Fasken Martineau
A Leader in Knowledge Process Outsourcing
Business Process Outsourcing South Africa
Nuturting Relationships. Enhancing Value.
Buzz Contact Centre Solutions
LPO & Delhi Chapter Chair
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Knowledge Center » Bin
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| Global Outsourcing 100 - 2007 A Look Back
2007 was the second year for IAOP and Fortune® magazine to collaborate and publish The Global Outsourcing 100. As we begin our application process for 2008, let's look at the comparison of the first two years' applicants and put some light on what the numbers indicate. Although two points don't make a trend, we can put some hypotheses out there for our readers to consider!
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| Ensuring Success Through Proper Governance
Best practice firms establish a governance body across organizational, functional and operational levels and ensure continual commitment to various factors throughout the lifecycle of an initiative. The key factors for successful governance include consistent internal commitment, extended/ appropriate role definition and adequate team staffing, governance budgets to name a few...
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| Outsourcing Glossary
The Firmbuilder.com glossary has just been updated to include new terms and expanded definitions based on Mike Corbett's upcoming book, "The Outsourcing Revolution."
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| The CEO's Role
An outsourcing evaluation and decision process should be on the CEO's list of top priorities. Senior management must take the lead in the entire process – from identifying the objectives for outsourcing to establishing a sound structure for ongoing management of the relationship. A decision to outsource, or not, is a major organizational decision and ultimately the senior manager’s responsibility. It should not be delegated down the management chain.
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| Putting Offshore Outsourcing in Perspective
Taking operations offshore, in general, and offshore outsourcing, in particular, are receiving unprecedented attention – in the executive suites of both customer and provider companies, in the reports and recommendations of consultants, in the countries, like India, that are recipients of much of the new business, and in the Western media.
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| A Small Business Guide to Successful Outsourcing
For small businesses, the power of outsourcing is not so much in redefining and reorganizing operations for speed and efficiency as it is in enabling them to gain increased leverage from what they are already good at.
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| Welcome to Outsourcing
Outsourcing is nothing less than a basic redefinition of the corporation around core competencies and long-term outside relationships. These core competencies and outside relationships are chosen to bring the greatest value to the ultimate customer and the greatest productivity to the corporation itself.
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| Government Privatization Trends and Policy
There are many trends occurring within government privatization that help reduce the costs involved with infrastructure while further improving Government services that are delivered.
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| Achieving Speed and Innovation through Business Process Outsourcing
The term outsourcing gained common acceptance in the 1980s and is still used today to describe a contractual relationship with a specialized outside service provider for work traditionally done in-house. Although most now recognize that outsourcing relationships are more akin to strategic partnerships than to sub-contracts, the term reflects the fact that the work was seen as moving 'outside' the company, or 'outsourced.'
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| Managing Outsourcing Relationships for Value Creation
Thus, the relationship begins... However, making outsourcing relationships work takes a lot more than good faith and committed people. Too few such arrangements actually come anywhere near reaching their desired goals. Even with the best of intentions, relationships can end up in what the authors call a "value-shrinking" loop. Once in such a loop, customers and vendors are headed down the spiral to failure.
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| Use EVA to Measure the Benefits
More and more, organizations are approaching outsourcing as a strategic tool for building shareholder value. However, the organization's inabilities to properly demonstrate, in the financial business case, where and how these strategic benefits will be realized often derail these intentions.
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| The Copycat Economy: A Sea of White
The subtitle of Oren Harari's latest book is “How to Compete in a Copycat Economy.” When people ask him to explain the Copycat Economy, he often starts talking about why markets have become so fragmented, why so many companies have seen their products become lower-margin commodities and why so many companies are frustrated that their services are being so blatantly imitated by competitors. Lately, he talks about the Copycat Economy as a “sea of white.”
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| Energizer and ADP
St. Louis-based Energizer, was spun off from Ralston Purina in April 2000. The spin-off provided an excellent opportunity for the company to reevaluate how it delivered HR services to its employees.
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| CSC Expands Outsourcing Agreement with UTC
Computer Sciences Corporation recently established ten-year outsourcing agreements with two units of United Technologies Corp: Aerospace and Industrial manufacturer Hamilton Sundstrand and Aircraft engine manufacturer Pratt & Whitney Canada
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| Northwest Profits From Enhanced Automated Billing
Everybody likes to get paid, but for Northwest Airlines Cargo division (www.cargo.nwa.com), it was a long and difficult process. Getting invoices out the door took between seven and 10 days. "By the time the customer received our invoice, it was as much as two weeks old," states Patrick Thao, Manager, Cargo Agent and Settlement. "This made it difficult for our customers to pay within our terms and resulted in significant cash flow delay to Northwest."
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| Harnessing the Power of Outsourcing's Next Wave - In Europe
Outsourcing has taken on new energy in Europe as the areas being outsourced have moved from the traditional “physical” aspects of the business, such as facilities operations and manufacturing, to the more specialized information technology and process operations.
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| Bank of America to Outsource HR to Exult in Innovative Deal
Bank of America announced that it has signed a memorandum of understanding with Exult, Inc., a provider of Web-enabled, integrated services designed to manage the human resources function for large, multinational corporations. The relationship extends far beyond the provision of HR services to include a large ownership stake for BoA and new market opportunities for BoA through Exult's web portal. This innovative relationship is part of a wave of comprehensive outsourcing deals that involve revenue opportunities for the "client" and ownership.
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| Chrysler Corporation Shoots and SCOREs
Chrysler Corporation, was named "Company of the Year" for 1997 by Forbes Magazine prior to its merger with Mercedes-Benz. The company has always been a great example of how even traditional corporate giants are reinventing themselves from the outside-in with outsourcing.
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| The 2004 India Outsourcing Summit Presentations
India has almost overnight become the preferred destination for offshoring information technology operations, business processes, and, most recently, highly technical functions, such as, medical services, financial analysis and planning, and R&D. The 2004 India Outsourcing Summit provides a comprehensive insight into the current opportunities and future trends.
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| The 2004 Outsourcing World Summit - Sub-Conference Session Presentations
The 2004 Outsourcing World Summit is the most important annual event for executives involved in outsourcing. In addition to the thought-provoking keynotes you’ve come to expect, the Summit’s education tracks have been significantly expanded this year, creating conferences-within-a-conference for professionals with specific job responsibilities. Sub-conferences include Human Resources, Information Technology, Manufacturing Services, Finance & Accounting, Real Estate & Facilities, Service Providers and Experienced Buyers.
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| The 2004 European Outsourcing Summit Presentations
The 2004 European Summit examines the growing use of outsourcing to transform existing business operations; in particular its power to enable many other key business initiatives, such as, shared services, pan-European and global market expansion, and offshoring. Through keynote presentations featuring top executives and business leaders and in-depth multi-track breakout sessions, the Summit provides each and every delegate with the insight and guidance needed to craft and execute their organization’s unique approach to outsourcing.
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| The 2004 China Outsourcing Summit Presentations
Along with top government and business leaders from China, McKinsey & Co., Accenture, Procter & Gamble, IBM, neoIT, Johnson Controls, Simmons & Simmons, International Smart Sourcing, and more present on the future of outsourcing in the world's fastest growing economy.
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| Mapping Offshore Markets Update - 2005
In overall terms India and Canada retain their dominant position in the ITO and BPO industries. However India's weaknesses in certain segments have emerged as growing gains for newer offshoring destinations. Poland, for example has shown remarkable growth as an outsourcing destination in both ITO and BPO.
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| Offshore Outsourcing: Key Commercial and Legal Issues
What is "Offshore Outsourcing"?
"Offshore outsourcing" can take many forms but in its basic form, it is the performance of tasks or functions by an external enterprise (the “Service Provider”) in a country other than the country where the customer is located. About 85% of the offshore outsourcing market is dominated by Indian companies and offshore outsourcing has become synonymous with outsourcing to an Indian IT or Business Process Outsourcing (“BPO”) services company. India also boasts vendor sophistication with more than 200 companies being quality accredited and serving the needs of over 255 Fortune 500 companies.
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| India: Comparison of Locations
Services globalization has turned the world into a global village, enabling the seamless delivery of IT and business processes across time zones. As a result, traditional and emerging globalization destinations such as India, the Philippines, China and Russia are developing Centers of Excellence. These Centers of Excellence epitomize the best of the four core evaluation criteria that companies look to optimize: cost, control, quality and risk.
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| Help Guide Series: Visiting Offshore Suppliers
Risks surrounding offshore outsourcing must be understood and addressed to achieve financial and performance goals that typically drive an outsourcing initiative. This article outlines a best practices approach for ensuring the success of an offshore supplier/industry visit.
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| Outsourcing Trends to Watch in '05
There is no doubt that outsourcing is a hot-button issue in boardrooms and at water coolers around the globe. Call it economic Darwinism: For many companies that compete globally, it’s a do-or-die strategy and a natural part of their evolution.
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| Global ITO and BPO Trends in 2005
Global sourcing has become a corporate mandate for both leading corporations and global service suppliers. Over the last year we have witnessed the onset of supplier market consolidation through mergers and acquisitions, emergence of new ‘hot’ supplier markets, increased client sophistication and the rapid expansion of more complex BPO engagements.
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| Managing the People Impact of Outsourcing
Observations and insights on advancing both people and the organization through outsourcing. Managing the People Impact of Outsourcing is essential reading for every manager and executive involved in crafting and implementing outsourcing relationships. It is not a “how-to” guide with static templates and action-item checklists. It is a detailed discussion of the principles and best practices that must shape these actions.
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| Best Practices in Managing Outsourcing at the Customer Interface
Best Practices in Managing Outsourcing at the Customer Interface is an executive report providing specific guidance on successfully creating and managing outsourcing relationships that directly touch an organization’s customers. It is based on executive interviews, independent research and analysis.
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| Best Practices for Managing the Public Perception of Outsourcing
Best Practices for Managing the Public Perception of Outsourcing provides a framework for determining, in advance of an outsourcing announcement, the level of risk for a public reaction to an organization’s decision. Second, it presents a set of management principles and a set of best practices that executives can use to shape the announcement of an outsourcing decision.
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| Best Practices for Managing the Outsourcing Relationship
Best Practices for Managing the Outsourcing Relationship is a comprehensive guide to setting up and managing successful outsourcing relationships. The report is intended for executives and managers with direct responsibility for outsourcing some or all of their operations. It presents specific recommendations based on extensive research, surveys, and interviews.
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| Launching a New Breed of Outsourcing Professionals
As globalization inextricably links the world’s economies, few if any companies are going to be able to meet the challenges they face relying solely on their own internal resources. Working with partners, and getting the most out of those relationships, may be the most effective way for businesses to leverage what they’re best at and compete successfully in an increasingly diverse, dynamic, and competitive global marketplace.
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| Tour de Outsourcing's Yellow Jersey
Almost every field, from medicine, to accounting, to real estate, to human
resource management eventually reaches a point in time when its top
practitioners take the lead – don the yellow jersey if you will – to set their
profession’s standard of excellence. That time has come for outsourcing.
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| Outsourcing: The Next Ten Years
Will outsourcing continue its rapid growth for another ten years or longer, or are problems developing that could slow this juggernaut?
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| Marketing's Role in Value Assessment
Companies make decisions about the outsourcing services they need to serve their market. Sales forces can learn how to position the value of those services, but they need help. A common missing link is in marketing.
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| For Providers: Lets Go To The Video Tape - Loss:Win Analysis
As any athlete or coach will tell you, the video tape doesn’t lie. One of the hardest things about being a competitor in a high profile sport, be it the Olympics or Monday Night Football, must be the repeated replaying of your every flaw and fumble for the whole world to see in high definition on the jumbotron. In business, fortunately or unfortunately, spectators don’t pay admission to watch us do our jobs…
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| How to Build a Brand that Sells
Does Brand impact selling your Outsourcing solution? Easy answer…yes. People will develop perceptions that become your Brand. The harder question is who will define your Brand: you or everyone else? And will it help, or hinder sales?
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| Building the Virtual R&D Organization
Our experience shows us that product development risk is reduced when organizations place their non-core activities into the hands of experts, who have the people, process, and tools focused on the development of high-quality products.
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| A Market Driven Approach to Healthcare IT
Michael F. Corbett examines how CIOs can bridge the gap between their vision of an interconnected community and their internal capabilities to get there. One important way is through more strategic outsourcing — leveraging the capabilities of specialized commercial partners in an open, market-driven approach to meeting their hospitals' IT needs.
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| Diving into BPO
Compared with traditional IT outsourcing, business process outsourcing can mean greater risk -- and greater reward. Here's how to avoid slip-ups and score high.
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| Managing the Complexity of Network Convergence through Outsourcing
The convergence of voice, video and data networks, along with wired and wireless environments, brings unprecedented opportunities for a business that can capitalize on change. When managed correctly, network convergence can enable companies to operate more efficiently, increase returns on technology investments and realize other business benefits. Yet despite these potential gains, network convergence
remains a complex undertaking that creates new technical, operational and managerial challenges.
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| Beyond Technology: Maximizing Return on IT Outsourcing Investments
Today’s competitive environment and relentless pace of change require that every enterprise be able to adapt quickly to changes in the business environment. CIOs are no longer able to meet demands for improved performance and lower costs by simply adding infrastructure and headcount. Whether growing internal IT, or moving to outsourcing, CIOs must look beyond cost-cutting measures and aim at maximizing return on IT investment. In this climate, outsourcing is a method—and an opportunity—to leverage service providers’ competencies to meet the need for flexible IT services.
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| Improving Business Communications
You never get a second chance to make a good first impression.This principle is especially true in today’s fast-paced and highly competitive customer messaging environment, where complex, high-value printed and mailed materials must deliver a strong impact.These packages of detailed information – such as welcome kits, customer registration and educational materials, and documents intended to assure regulatory compliance – must make an immediate and positive impression. Otherwise, they fail in their primary mission to solicit a response. But they also must be produced, assembled and distributed quickly and efficiently to keep costs low and achieve the maximum ROI for the organization.
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| The Future of Outsourcing – Delivering IT as a Utility
New business models within the Information Technology (IT) sector have been relatively hard to find since the end of the dot com boom a few years ago. However, there has emerged over the last 12 months or so a new buzzword that is gaining a huge amount of interest: “utility computing”...
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| Sarbanes-Oxley and IT: An Opportunity For Partnership and Change
Compliance with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) requires more than CEOs and CFOs of publicly-traded companies personally certifying and attesting to the accuracy of their companies’ financial results. In addition, there are clear expectations for internal controls and the need for reporting of material variances in real-time laid out in Section 404 and 409 of the same Act. To achieve compliance, a collaborative effort will be required.
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| Market Based Pricing for Shared Services Centers
Many business plans for shared services centers include "market based pricing" as one of the key benefits. However, most of these business plans and proposals do not truly reflect "market based pricing" especially when the center is a captive business unit of a company. So what is "market based pricing" and what challenges exist in setting up a center based upon it? Does an outsourced shared services center really reflect market based pricing?
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