Maybe businesses should consider adopting New Year’s Resolutions: “We will be smarter as we get leaner.” “We will consider profit levels of our customers as well as our own.” “We will work toward Win-Win strategies with our partners.” Genuine objectives, made to improve relationships and build capacity. A little too much mushy thinking, you […]
Santa Claus: As an Outsourcer, He’s the Top Dog
As the song goes, UPS loves logistics. And this time of year, UPSers have to really love their job. So many packages; they work extended hours seven days a week to make it happen. Warehouses add seasonal workers. Stores open early and close late. Moms are frazzled just trying to manage. Hey, it’s Christmas! And […]
Global Sourcing Council, Dec 2010
Wanda Lopuch, President of the Global Sourcing Council, discusses how the 3s for “Sustainable and Socially Responsible Sourcing” fits into the outsourcing math problem in her blog S – Stands for Smart Sourcing… And Sustainable Sourcing… And Socially Responsible Sourcing.
Logistics Viewpoints, Dec 2010
Adrian Gonzalez points out why Vested Outsourcing is a best practice and how it is different from gain sharing in his blog titled “When a Best Practice Doesn’t Work.”
Lawyers: Can’t Live with Them, Can’t Live without Them?
I’ve been thinking about the global economy, outsourcing, lawyers and trust lately, and no, that is not as crazy-making or schizophrenic as it may sound. I often talk about the mindset changes that Vested Outsourcing brings to the forefront in the world of business and outsourcing. For many companies the Five Rules require huge changes […]
Don’t Blame Outsourcing for Lack of Jobs (Part 2)
Last time I talked about how blaming outsourcing for the ugly U.S. jobs situation is misguided and just plain wrong. I promised to share a letter I prepared to President Obama in response to Monster’s Keep America Working Project, so here it is: Mr. President, I feel your pain. The American people have spoken. About […]
Don’t Blame Outsourcing for Lack of Jobs (Part 1)
Outsourcing often takes it on the chin as the reason for job losses and the sorry employment picture in the U.S., even by President Obama. But that formulation, which makes for an easy applause line during a speech, is way too simplistic and mostly wrong. Here’s the situation: A recession—now known as the Great Recession—began […]
Globalization Today, Nov 2010
Economic research stretching for more than 80 years is woven into the fabric of modern outsourcing. In the article titled “The Economics of Outsourcing“, the authors relate the research from six noble prize winners back to the outsourcing decisions every business faces.
It’s Thanksgiving – How to Learn from the Turkey
This morning I pulled out my old, dented, navy-blue-with-little-white-flecks roasting pan in preparation for Thanksgiving. That old pan has always done a predictable job on Thanksgiving! I thought to myself “One day I will have to get a new pan.” My brother (a chef) swears I should actually try deep frying my turkey, but somehow […]
Outsourcing’s Wrong and Right (Part 2)
Last time I talked about how Armstrong’s outsourcing of transportation functions to a 3PL in 2007 was probably the wrong decision at the time and one that was destined to fail mainly because it was based on non-vested premises. Eventually Armstrong brought back that function—something it historically was very competent at—in-house and then went on […]
