Orchestrating Your Transition with Experienced Players

Brin Silva, Staff Writer — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 23:49:56 +0000

Given the maturation of the outsourcing industry, it’s likely that several of your transition team members have already gone through at least one transition. And that they’ve done so – albeit on different teams, even at different companies – can be highly advantageous to your initiative. They fully understand the complex and grueling nature of a transition, know many of the pitfalls you can encounter during the journey, and appreciate the criticality of finely-tuned plans and processes.

However, the fact that they have prior transition experience can, in and of itself, also result in unexpected challenges. Does this sound counterintuitive?… Read the rest

Retail Analytics: Key to augmenting shelf life

Kiran Kulkarni, Practice Lead – Retail Analytics, Tata Consultancy Services — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 15:19:48 +0000

The retail sector is a significant contributor to a country’s economy. In 2010, retail consumption accounted for two-thirds of the U.S. gross domestic product at $4.35 trillion. In the UK, retail sales were over £293 billion, according to the British Retail Consortium.

The retail industry has seen upheaval with the global economic crisis and intensely competitive environment, where margins are slimming down and customer loyalty is constantly fluctuating. It is critical for retailers to obtain insights to decide how much and what merchandize to stock, how to operate, and which customers they should fight to retain so that they can… Read the rest

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Best Practices for Contracting Cloud Services

Beth Ellyn Rosenthal, Senior Editor — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 14:40:10 +0000

Wave 5 of the technology revolution is upon us. (Preceded, of course, by mainframes, client/server, desktops and then the Internet.) Cloud computing is a key component of this new wave.

Contracts, of course, form the bedrock of beautiful outsourcing relationships. How do you contract for cloud services? Are cloud contracts different from contracting any IT service?

In his book “Cloud Sourcing the Corporation,” Ben Trowbridge outlines a list of concerns. He points out that many of the current cloud providers have business-to-consumer roots. “Their current contracting practices place much emphasis on the provider and not enough on the corporate customer,”… Read the rest

Best Practices in Outsourcing Contracts for Buyer Protection in Provider Mergers or Acquisitions

A Sneak Peak Benchmark?

Chris Pattacini, Director, ProBenchmark — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 14:00:49 +0000

While the typical benchmarking clause provides the opportunity to benchmark the services, many clients find third-party benchmarks to be expensive, disruptive and time-consuming. Results may just as likely confirm that a vendor’s price is market competitive, and no savings are to be had. Further, third-party benchmarks by their nature pit client against vendor – making them all but impossible to complete – and risk damaging what otherwise might be a good working relationship.

There is a better way. Clients looking to confirm market competitiveness are increasingly relying on screening benchmarks (often referred to as “pre-benchmarks” or screening benchmarks) that help… Read the rest

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The Power of Middle Management: Keeping the Good Guys on Your Side

Beth Ellyn Rosenthal, Senior Editor — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 15:36:16 +0000

The middle managers of any established business have the responsibility to operate the core of the business, and hold a wealth of knowledge about what works well versus areas for improvement. When sourcing becomes an alternative for any part of the business owned by middle managers, it is imperative to involve them and make use of their deep understanding of the operating requirements.

Engaging middle managers in the details surrounding the sourcing process will:

Enlist their vast operational knowledge
Convey your value and trust in them
Keep them well informed so they can communicate appropriately to the broader

… Read the rest

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How to Create Collapse-Proof Outsourcing Relationships

Kathleen Goolsby, Senior Writer, Outsourcing Center — Tue, 31 May 2011 23:44:59 +0000

I remember 2003 and 2004 because that’s when most companies I interviewed about outsourcing arrangements started talking in earnest about “taking a partnering approach” to get more value from outsourcing. Since 2006, many have talked about their successes in partnering. But here’s the reality; they were only partial successes.

Partnering helped them get through the transition phase easier and helped them try to resolve challenges in a win-win manner; but when the business situation changed and thus impacted the buyer’s savings or the service provider’s margins, most of them still hit a wall despite the partnering approach.

There were foundational

… Read the rest

Intellectual Property Issues to Discuss Up Front When Negotiating an Outsourcing Contract

Kathleen Goolsby, Senior Writer, Outsourcing Center — Tue, 17 May 2011 17:50:38 +0000

With outsourcing being used for ever-more complex services, there are more variations and risks that could impact intellectual property, particularly when outsourcing product development or research and development (R&D) functions. I spoke with two attorneys, James Nelson and William Russell in the New York office of Venable LLP, who frequently counsel clients on intellectual property and outsourcing matters and asked them to share some insights for buyers of outsourced services in these situations.

Q: There are so many companies that don’t use third-party consultants or attorneys anymore because they have experience in outsourcing and have a center of excellence or… Read the rest

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Benchmarking in Outsourcing: Look Before You Leap

Randy Vetter, Alsbridge Director — Mon, 16 May 2011 16:55:08 +0000

I worked with a potential client whose five year infrastructure outsourcing contract was coming up for renewal in six months. They were struggling with whether to move ahead with pricing that their provider had offered them (with some negotiation, of course) or whether to step back and examine what the going market rate was for the services being provided. The big question was really this: “How do you know you are getting a competitive price?”

There are two ways to solve that: 1) Get a “competitive benchmark” for the specific services you are outsourcing, and/or 2) “Test the marketplace” with a… Read the rest

The Ultimate Outsourcing Benchmarking Source?

Kathleen Goolsby, Senior Writer, Outsourcing Center — Tue, 03 May 2011 20:13:42 +0000

Almost as fast as a wink – that’s how quickly word spreads on Twitter. And everyone’s doing it – you’d have to have been under a rock, so to speak, not to know of the tweets covering the Royal Wedding (2.7 million social media mentions) and of the even bigger stats on tweets about the death of Osama bin Laden.

But did you know that there’s a hedge fund now using tweets to predict market movement? Research by two universities says the emotions expressed about companies tracked through tweets will predict market movements up… Read the rest

Offshoring: Are your Outsourcing Provider’s Team Objectives Aligned to Your Goals?

Rakesh Bhatia, Alsbridge Managing Consultant — Tue, 12 Apr 2011 07:19:34 +0000

The provider’s sales team has gone, all site visits have been conducted, and the contract has been buttoned down. It has been a smooth transition; now it’s time to put offshore delivery and support to the test of meeting business demands. But, in the new outsourced environment, how do you know whether the objectives against which the provider’s teams are managed are favorable to your goals?

In outsourcing, the key raw materials are people and their abilities. Delivery teams are incentivized to control the cost of people through a series of measures. By understanding these measures, you can… Read the rest

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