Five Scary Outsourcing Practices “If negotiators have a favorite holiday — it’s bound to be Halloween. Traditional negotiation tactics all too often include hiding authentic intentions behind a mask and using scare tactics to help tilt the playing field to their advantage.“ Column by Kate Vitasek published 31 October 2017 in Forbes online Here’s the link: http://tinyurl.com/ycne9v9d
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Do Your Homework before Deciding to Reshore
A recent item on Ryder’s Exchange blog notes that after nearly two decades of offshoring manufacturing across the Pacific, “some automotive, technology, aeronautics and consumer electronics companies have decided to ‘reshore’ their operations closer to home.” For many, Mexico has become the near-shore destination of choice, the article continues. The reasons? Ryder notes the economy is strengthening and “the trade […]
Do You Know a Pit-bull of Procurement?
You probably have come across someone that I call the “pit-bull of procurement” – basically, that’s the person with a severe case of the Penny Wise and Pound Foolish ailment, making decisions based only on costs, the quick fix and the short term bottom line. The pit-bull is a major contributor to an organization’s optimization […]
Outsource Magazine — July 2014
Avoid Buyer and Seller Remorse: Get What You Pay For Article by Kate Vitasek published 17 July 2014 online and in the magazine’s Summer 2014 digital edition. At some point a buyer and supplier will talk about pricing, maybe not right away – but it’s always the elephant in the room. Pricing is also potentially […]
Navigate the Priceberg
In an article this month for Material Handling & Logistics Magazine, I reiterated a point I frequently make, that is, outsourcing and off-shoring are not interchangeable terms and the decision to outsource does not automatically mean that jobs are lost to another country. In the article, “Don’t Re-Shore the Priceberg” I note that the decision […]
Material Handling & Logistics Magazine – April 2014
Don’t Re-shore a Priceberg Article by Kate Vitasek in the April 2014 edition of Material Handling and Logistics. Before deciding to re-shore business or suppliers look beneath the surface at the costs involved… Here’s the link: http://viewer.zmags.com/publication/d5adc33c#/d5adc33c/16
Outsource Magazine — January 2014
Trumping Price-Only with Best Value Article by Kate Vitasek in the January 2 edition of Outsource Magazine. It is likely that no other subject gets as much attention when two companies are entering, or extending, their outsourcing business relationship as the effort to come up with a fair pricing structure. Money is money after all, […]
China and Outsourcing: Do the Math!
There’s an ebb and flow to most outsourcing relationships as well as their locations, and China is no exception. Much has been written lately about outsourcing to China as becoming a thing of the past. I would not go that far for several reasons—including its large and still relatively cheap labor force and the huge […]
Price or Value? Go Beyond the Quick Price Reduction Fix
Adjusting to the Vested Outsourcing business model requires a major change in thinking and approach to total costs, pricing and value in the outsource relationship. Moving away from the conventional and quick-fix focus on price to a shared value and collaborative mind-set that might even involve leaving money on the table is a difficult concept […]
