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I just saw a pretty good overview article posted at the E-commerce Times website. The article, ORM: Tracking Operations From Half a World Away, focuses on software tools for managing services. The article is online at the E-commerce Times website.

Also, it's interesting to note that there's an ORM entry on Wikipedia now. It's fun (and enlightening) to see people from around the world contribute/edit/comment on the entry.

by Jim Diggs|   top

I've posted a quick, six minute screencast demo of Janeeva Summit online. It's an overview but should give you an idea of the look & feel and functionality of Summit. This is my first foray into producing screencast audio/video - check it out and please feel free to give me your feedback.

See the demo here or check it out on YouTube!

by Jim Diggs|   top

We're pretty excited about Janeeva Summit, to say the least. Summit brings together the best capabilities of what many are calling "Web 2.0" - social networking, RSS, user generated content, etc. The challenge in building Summit was in choosing the functionality that fits the needs of our Outsourcing Relationship Management community and delivering it in a way that works within their enterprise environment. With Summit, we've delivered the best of Web 2.0 capabilities, which will have a significant impact on the way our customers succeed in their day to day activities. At the same time, it's delivered in a secure, accessible environment that fits the reality of the IT infrastructure within extended enterprise business strategies.

The real impact of Janeeva Summit will come in the form of the changing relationships and behaviors inside and outside the organization. While this type of business-driven social networking will certainly have immediate affects upon day-to-day communications, the more far-reaching affects are seen in the way individuals interact with each other and in bringing collaborative project teams, product teams and markets together. Over time, this becomes a truly rich repository of information that grows as participation grows. Unlike email, it becomes more useful the more people participate in it. We’re not trying to be a “Facebook” but we are delivering a serious, purpose-built Web 2.0 offering that works within these complex enterprise and business structures.

I'm working with quite a few early test users, some of whom have already fast-forwarded the adoption Summit to tie together their network of service providers.

To experience Summit, sign up here

by Jim Diggs|   top

We're kicking off the series today with Matt Shocklee, Managing Director at PricewaterhouseCoopers' Western Region Outsourcing Advisory Practice.

Matt outlined a strategy for disciplined, client-side assessment of outsourcing performance and a methodology that will give organizations the information and tools needed to better manage your ongoing outsourcing relationships, reduce risk and improve business performance.

Matt talked about how to structure vendor relationships to keep pace with the rate of change within the complex business environment, getting beyond SLAs to identify the important quantitative and qualitative metrics, making vendor agreements workable on a contractual as well as on a human level, how to support “apples to apples” comparison across multi-sourcing structures and how to transition to this “new state” of outsourcing operations and monitor value realization on an ongoing basis.

The session was really well attended and we had some great questions from the audience.

The webinar slides and audio are available on the Janeeva Resources Page.

by Shannon Culver |   top

As part of the ongoing update to our website, we've launched RSS feeds with Janeeva News & Events, Product/Tech updates and, yes, even this blog is now available via RSS. You can "subscribe" to the feeds and automatically get the latest info delivered to your favorite RSS Reader or have the news sent directly to your email inbox (using Feedburner).

Check out the Janeeva RSS feeds here

ps: happy Tax Day

by Shannon Culver |   top

I'm really loving having the "guest blogs" on the Janeeva website. It brings together some really interesting ideas and viewpoints and puts them where I'm likely to actually read them (to remind you, our guest blogs are here).

One blog I really like is the "360° Vendor Management" blog, written by the "Mystery Vendor Manager" - a real-life vendor manager at a Fortune 50 company who prefers to remain anonymous. The latest post is a glimpse into the challenges facing the "single person vendor management team"; my favorite quote is "Needless to say, this person is very busy and, quite honestly, overwhelmed. No single person could perform this job."

This is very much in line with what I've seen out there. Companies are starting to understand the challenges of properly managing outsourcing relationships and devote the appropriate planning, staffing and resources to the task. This is where I live.

Read the blog

by Jim Diggs|   top

The latest installment in our podcast series is now online in the podcast section of the Janeeva Resources Page (registration required).

Quick link to the audio file (mp3 download)...

by Mike Young|   top

Another new feature of the new Janeeva.com goes live: Guest Blogs. We're bringing in the latest news from hundreds of websites and blogs out there - all focused on the latest news and technology around SaaS and Outsourcing Relationship Management topics.

For you techies out there, the Guest Blogs page isbuilt by incorporating multiple RSS feeds, Google Blogsearch, XML/XSL templates and AJAX. Buzzword compliant, to be sure, but an interesting example of mashing up web content/services.

You can check out the Janeeva Guest Blog page here.

by Shannon Culver|   top

We've just launched a complete update to the Janeeva.com website. We hope you'll find that the new site has more information, easier navigation and a generally better look & feel. Please let us know what you think!

Some highlights:

We hope that the Janeeva website will be a great resource for you to follow the latest industry news, learn about Janeeva's Outsourcing Relationship Management expertise and keep in contact with Janeeva.

by Shannon Culver|   top

Janeeva was cited prominently in a feature article in the latest Managing Automation Magazine.

The article, titled "Managing Outsourcing: Is More Automation the Answer?", takes a look at Outsourcing Relationship Management and how many companies need to focus more on ORM in order to succeed with their outsourcing and extended enterprise strategies. The article includes quotes from Vinay as well as from Danny Ertel.

This paragraph from the author is a good summary of the article's premise: "Outsourcing is a complex business relationship, one that can't be fully automated. And while no one claims that technology is a panacea for fixing all of the problems associated with outsourcing, manufacturers can benefit greatly from the strategic deployment of technologies designed specifically for managing outsourced processes. Conversely, those that fail to properly automate may continue to suffer debilitating setbacks."

Quick Link to article

by Shannon Culver|   top

As we send out our holiday card to our "friends of Janeeva" around the world today, I'd like to reiterate our best wishes to everyone for a peaceful, fulfilling holiday season.

Link to the Janeeva Christmas Card

by Vinay Gupta |   top

Just read a great post ( Outsourcing Predictions for 2008… in a nutshell ) at ZDnet's Outsourcing Blog. It caught my eye because it talks about how ERP vendors are finally starting to look at the specific technology/infrastructure challenges presented to the extended enterprise as companies try to build the infrastructure to effectively manage their network of service providers. But the claim that Oracle and SAP will provide "software that staff can be quickly trained to use" is suspect. This has never been a strong point of ERP systems and I don't see them getting it right in this context. And the thought of extending bloated on-premise ERP systems to span the outsourced service providers is a bit fanciful. Understandably, both of these companies are targeting the service providers as this seems like the best way to dictate a technology solution to the market. What they are failing to recognize is that it will ultimately be the customer side that will decide on the tools they want to use. Janeeva's view: the benefits of a tailored outsourcing governance solution delivered via SaaS are proven, already managing over a billion dollars of outsource spending. Our task is to get the word out to the world that there is a better way...

by Jim Diggs |   top

Just finished putting together a podcast session with Danny Ertel of Vantage Partners. Through Vantage's industry surveys and his advisory work, he has a real grasp of the outsourcing governance issues facing companies today. Some interesting points from the discussion:

• Outsourcing relationship management is still a key determinant of success for outsourcing clients and is still, unfortunately, considered much too late in the process
• The disconnect between buyers and service providers persists even as they put more focus on contractual structures and formal metrics
• Service Level Agreements aren't enough. Simple statement but still something that companies aren't fully comprehending - yet.
• Outsourcing clients need to step up and realize that they bear significant responsibility for the success (or failure) of their outsourcing initiatives. Danny goes so far as to recommend that there are appropriate client-side metrics that need to be tracked.

Danny offers a pretty full set of recommendations for defining and managing a useful set of metrics that have direct impact on outsourcing performance as well as general observations on best practices he's seeing out in the industry.

Link: Vantage Partners

by Mike Young |   top

December 9, 2007
Are Service Level Agreements enough?
Some observations on SLAs and performance metrics

Service-level agreements are widely recognized as one of the "levers" that clients use in their outsourcing governance activities. And, while SLAs are extremely important and should be continuously refined and improved over the life of the outsourcing agreement, it's becoming clear that they must be augmented by other methods to ensure outsourcing success.

It's interesting that as recently as this time last year, prospective Janeeva clients were very much (almost singly) focused on SLAs. But I'm seeing more and more references along the lines of "are SLAs enough?" lately among analysts as well as among outsourcing managers.

Ultimately, success depends on the relationship between the client side outsourcing governance group and the service provider -- when trust is high, communication is effective and commitment to achieving the agreement's goals is shared, then both the client and the service provider will benefit.

by Jim Diggs |   top

Janeeva's CEO, Vinay Gupta, is featured in an interview on Contact Center World's online portal. Vinay gives his views on contact center outsourcing, with some interesting twists:

• Outsourcing of contact center operations is not driven by cost savings. It is driven by the need for better performance and flexibility in contact center operations. This represents a new model of outsourcing that leading companies are just starting to recognize.
• In the near future, the term 'outsourcing' may become as dated as the phrase 'IBM compatible PC' (remember that one?). The point is that leading-edge companies are remaking themselves to incorporate much more sophisticated process models and services sourcing will just be a given (at least for those companies that succeed).
• Outsourcing governance capabilities (in a general sense) will be much more important to companies as this new extended enterprise model evolves and companies will need to build skills and adopt tools to support it.

Permalink to Contact Center World article

by Mike Young |   top

We will be conducting the final webinar in our Fall Outsourcing Experts series in two weeks. The next webinar features Danny Ertel, founder and director of Vantage Partners and leader of Vantage's Outsourcing Practice area. Mr. Ertel is also Chairman of Janeeva's board of directors and is noted for his expertise in helping buyers and providers improve the way they negotiate and manage complex outsourcing arrangements.

In this session, Danny will outline a strategy for disciplined assessment of outsourcing performance and describe a methodology that will give organizations the information and tools needed to better manage their ongoing outsourcing relationships through a systematic metrics regime. Vantage Partners is doing significant research in this area and we will be hearing some of Danny's latest thoughts on best (and worst) practices out there. Please join us if you can - it will certainly be an informative session.

Webinar Sign-up Page

by Mike Young |   top

We held the second in our Fall "Outsourcing Experts" series yesterday, with Cindy Kearney and Jim Diggs covering the changing landscape among biotech and pharma companies' outsourcing efforts. We had a great audience, with participants from major biotech, pharma and a few from the service provider side. Much of the discussion centered on creating more of a partnership relation between sponsors and their network of CROs, trends among sponsor companies toward preferred providers, consolidation and specilization among the CROs and some of the internal challenges at sponsor companies as they strive for transparency and efficiency in managing their outsourced R&D. Some of the more telling statistics that Cindy brought out from an '07 survey among big pharma and biotech firms:

• 71% of managers at major pharmaceutical companies consider their CROs partners, but only 33% of biotech managers agreed
• 74% of senior managers at pharma/biotech companies consider outsourcing strategic, not tactical; but at the same companies, only 13% of the contract managers considered outsourcing strategic.
• Senior managers stated overwhelmingly that they are outsourcing in order to leverage core competencies, but their project managers stated that outsourcing is driven by need for capacity.

These types of discontinuities were eye-opening for the audience and it indicates that there is much to be gained in getting everyone on the same page in these outsourcing relationships. Jim did an overview of Outsourcing Relationship Management tools based upon his work at IAOP and his experiences with Janeeva clients.

The slides from the session are posted here

Contacts:
Jim Diggs: VP, Strategy - Janeeva
Cindy Kearney, President - CJKearney, LLC

by Mike Young|   top

October 22, 2007
IBM Information On Demand conference
Janeeva featured in the Software as a Service (SaaS) Pavilion

For more information and background, contact Jim Diggs

by Jim Diggs |   top

Janeeva Assurance will be featured in the SaaS Pavilion at the IBM IOD conference next week. We will demonstrating the latest capabilities during the 4-day conference/exposition as well as participating in the final round of the CTO Innovation Awards. Some details:

Date:	14 Oct 2007 - 19 Oct 2007
Venue:	Las Vegas, NV, Mandalay Bay Resort
Janeeva:	SaaS Pavilion, #132
	Jim Diggs, Mike Young
Overview:	the IBM Information On Demand Global Conference draws over 7000 attendees and is the largest technology-focused event of its kind.

For more information, please see the IBM Information On Demand website. 

by Jim Diggs |   top

The next session in Janeeva's Outsourcing Relationship Management fall webinar series will be Thursday, October 25th (1:30pm EST). This webinar features Cindy Kearney, President of CJKearney, LLC and former VP, R&D Procurement at Johnson & Johnson, with her views on the challenges facing large bio/pharma companies who are increasingly adopting outsourced R&D strategies. These large sponsor companies utilize multiple Contract Research Organizations (CROs) for many of their critical development, trial and post-launch activities, and Ms. Kearney will touch upon the factors driving the industry, success strategies and a new management approach and infrastructure for connecting this increasingly complex business network.

Webinar Sign-up Page

by Mike Young |   top

We held the first session in Janeeva's Outsourcing Relationship Management fall webinar series yesterday, with 48 attendees signing on for the discussion. Jim Diggs and Dennis Adsit addressed general challenges around managing multiple outsourced ccontact centers, and Dennis did a demonstration of his company's approach to process improvement in contact center operations.

Thanks to all the attendees for your participation and for your feedback after the event. We appreciate your comments and suggestions, and we hope that you will join us for future sessions.

The slides from the webinar can be downloaded here. 

by Shannon Culver |   top

September 12, 2007
Janeeva Hosts Webinar on Optimizing Multiple Outsourced Call Centers
Industry expert panel to discuss challenges, strategies and technologies

Janeeva's Outsourcing Relationship Management fall webinar series resumes this month! Once a month, we will bring together industry veterans, analysts and researchers to discuss current topics, trends and technologies which are affecting all of us who are involved in building and managing today's extended enterprise strategies.

Our first session, on September 26 (1:30pm EDT), features Dr. Dennis Adsit discussing Optimizing Multiple Outsourced Contact Centers with Jim Diggs (VP, Janeeva). Dr. Adsit has a twenty year academic and industry perspective on contact and call center operations, particularly in data-driven analysis and process improvement. If your company is currently planning and/or managing multi-outsourced contact center initiatives as part of your business strategy, the discussion will be an opportunity to review your strategy, understand potential pitfalls and identify ways to improve your business results.

Speaker bios:

Dr. Dennis Adsit (VP, KomBea www.kombea.com) has been improving organizations for over 20 years. He is a recognized expert in contact center operations, with a focus on analytical, data-driven and structured approach to contact center management. Prior to joining KomBea, Dr. Adsit was COO at Fathom Online and Senior Vice President, Contact Center Operations & Process Excellence, at Intuit. He has served on the faculty of Northeastern University's School of Business and is a member of the executive panel for the Academy of Management's flagship publication, Executive. He has published articles in over a dozen academic and trade journals and has been a featured speaker at numerous professional industry events.

Jim Diggs (VP, Janeeva) will moderate the webinar. Jim has spent 30 years in technology companies, with roles as vice president with Janeeva, ADP, IBM, and BlueGill Technologies and as CEO of Adapted Wave Technologies. Jim holds a BS degree in Applied Mathematics and Operations Research from the University of Colorado College of Engineering and serves on the Board of Directors of Cathedral Corporation. He is a professional member of the International Association of Outsourcing Professionals (IAOP), where he is the Chapter founder/chairman for the Outsourcing Tools interest group.

Webinar Sign-up Page

by Mike Young |   top

  
July 20, 2007
IAOP Hosts Webinar on Outsourcing Relationship Management
End users discuss their ORM experiences

The IAOP hosted another Outsourcing Relationship Management (ORM) Tools Chapter webinar this week. The session featured Brad Rubin (Director of Operations for TransUnion Interactive) and Dan Bruckner (Director IT Operations, Stanford Hospital)

Brad discussed performance monitoring goals/requirements for managing multiple call centers, focusing on the benefit of using ORM tools.

Some notable points:
Tools provide the ability to go beyond baseline performance monitoring. "We manage the standard SLAs, like most, but the tool allows us to use more sophisticated calculations. For example - retention sales metrics (such as persistency of membership) that go beyond the SLAs." On implementing ORM tools after outsourcing operations were up and running, he stated that "when we initiated our contracts, we built in a change management process; this allowed us to implement the changes required to bring in the tools. Vendors wanted to charge for some minimal development work (5-6 hours), but we negotiated it out." He talked of the impact to his business operations: "Now our team spends time analyzing data, not aggregating it... the Controller of our business relies on the analysis we get to drive end of month reporting."

His assessment of success factors:
- Minimal implementation time: "We developed the data hierarchy, built templates and automated the process of data importing very rapidly. It was a big win for us; I don't know if I've ever had something done that quickly".
- Standardized management across vendors: "We need tools in order to do 'apples to apples' comparisons. The tools provide an automated approach that validates data across vendors and stores data over time."
- Enables financial management and busines improvement: "We're constantly demanding innovation from vendors, looking for reduced costs and better customer experience. This requires metrics and tools to track them."
- Enables SLA and compliance management: "Multiple alerts are available and I log in every day to check performance."
- On-demand reporting: "We don't have to have someone dedicated to report generation (and, data isn't locked away in someone's spreadsheet.)"
- SaaS: "There is no IT required. Just extract data and get it formatted; it was a very simple process with our vendors."
- No systems integration with vendors needed: "This makes it very easy to accept data from multiple vendors."

Dan Bruckner is Director of IT Operations for Stanford Hospital and Clinics, where he manages the source relationships for all IT services, telecom services and business process services.

Dan described how his world looked back in Sept. 2002, when the hospital decided to outsource over 400 applications running patient care and day to day business. "Needless to say, the hospital is a demanding, 24/7 environment." He described the RFP and negotiation process and observed that "the contract signing is a date, but after that is reality. Lawyers write great documents, but you have to operationalize the contracts." He cites the value of ORM tools quite succinctly: "to manage all of this, you need lots of data and the ability to make sense of it."

It all comes down to having the information. "It's hard to track what an outsourcing vendor is doing. Good data allows reporting on SLA and metrics, allows corrective actions, enables goal setting and objectives. Without data, you are judged by rumors and perceptions." (quote of the day!). Use of the tool: "Presentation of the data will win you support. As you start reporting data out to the organization (physicians, nurses, administrators), they see under the covers and will identify strenghts and weaknesses. Some weaknesses they don't care about and require no actions, others do." Impact of the tool: "As we had a tool in place, our vendor (Perot) realized that they could learn what they were doing well and what wasn't working ('great database people, terrible networking people'). They are changing how they do business and getting better at providing the quality of service that helps us do our jobs even better." Who benefits: "The tool benefits all levels of our staff. Tech people, IT mgt., business leaders; administrators (CIO, CFO). But the view will be different. Alarm thresholds will vary, level of details will vary."

Dan outlined his views on the requirements for an ORM tool:
- Web based. It has to be accessible.
- Integration with databases and data collection. "If you look out there, each technology suite (Microsoft, BMC, IBM, etc.) provides their numbers, but how do you standardize?" The tool brings it all together.
- Powerful reporting. "We need multiple views, tha ability to track metrics and identify and export trends. The skeletons of any organization are usually buried in the data at the lower level."
- Robust SLA tracking. "With the data and reports available, you actually get some praise from your end users!"
- Ease of use. As Dan says, "Can the CIO use it?"
- Vendor provided. "We determined that to do it in house wasn't going to work. We needed an off the shelf tool, and we're working with our vendor to improve it."

IAOP Outsourcing Tools Chapter

by Mike Young |   top

Wayne B. Norris hosts a radio show called Business & Technology, where he interviews experts and visionaries on what's next and what's hot. Vinay Gupta, Janeeva CEO, was a guest on June 11 to discuss Software as a Service delivery of enterprise applications and the implications of the coming 'loosely coupled enterprise', or Enterprise 2.0. The discussion will soon be available as an archive on the Business & Technology website if you'd like to listen in.

Business and Technology radio

by Shannon Culver |   top

There is currently a great offer out for teams of 4 or more from the same financial institution that want to attend the Financial Services Outsourcing Forum, held September 5-7, 2007, at the Hyatt Regency/McCormick Place, Chicago. Four representatives of the same financial institution may register to attend the Conference and Forum for free click here (PDF document). More than four may register using this form, and all may attend for free if at least four attend. Note that this is not an exhibits-only pass - this is an all-access pass to these concurrent events as well as the rest of Foreword Financial Expo. Learn more about the Conference and Expo here.

Foreward Financial Expo

by Shannon Culver |   top

The Tools Chapter of IAOP has another webinar planned for Tuesday, June 19 at 11:00 Eastern. Taking part will be Brad Rubin, Director of Operations for TransUnion Interactive, and Dan Bruckner, Director of IT Operations for Stanford Hospital and Clinics. Janeeva's own Jim Diggs, VP Strategy and Business Development chairs this Chapter, and will moderate the discussion. The session will focus on the end-user perspective of the requirements and challenges of acquiring the information needed to monitor the performance of an IT Services operation. If you'd like to take part, even if you're not an IAOP member, you can by requesting a guest pass at this link. If you are an IAOP member, send an email to beryl.sorensen@outsourcingprofessional.org to register for the webinar.

Outsourcing Tools Chapter
International Association of Outsourcing Professionals (IAOP)
TransUnion Interactive

by Mike Young |   top

CIO Magazine (and specifically senior editor Stephanie Overby) does a great job on reporting on outsourcing, its benefits and challenges. They are sponsoring a survey that takes just 5 minutes or so to complete for an upcoming article. If you have outsourced IT operations, be sure to take part at this link.

CIO Outsourcing and Innovation Survey

by Shannon Culver |   top

Vantage Partners webinar, held today, featured speakers from CIBC, Williams Companies, and CapitalOne, and focused on skills required to keep outsourcing relationships on track. The one and a half our webinar was informative and insightful, and I found some of the quotes used to be very interesting. Such as; "Only 11% of [the IAOP] outsourcing customer base claims to consistently capture value from outsourcing." (IAOP Research Committee Membership Baselining Results, 2006) "Increasingly, CIO's are disappointed and disgruntled with the performance of their most important vendors." (CIO Insight's Vendor Value Study, 2006) "Only 29% of the outsourcing verterans...reported complete success making substantial improvements in service quality." (Towers Perrin HRO Report, 2005) Vantage's argument is that to achieve expected performance results from outsourcing vendors, those relationships must be thoughtfully and purposely managed. Not doing so puts at least 30% of the annual contract value at stake.

by Shannon Culver |   top

The most recent issue of Newsweek has a column by Robert Samuelson discussing the real impact of offshoring on US jobs titled, "Offshoring Overblown". Remember back in the election year all the hype surrounding offshoring? Remember when you couldn't escape Lou Dobbs and his list of companies Exporting America? Thankfully, that has all died down - mostly - and there is some opportunity for real debate in the mainstream press about offshoring's real impact. The Newsweek article makes some interesting points; A survey on 'mass layoffs' was done on Bureau of Labor statistics to determine how many layoffes stemmed from outsourcing. The answer? Just 4%. The other 95% of the layoffs were from contract completion, downsizing, and financial difficulty. Only 12% of layoffs were from movement of work, but two-thirds of those were domestic. My thoughts on the real reason for all the election year rhetoric is nicely summed up in the last paragraph of the article, "It's easy to blame all our economic anxieties and problems on globalization, because that makes foreigners and multinational companies responsible. Though satisfying, it will also be self-defeating if it diverts attention from fostering a healthy economy at home."

Newsweek: Offshoring Overblown

by Shannon Culver |   top

Janeeva got a nice little write-up in the May issue of Global Services. Read the article, Automating Governance, here. Interestingly, Global Services (a CMP Publication) started out as a newsletter called Managing Offshore. It grew into a magazine, was bought by CMP, and has most recently been completely outsourced to an India team of writers and editors.

Global Services: Strategies for Sourcing People Processes and Technology

by Jim Diggs |   top

Danny Ertel leads the International Association of Outsourcing Professionals (IAOP) Governance Chapter, and has scheduled a webinar for Wednesday the 23rd from 11:30 to 1:00 Eastern Time. If you'd like to attend (and we recommend that you do!) send an email to beryl.sorensen@outsourcingprofessional.org. If you're not an IAOP member, you can request a guest pass for this event here. This chapter meeting will focus on the selection and negotiation process, and features panelists from several leading firms including Everest Group, EquaTerra, and TPI. Effective outsourcing and governance, when it is brought to the table during the sourcing process, can carry an outsourcing contract through its inevitable bumps and turns and can help realize much more value from the contract itself. This webinar, combining sourcing and governance best practices, is one not to be missed.

IAOP Governance Chapter
Vantage Partners: Danny Ertel Bio
Everest Group Global Consulting Firm with Strong Sourcing Consultancy Group http://www.everestgrp.com/ EquaTerra Sourcing Consultancy and Business Transformation through Outsourcing http://www.equaterra.com/ TPI Sourcing Consultancy and Business Transformation through Outsourcing http://www.tpi.net/ Topic Tags: EquaTerra, Everest Group, Governance, IAOP, Outsourcing Professional, TPI, Vantage Partners

by Shannon Culver |   top

Outsourcing, without argument, is here to stay. Even offshoring, with all its well-known problems, is secure in its place in business. What has changed, and continues to evolve, is how these operations and other business processes are managed. While different process management approaches such as Total Quality Management and Business Process Reeingineering have attracted attention, then faded from view, the overall trend is for a stronger orientation to managing end-to-end processes as a way to improve an organizations operations; reduce cost, increase quality, enhance customer service and accelerate innovation. Janeeva Assurance was built with management processes in mind, and with a goal of improving outsourcings processes as if those processes were performed in-house. Clients using Janeeva Assurance tend to be experienced enough with outsourcing to understand the management challenges, and realize clearly the need for tools to govern these processes.

by Shannon Culver |   top

Just a reminder that this webinar is one not to miss. Danny Ertel, founder and director of Vantage Partners, and Janeeva's Chairman of the Board will speak on the skills required to manage contracts, negotiations, and relationships in outsourcing. Danny literally wrote the book titled, "Managing Outsourcing Relationships; Essential Practices for Buyers and Providers", and it is a treasure trove of information for anyone managing outsourcing. To register for the webinar, click here. Cost is $195, which is a deal for the wealth of information that will be offered.

Vantage Partners

by Shannon Culver |   top

Two articles I read this week caught my eye. The first, in Global Services magazine, was appropriately titled, "BPO is an Industry, Finally!". Not long ago, there was much question and debate whether business process outsourcing, without its older and more mature companion IT outsourcing, could sustain itself. The article points out that there are several pure play BPO vendors that have listed recently on various stock exchanges, ending any question about the sustainability of the model. The article is on page 45 of the May issue, and not yet available online. The other article I came across just a day later was from Everest Group, and noted from a recent study that Indian BPO Suppliers have achieved critical mass and are now successfully competing with major global suppliers of BPO. Offshoring of business functions is becoming increasingly mainstream. When Janeeva first started business in 2004, outsourcing and offshoring were all the rage, but there were no best-practices, industry associations or forums around outsourcing. Today there are many, and all signs point to BPO coming into its own industry which is great for all of us involved. Global Services Media Strategies for sourcing people, processes and technologies http://globalservicesmedia.com Everest Group Outsourcing Center - Outsourcing Information and Resources http://www.outsourcing-center.com Topic Tags: BPO, Business Process Outsourcing, offshoring

by Shannon Culver |   top

Multi-sourcing can be defined as a strategy of engaging multiple suppliers to provide a particular service. Multisourcing differs from outsourcing in that outsourcing sends a single process to a single vendor. Multisourcing sends a single process to multiple outsourced vendors. Benefits to multisourcing include:
. Multisourcing introduces competition, and a buyer is much more able to negotiate price and service levels.
. Risk is spread across a number of vendors, minimizing the impact of a problem at any one vendor.
. Development and sharing of 'best practices'. Learnings at one vendor can be shared with all, for improved overall performance.

Risks to Multisourcing include:
. Multisourcing increases the need for strong governance and vendor management processes. Overhead can increase if governance tools or personnel are not already in place.
. Lack of cooperation from vendors can degrade service overall if strong governance procedures are not in place.
. Lack of tools for efficient and effective management processes are essential investments before implementing a multisourcing strategy.

Managing Multisourcing with software has several important benefits:
. A central software point of management allows buyers to formalize relationships with vendors rather than manage each of them on an ad hoc basis.
. Monitoring through software creates a competitive market between vendors so that costs are kept low and the suppliers perform at the agreed on levels of service or higher.
. Reporting on performance is timely, creating a feedback loop with no lag.
. Problems, or poor performance are caught immediately, minimizing time between problem and resolution.
Without software, the costs of managing multisourcing engagements outweigh the benefits.

In an article titled "Beware the multisourcing pitfalls", Professor Phanish Puranam of London Business School says the choice between multi-sourcing and single-sourcing turns on the trade-off between competition and co-ordination. He said: "Using multiple vendors can create competition and lowers the risk of delivery failures, escalating fees and inflexible services. However, this approach also creates enormous co-ordination complexity for the client and for the vendors themselves." To gain the many benefits of multisourcing while managing the complexity, software to manage multisourcing is a necessity.

Beware the multi-sourcing pitfalls

by Shannon Culver |   top

Matt Chittle, VP of Product Management here at Janeeva recently had an article in DM Review magazine titled, "You and Your Outsourcing Provider: Keys to a Successful Marriage". Matt makes several great points in the article, and you can log on here to read the whole thing. Relationships are hard, unless you are lucky enough to land a spot on Dr. Phil's afternoon talk show, where all relationship problems are solved between commercial breaks with a pithy phrase or lofty platitude. If only Dr. Phil would take on outsourcing relationships. If your company has outsourced significant business processes, you understand how hard it is to successfully manage the relationship with your outsourcing providers. But why? In most cases, the business process is not new, and you went through an extensive selection process to ensure that your provider was an expert. How could there be trouble in paradise? You got along so well while you were dating. Just like any new relationship, this new marriage to your outsourcing provider will require some adjustment.

It's not that companies can't handle relationships. Traditionally, companies manage very important relationships with employees, suppliers and customers. Every successful company has dedicated significant energy to managing these relationships. Each of these relationships is supported by an organizational structure, specialized management methodologies and an information infrastructure. Employees have the HR department, suppliers have procurement, and customers have sales and marketing.

If there was a wave of critical resignations in your west coast office, there would be no question as to who in the organization must be notified. The local human resources (HR) manager would be the first to know and would immediately escalate the issue to the senior HR executive. If the current HR policy was to hire only new graduates and invest in training, that policy might get reviewed and revised to include an effective methodology for attracting and retaining accomplished veterans. All of this activity would be monitored and recorded in your HR system. If the situation were customer defections instead of employee resignations, the people, processes and systems involved would be equally clear.

Now, think about your outsourcing providers. If something goes wrong with your outsourcing relationship, what happens? Is the escalation path clear? Is there one senior executive ultimately responsible for the health of the relationship? What is your outsourcing relationship policy? Do you have one? If not, can you simply substitute your HR policy or your customer retention strategy? Of course not, the relationship you have with your outsourcing provider is different. Outsourcing providers are unique. They aren't employees, although in many cases, they do the work that employees used to do. They aren't just suppliers; they are involved in day-to-day operations. They're new and different, and you must change your ways if this new relationship is going to work.

Fortunately, your existing relationships provide the framework for the required adjustments. Just like employees, suppliers and customers, your outsourcing providers need a supporting organizational structure, management methodologies and information infrastructure. To successfully manage your outsourcing relationships you must:

1. Make outsourcing relationship management part of your org chart;
2. Clearly define your relationship management methodology; and
3. Utilize effective tools to manage the relationship with your outsourcing providers.

Log on to DM Review to read the rest of Matt Chittle's article.

DM Review: You and Your Outsourcing Provider

by Shannon Culver |   top

Consider a general contractor. He has relationships with many specialists, whether drywall, paint, brick, foundations, etc. His role is to act as a coordinator to bring those specialties together to create a new building. His contracts are short term, and several choices exist for each job. Those that perform well, on time and in budget will he will most likely call again for future work. The General Contractor is onsite, and can oversee performance of tasks himself. For the flexible corporation, those tasks may be accomplished many miles and timezones from headquarters. However, in the same way as the general contractor, the flexible corporation will act as a coordinator to bring together the pieces of business, whether HR, Sales, Accounting, Manufacturing, etc. And, like the general contractor, there are many providers to choose from for each task. Today, companies that outsource have contracts with providers that tend to be long and inflexible, but as they adapt tools to manage these relationships (instead of relying on the contract terms), the contracts will be shorter, and relationships will be based on performance - much like the relationships of the general contractor. Software, such as Janeeva AssuranceT from Janeeva, is designed for managing outsourcing relationships. The software allows the flexible corporation to realize the full value from outsourcing, while reducing the risk and complexity of managing from a distance. The outsourcer with Janeeva can see at a glance whether contractual terms and Service Level Agreements (SLA's) are being met, if performance is at a level agreed to, if there are issues that need to be addressed and many other facets of their relationship with their outsourcer. Without Janeeva, the cost of measuring and monitoring these engagements would far outweigh the benefit gained. Even as outsourcing, outsourcers, and tools to manage outsourcing evolve, examples of the 'flexible corporation' of the future can be found today. Janeeva Janeeva Assurance software helps enterprises manage their outsourced provider relationships in an organized way to realize the full value from outsourcing, and reduce the risk and complexity of managing outsourcing relationships. http://www.janeeva.com

by Shannon Culver |   top

Response to the Outsourcing Tools Chapter has been phenomenal with more than 100 people registered. Janeeva is pleased because this response shows recognition of the need for tools in the outsourcing marketspace. The agenda will be; "An Overview of the Framework for Tools in the Outsourcing Life Cycle" Spectrum includes tools needed to effectively manage outsourcing - for both providers and businesses - through pre and post outsourcing engagements. Jag Dalal, Managing Director - Thought Leadership, IAOP and Principal, JDalal Associates, LLC "Overview of Skills and Issues for Outsourcing Management Tools" An overview of the skills and knowledge needed by sourcing professionals and organizational issues surrounding the use of outsourcing relationship management tools. Dean Davison, VP Strategic Outsourcing, Nautilus Advisors. Former VP MetaGroup, now Gartner. "Introduction of the Tools Survey" Jim Diggs, VP Strategy & Business Development, Janeeva and Chapter Chair. To request a guest pass to the webinar, click here. If you're a member of IAOP, send an email to beryl.sorensen@outsourcingprofessional.org for log in instructions to the webinar. We're expecting a great turnout, and the beginning of a valuable industry discussion on what tools are available, and what tools are required to effectively manage outsourcing. Please make plans to join us!

by Shannon Culver |   top

Vantage Partners, with roots in the Harvard Negotiation Project, has unique insights on governance, and what skills are required to effectively manage outsourcing. Danny Ertel, Vantage Partners Outsourcing Practice Head, will be presenting on this webinar. Janeeva recommends that anyone currently outsourcing, considering outsourcing, or suffering through an outsourcing deal going bad sign up and log in to this informative webinar. Relationship Skills that Make (or Break) the Outsourcing Professional
Presented by Danny Ertel Partner, Practice Head, Outsourcing Vantage Partners

Many experienced buyers of outsourcing services have learned the hard way that managing an outsourcing relationship is entirely different than managing an internal function. Rather than achieving results through direct authority, the retained Outsourcing Manager must affect success by building internal alignment, negotiating scope day-to-day, collaboratively solving problems, and managing performance to the contract. Consequently, not only must outsourcing managers be adept in their functions (such as HR, IT, and F&A), they must also be strong at contract management, financial management, and relationship management. While internal functions like Procurement, Finance, and Legal can help support retained managers with their contracting and financial skills, skills for managing service provider relationships are critical to the outsourcing professional's success and these skills cannot be "borrowed" from other functions. Unfortunately, it is just these skills that research shows are underdeveloped among functional professionals. Join Vantage Partners Founder, Danny Ertel, as he provides an overview of the key Relationship Management skills that make -- or break -- the Outsourcing Professional's success.

by Shannon Culver |   top

Janeeva's VP of Strategy and Business Development, Jim Diggs, has been invited to present at this May 10th webinar on Outsourcing Success. There was a time when outsourcing software development seemed like an obvious proposition. But experience has proven that there are hidden costs and real risks to the outsource model. Join us for an online discussion on what it takes to make outsourced software development projects successful. This timely and important session includes notable outsourcing experts, such as:

* Thomas M. Koulopoulos, founder of Delphi Group and author of Smartsourcing
* Steve Mezak, CEO of Accelerance, and author of Software without Borders
* James Diggs, VP of strategy, Jeneeva, and chapter chair for the International Association of Outsourcing Professionals (IAOP)
* Greg Burnell, CEO of 6th Sense Analytics, Inc.

Attendees will gain a rich understanding of the common pitfalls to avoid when engaging in outsourced software development. Whether you're considering sending a project offshore or you're actively outsourcing today, this session will provide the framework you need to maximize the probability for success. This is designed to be a deeply interactive discussion. Attendees will have a chance to submit questions in advance, as well as during the event. Questions submitted in advance will be used to direct and prioritize the topics we emphasize. You will have a chance to submit these questions after you register for the event.

by Shannon Culver |   top

Data Acquisition is critical to the success of ORM. With Janeeva's new Data Integrity Function, customers are assured that data from their providers is not only delivered automatically but is also complete and accurate. Janeeva has developed a methodology to monitor and assess data based on "degrees of validity" and builds a knowledge base to ensure data integrity. Outsourcers need data from many sources and need to trust this data to effectively manage their outsourced relationships. The Data Integrity function gives them the peace of mind that all required data has been delivered and flags any bad or missing data. Ajay Sharma of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan said, "Access to quality and relevant data can help both the providers and clients work collaboratively towards improving the outsourced service as well as strengthening the relationship." Janeeva Relationship management software providers http://www.janeeva.com The William Davidson Institute Integrating research, executive education, and practical project-based assistance, the Institute, at the University of Michigan, generates knowledge and offers unique educational opportunities to individuals as well as indigenous and Multinational companies operating in transitional economies.

by Shannon Culver |   top

Janeeva has enhanced their Outsourcing Relationship Management (ORM) software with new functionality that enables companies to easily monitor and analyze the "Portfolio" of their outsourcing projects and vendors. Much as a savvy investor monitors a portfolio of stocks and bonds, savvy executives must monitor their investments in outsourcing. They need to optimize results by shifting investments to high performing vendors and maintaining healthy diversification. Janeeva's new Portfolio function gives executives and managers a single page view of all outsourced operations by tower, vendor, and project. Executives can easily compare vendor performance and monitor the overall effect of shifting business from low performers to high performers. Cindy Kearney, former Johnson & Johnson Vice President R&D Procurement Pharmaceutical Research & Development and CRO Worldwide said, "Portfolio offers the advantage of a comprehensive view of all outsourcing activity at a single glance." Vinay Gupta explains, "Tools like Janeeva's new Portfolio enables our customers to take Outsourcing Relationship Management to the next level."

by Shannon Culver |   top

The inaugural meeting of the IAOP Outsourcing Tools Chapter, Chaired by corporate member Jim Diggs of Janeeva, will be held via webinar on Tuesday, April 24, 2007 from 11:00 am to 12:00 pm Eastern time. IAOP members may attend any and all chapter meetings free of charge. Non-members are invited to attend one as a guest of IAOP. All seats, however, must be reserved in advance. MEMBERS: Email Beryl Sorensen, Director of Member Services at beryl.sorensen@outsourcingprofessional.org. NON-MEMBERS: Submit a Guest Pass Request. Agenda "An Overview of the Framework for Tools in Outsourcing Life Cycle" Jag Dalal, Managing Director - Thought Leadership, IAOP and Principal, JDalal Associates, LLC Spectrum includes tools needed to effectively manage outsourcing - for both providers and businesses - through pre and post outsourcing engagements. "Overview of Skills and Issues for Sourcing Management" Beena George Ph. D., Management Information Systems Department, Cameron School of Business University of St. Thomas, Houston, TX (tentative) An overview of the skills and knowledge needed by sourcing professionals, and issues surrounding outsourcing management. "Introduction of the Tools Survey" Jim Diggs - Chapter Chair About IAOP IAOP is the global standard-setting association and advocate for the outsourcing profession - helping organizations achieve better business outcomes through professional development, research, and training.

by Shannon Culver |   top

According to Marq R. Ozanne of Dunn & Bradstreet, 20 to 25 percent of outsourcing relationships fail within two years, and 50 percent fail within five. The odds of a successful outsourcing arrangement are lower than the odds of failure. A significant percentage of these failures are due to miscommunication. The sustainable health of an outsourced process depends on the quality of communications between the main players. As is true virtually always, communication is dependent on being two-way. The cycle of information needs to flow easily between invested parties, as well as up to management. Due to distance, time zones, cultural gaps and language barriers, effective communication is difficult to achieve. Without it, outsourced processes will erode along with the promised savings and health of the partnership. In fact, many industry insiders believe communication is often what determines the long-term success or failure of an outsourcing project. "This may sound obvious, but probably the biggest stumbling block to outsourcing is that after all the contracts have been signed, companies abdicate responsibility for projects to the outsourcer," Deepak Khandelwal, a business process outsourcing analyst at business consulting and research firm McKinsey said during a forum in New York at the CeBIT America show in 2004. "Companies that outsource forget that they still have to manage the projects they outsource. Communication is key. You need to have your weekly meetings with the project managers and the quarterly meetings at the CEO or [executive vice president] level." Before outsourcing, collect detailed contact information from your vendor and from your project manager. Be sure you can reach them at any time. Ask questions about their communication style, and how they prefer to communicate. Is software in place to enable effective communication? If not, how will you ensure that things don't fall through the cracks? Is a schedule in place for regular status meetings involving project managers as well as management at both the buyer and provider? Do not make the mistake of carefully setting parameters at the outset of the arrangement then pass all responsibility on to the vendor. Be sure tools are in place to ensure easy and effective, two-way communication. Follow through on a carefully considered and agreed upon communication plan. View the provider as a partner or as a separate division within your organization and keep them 'in the loop' to maintain their alignment with your business priorities.

by Shannon Culver |   top

A means of monitoring and adjusting the outsourcing relationship over time is critical. The parties that originally crafted the outsourcing arrangement including Service Level Agreements (SLA's) and business processes come and go, and the original strategy that created the need for outsourcing may change. Post-transition shifts must be managed to avoid a misalignment of understanding and goals between buyer and provider. A 2005 Gartner study found that 55% of all companies with existing IT infrastructure outsourcing arrangement have renegotiated deal terms within the lifetime of the contract, and 15% of these contracts had been renegotiated within the first 12 months of the deal. Only 23% of survey respondents did not expect to enter into renegotiations, which means that nearly 80% of outsourcing relationships will go through renegotiations at some stage. To maintain satisfaction, a method for managing and communicating contractual changes including additional resource charges, scope changes and new service requests should be in place to enable a systematic and repeatable change management process.

by Shannon Culver |   top

Information Week had a fascinating article on the recent scandal at Walter Reed. Although fingers are being pointed and anger is being vented towards the Army, the outsourcer was in charge, and allowed the conditions to remain in a deplorable state. However, the point of the article isn't the performance of the outsourcer, but rather the Army's failure to properly manage the outsourcing initiative. The article reads, "The abysmal conditions at the Army's Walter Reed hospital reflect an appalling lack of respect for men and women who suffered grievous injuries fighting for this country. They also show what can happen when an outsourcing project goes awry." Find the full article here.

by Shannon Culver |   top

In a press release dated March 22, the Outsourcing Institute announced a new website called "The Intelligence Network". Some of the content is premium, but there is a lot of information here just for signing up. The press release says, "The Outsourcing Institute, since 1993 the "Gateway to the Outsourcing Marketplace" with a current membership of more than 70,000 executives, practitioners and industry experts, unveils today the industry's first global community and marketplace. The Intelligence Network, or "IN," gives users unprecedented access to outsourcing people, resources and tools -- all in one location and 24x7. Members worldwide are able to connect with a primed outsourcing audience of qualified Buyers, leading Service Providers, expert Influencers / Intermediaries and talented Partners through an online clearinghouse of information, best practices, tools and discussion forums. "IN users can increase their company's awareness, showcase thought leadership, establish new and critical relationships, and generate qualified business opportunities," says Frank Casale, Founder and Chief Executive Office of The Outsourcing Institute. "IN gives users access to a higher volume of quality resources than can be found on any other network." Leveraging everything new in outsourcing as well as years of hard-earned experience, IN's "eco-system" type scenario is where the true power of the network is found. "By allowing content to be contributed and commented on by all members, we maintain an impartial stance," adds Casale, "concerned only with getting users the tools and support they need to achieve and maintain success." TheIntelligence Network allows users to network and interact with Buyers, Service Providers, Influencers / Intermediaries and Partners; create company profiles in Outsourcing Yellow Pages; have instant peer and career networking; self publish and showcase thought leadership; access hundreds of publications and studies that are updated daily; leverage thought-provoking presentations and learning opportunities; and stay current on outsourcing trends, best practices and buzz. "We encourage current and new members of The Outsourcing Institute to experience first hand the power of being IN," says Casale. For more information on the Intelligence Network, visit www.outsourcingintelligencenetwork.com

by Shannon Culver |   top >

The Conference Board is holding the Strategic Outsourcing Conference on May 3 and 4 at the Westin New York Times Square. The whole conference looks interesting, but the panel discussion on tools to manage outsourcing is particularly relevant to Janeeva. The brochure describes the session as; Outsourcing Governance: Software Tools for Managing Outsourcing Relationships As companies evolve to compete globally, their relationships with customers, employees and suppliers must also evolve. The addition of outsourcing providers has created a new level of business partnerships. Managing these relationships has increased in complexity as companies outsource multiple facets of their business to multiple providers. Many companies are developing the skills, processes, management systems and new mindsets needed to make governance operational. To support these disciplines and growing complexities, software tools are emerging to effectively manage outsourcing relationships. This session features a panel of outsourcing governance, vendor management and operations management professionals from major customers of outsourcing. They will review the requirements for software tools to manage various facets of their outsourcing relationships. Delegates will learn how these companies are addressing their need to: Establish and execute metrics in line with business goals Monitor and generate timely reports on performance and SLAs Effectively manage incentives, penalties, credits, and charge-backs Manage and communicate changes in scope, SLAs, contracts and services Analyze, evaluate and compare vendor performance to improve outcomes and quality Track and resolve conflicts and issues before they become recurring problems Audit relationships and adjust processes

by Shannon Culver |   top

What a firm does not measure, it can not monitor, and what it cannot monitor will decay. What to measure and how to measure it are problematic questions in a BPO relationship. Consider a division of information analysts whose job is to produce a series of reports. Should the measurement be the number of reports this division produces? That may be a problem, since the creation of a large number of reports may not be an indicator of the team's ability to produce a single report that pulls together relevant data into a single view. Should the measure of success be the timeliness of the reports? That approach could prove problematic because reports may be delivered on time but that isn't a guarantee that the reports are accurate or relevant. A report may be both accurate and timely, but it may fail to provide the information needed. If a measure of success is based on the wrong indicator then quality, output, vendor relationships, and the outsourcing agreement may suffer. Successful measurement is tough to get right. Key indicators must be clearly thought out during the assessment of success factors, some of which are included in the SLA (Service Level Agreement) - a standard contract between the business and their outsourcing vendor/partner. However, the SLA does not address all the key operational indicators that should be reviewed on a regular and frequent basis. These key indicators are the terms you will rely on day to day. Without monitoring, you are effectively throwing your business over the wall and expecting that you'll get back what you need. It is better to get feedback in a form that allows a clear measurement of success (or failure) within defined, agreed upon guidelines. Monitoring outsourced work on an ongoing basis provides important benefits. First, your business process operation remains documented no matter where it is being accomplished. This allows you to effectively determine the value that you are receiving and gives you the ability to react appropriately. Second, monitoring will alert you to any decrease in quality and provide an explanation of developments. Some results are cause for concern, and others are natural. Either way, the best way to know what is being delivered is to carefully measure and monitor outsourced processes. Topic Tags: Key Indicators, Service Level Agreement, SLA, successful measurement

by Shannon Culver |   top

Outsourcing - just the word evokes images of challenges in the pursuit of higher profit margins and lower costs. A recent Gallup survey found that just over half of the 150 companies surveyed outsourced some part of their business. Thirty-eight percent of those who had tried outsourcing said the exercise had been 'a complete failure' or had delivered fewer benefits than expected. Forrester Research predicts that more than 40 percent of outsourcing relationships will fail to deliver the business value originally envisioned, costing US companies $30 to $40 billion a year in lost time and resources. Clearly, there are challenges to outsourcing, but the potential benefits make the risk worth taking. The most obvious challenges to outsourcing any operation are locating a vendor and managing the transition to the vendor. Much has been written on these processes, and many consultancies have been formed to assist in this transition. However, much less information is available about maximizing the investment made in outsourcing while minimizing risks by implementing tools and processes for the ongoing management of outsourced relationships. The ongoing management of such relationships Janeeva terms "Outsourcing Relationship Management" or ORM. ORM encompasses many disciplines, including program management, issue management, change management, performance monitoring, SLA management, compliance and capacity management. Each discipline is important for managing some portion of an outsourced operation. Together, these disciplines will drive a complete ORM strategy. Topic Tags: capacity management, change management, compliance, issue management, ORM, Outsourcing Relationship Management, performance monitoring, program management, SLA management

by Shannon Culver |   top

The IBM Website says, "The IBM PartnerWorld Beacon Awards acknowledges the best solutions IBM Business Partners have to offer from every part of our business. With innovation as the focal point for everything that we do, IBM Business Partners have a great impact on our ability to consistently provide Innovation that Matters. View the winners of these prestigious awards who are recognized as having set the standard for business excellence, unique and innovative solutions, ingenuity, and customer satisfaction." Janeeva's solution, built and delivered as a Software as Service application, was chosen by the IBM judges from hundreds of applications.

The emergence of business process outsourcing has created a new and important relationship that companies must learn how to manage Relationships are hard. Relationships take work. A successful relationship is extremely rewarding. Most of us would agree these statements apply to our personal lives but they are just as true in the corporate world. The emergence of business process outsourcing had created a new and important relationship that companies must learn how to manage. An effectively managed relationship can be very rewarding to the bottom line. A neglected relationship can put the company at risk. Successfully managing the relationship with your outsourcing providers means dedicating the same effort and resources that make your traditional corporate relationships work. Three traditional relationships The three traditional relationships are with your employees, suppliers, and customers. Your organizational hierarchy, management methods, and information systems support each of these entities. Relationship Infrastructure Each of these entities has a senior executive with a supporting staff directly responsible for their welfare. Employees have the HR department, suppliers the purchasing and/or supply chain organization, and customers are looked after by sales and marketing. Every successful company has dedicated significant energy to determining the right management methods to support these relationships. The HR policy may be to hire new graduates and dedicate resources to training, or to hire only accomplished veterans. Suppliers may be close partners or kept at arms length and forced to constantly compete for the next order. Customers may all be treated equally or provided with varying levels of service depending on their potential profitability. There is no one right method, the variety and continuous evolutions of methods speaks to the inherent challenge to managing relationships. Information systems are also important to successfully managing these relationships. Most major companies have an HR system for tracking employee information and performance evaluations. Supply Chain Management systems facilitate supplier relationships and procurement software and the Internet has made innovations like the on-line reverse auction possible. CRM software has become an essential tool for organizations to support customers effectively. The new relationship With all of this infrastructure in place you would think that everything is covered. However, this infrastructure was built to manage a traditional organization. Business Process Outsourcing creates a new and unique relationship that requires new and unique infrastructure. The Business Process Outsourcer does share some characteristics of some of the traditional entities. You are buying a service from your outsourcer so technically they are a supplier. However, they are not just dropping a shipment off at the dock each morning, they are involved in essential business processes every minute of the day. With such deep involvement they are a lot like employees, they are probably performing tasks that used to be done in-house. But you don't have the same level of control and familiarity with every member of your outsourcer's staff that you would with your own employees. The outsourcer is not an employee, a traditional supplier, or definitely not a customer. As a fourth key relationship the outsourcer must supported with the same infrastructure as each of the traditional relationships. Outsourcing's infrastructure There are many signs that companies are recognizing the importance of this new relationship and are beginning to figure out how to support it. This is a signal that companies are changing their organizational structures to meet the challenge of managing this relationship. Many companies have created new positions such as the CSO or VP of Vendor Management. These executives and their staff manage this relationship. The management techniques are under development as well. Some of the best management thinkers have taken on the task. Every major consulting firm now has an outsourcing practice and many specialist firms have launched over the last five years. However, the development of information systems is lagging organizational and management methods. This may be due in part to the fact that the newly appointed executives and their methodology gurus are still figuring out just what information to manage but many more challenges exist. An outsourcing relationship breaks the existing information infrastructure. Suddenly processes that were once within the four walls of the corporate office are now cut in the middle and pieces are sent around the globe for completion. The information flow is at worst cut off and at best disjointed. If a performance measurement system was in place (which often is not the case) it is now no longer relevant. There are multiple remote operations and a host of different systems to deal with in order to get a comprehensive view of the information flowing through outsourced operations. To regain control, processes and tools like Janeeva Assurance must be put in place to manage these new relationships and the outsourcing process.

by Shannon Culver |   top