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 […]
From the Blog
Bid Low at Everyone’s Peril
The following is a Guest Post from Jeanette Nyden, author of Negotiation Rules! A Practical Approach to Big Deal Negotiations (on sale at Amazon). She is also a co-author of the next Vested Outsourcing book, scheduled for publication next September. While it’s true that scrambling to be the lowest bidder on a job is a […]
Jaguar Rolls On with Vested Outsourcing
There’s obvious and growing evidence to support the idea that vesting together and closely sharing your outsourcing destiny results in continuing success. A great example of this occurred in mid-November when Jaguar posted the highest score among all luxury brands in America in the J.D. Power and Associates 2010 Sales Satisfaction Index study. Jaguar is […]
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 […]
Bridging the Gap with Incentives
An old saying goes, “Money talks, nobody walks.” In the case of the St. Anthony Falls Bridge rebuild project in Minneapolis, the saying could go something like, “Incentives drive performance, everybody soon resumes driving.” The Minnesota bridge project case is a powerful example showing that a collaborative, innovative—and incentivized!—approach to solving difficult problems will most […]
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 […]
Outsourcing’s Wrong and Right (Part 1)
As with most everything else in life there’s a right and a wrong. It’s no different in outsourcing. Unfortunately the lines of demarcation can get a little blurry, as when doing what seems to be the right thing in the beginning fails miserably and then you win an award for it. Let me explain. […]
Umair Haque: Value Through Thick and Thin
The economist Umair Haque, who writes prolifically and provocatively on economic and business issues in his Edge Economy blog for the Harvard Business Review and in his own blog, Bubblegeneration, thinks that many companies just don’t get it when it comes to creating sustainable profitability and value. With the near collapse of the financial system […]
Endorsing the Vested Way to Outsourcing
If there is any further evidence needed to confirm Vested Outsourcing’s growing influence on our industry, look no further than the academic alliance that the International Association of Outsourcing Professionals (IAOP) has formed with the University of Tennessee College of Business Administration to promote Vested Outsourcing. That’s right – a premier outsourcing, offshoring and shared […]
Vested Outsourcing: Only the Resilient Survive
Vested Outsourcing’s message of true collaboration and partnership to achieve desired outcomes and increase the pie for everyone works over the long term in good times and bad, maybe more so during the latter. We know that supply chains need to be flexible, agile, collaborative, transparent, fairly priced, efficient and sustainable – both financially and […]
