Archive for the 'BPO' Category

Are Outsourcing Vendors Throwing in the High-Value BPO Towel?

Over on Horses for Sources, entrepreneur-turned-stealth-researcher Phil Fersht* recently suggested that some big-name outsourcing firms might be tossing in the towel when it comes to selling and delivering higher value offerings that focus more on pr…

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Decreasing overhead in 2010, where will banks turn?

By Brian Smith
The economic situation in 2009 has changed the game for banks of all sizes. Going into 2010 they are all looking for new business strategies to rebound.  Across the board, banks will be restructuring in 2010, but what types of strategie…

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ICG Commerce ? The Evolution of a Successful Procurement BPO (Part 2)

In an earlier column on ICG Commerce, I took a particularly close look at the company’s history and traction to date; in this second post of the series, I will more closely analyze ICG’s core value proposition and how it supports this philosophy orga…

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ICG Commerce: The Evolution of a Successful Procurement BPO (Part 1)

Earlier in December, while on a whirlwind tour of the East Coast, I
spent an all-too-brief 90 minutes visiting ICG Commerce, a
provider I’ve spoken with on a number of occasions. In fact, my original
relationship with ICG goes back to my rela…

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SAP’s Published On-Demand Pricing

It appears SAP is taking a move from Oracle’s playbook when it comes
to becoming more transparent with its On-Demand pricing and
discounting: at the Influencer Summit last week, SAP shared a number
of pricing details around its On-Demand pro…

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SAP Influencer Summit, Dispatch 5: The SAP Procurement Portfolio (Part 2)

Last week I had the chance to get an update from SAP on the latest
positioning and solution elements of its overall procurement
portfolio. In this post, I’ll continue to share what I learned,
focusing on providing an update on the provider’s…

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One Vote in Favor of Group Purchasing Organizations for Simple Categories

In the debate over group purchasing organizations (GPOs), I’m still
not entirely convinced that they represent a good investment outside
of a handful of select spend areas — at least for most companies.
After all, the payoff for doing sourc…

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Why is Oracle Thinking Small When it Comes to Procurement Partners Like e-Three?

In a column earlier this week, I examined how boutique e-sourcing
providers like e-Three are gaining strong adherents in the sourcing
world from procurement leaders attracted to the cost, flexibility, and
expertise that smaller firms offer, …

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Beyond Spend Visibility — Zycus Takes a Broader Solution Path (Part 2)

In the first post in this series yesterday, I examined some of the factors driving Zycus’ impressive growth numbers, drilling specifically into their recent traction with both legacy (e.g., spend classification) and new (e.g., spend analysis, sourcin…

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Beyond Spend Visibility — Zycus Takes a Broader Solution Path (Part 1)

Earlier this fall, I had the chance to get a regular business and solutions update from Zycus. Then, a few weeks later, I caught up with the Zycus team along with one of their customers in Chicago. Zycus’ reference customer, from a well-known medica…

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