Archive for the 'Analysts/Research' Category

Put “Strategic” Back into your Strategic Sourcing

by Josh Dials, Solutions Consultant
Robert A. Rudzki, contributor to the Spend Matters blog, brings up a great point in a recent post.  “’Strategic’ is perhaps one of the most overused (and misused) terms in business today,” he says.  “Simp…

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Cloud Computing: Only Works as Well as Your Organization Manages It

By: Kevin Smilie
Cloud computing is changing the way IT leaders deliver IT services and value to their customers. As companies learn about the value of the cloud through pilot projects, they gain insight into the technology, its commercial benefits, an…

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Optimization – Solving the “What if?” Implementation Dilemma Part 1

What if…

Actual demand for our product is greater (or less) than forecast-ed?
My facilities have different quality standards for the same product?
I need to select a “green,” “low-cost country” or “diversity” …

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US Government – Leveraging their spend

According to Peter Orszag, head of the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) and contributor to the Office of Management and Budget blog,  “Federal agencies usually rely on hundreds of separate contracts for commonly used office supplies that vary i…

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Long Term Bullish – Future Bodes Well for Services Outsourcing

by Dinesh Goel
If you think of general business process services trends, it is no different from using vendors for several other goods and services to run an enterprise. These may range from mail/courier services and car rentals to facilities managemen…

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VDI Brings the Benefits of Cloud Computing to the Data Center

by Jim Kane
The past couple of years have been an exciting time for CIOs needing scalable IT platforms that are cost-effective and support rigorous security standards. In addition to cloud computing, a currently less-publicized technology called “VDI…

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A fresh look at Supply Chain Management

Last month I met with Reuben Slone, a highly respected supply chain executive with OfficeMax.  During the meeting, we had extended discussion of the effort that it takes to publish a book such as the one he just released through the Harvard Business P…

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Pendulum Swings Back to Demand

by Dinesh Goel
Not too long ago, I shared an observation in a recent post about the Demand-Supply syndrome. I noticed that subdued demand resulting from recessionary pressures and supply exceeding the industry requirements of manpower were impacting th…

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Five Easy Steps to More Effective Contact Center Performance Measures

By John Magliocca, Senior Advisor, TPI
“You can improve what you can measure” is an adage many contact center managers strive to realize. But while data collection and reporting systems are critical contact center tools, access to statistics alone …

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Making Sourcing Savings Stick

As a sourcing professional, my most difficult negotiations aren’t with suppliers but rather with internal customers.  Based on conversations with my colleagues, that experience is not unusual.  One measure of this challenge is “savings leakage”…

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