Process standardization, simplification, harmonization, cost management, achieving synergies, common systems, practices and ways of doing things, common technology – that is all what can be delivered using shared services. Let’s briefly analyze some statistics delivered by surveys undertaken on shared services
1 or 5? – How many shared service centers in use?
Almost 50% of international corporations with shared services use just one shared service center (SSC) and each fifth has five or…
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Added by Magdalena Szarafin on May 13, 2010 at 11:00pm —
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Good quality does not cost – it pays. But many companies do not recognize it as they do not know how much things cost due to missing cost calculation in many areas. And that is the reason why it usually takes a long time for them to think their processes over and to implement simple measures assuring reduction in cost of delivering customer satisfaction. The latest one does not have to be as high as the cost of materials!
Good, better, (almost) perfect… – there is always a better way to…
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Added by Magdalena Szarafin on March 14, 2010 at 2:26am —
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An old stereotype, common-known (in a new scenario of the global financial crisis): We implement BPO or shared sevices (SSC) solutions as we want to cut cost. And the global economic crisis would just support that way of thinking (and doing things). However, things are not as simple as they s…
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Added by Magdalena Szarafin on February 13, 2010 at 3:50am —
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Our growing outsourcing community has just started a new year. Hopefully a year full in challenges, new brilliant ideas and great opportunities. And we tend to set our objectives at the beginning of the year. But… At the end of the year we sometimes realize that the objectives have not been achieved. No time? No motivation? Inconvenient circumstances? Any other reason?
How many times have you…
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Added by Magdalena Szarafin on January 11, 2010 at 5:00am —
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Small is not just beautiful but it also can be powerful. A small country with population amounting to around 16 millions inhabitants can be one of the largest world economies and able to have one of the highest GDP per capita. And below 4% unemployment rate at the same time. It is not cheap but it attracts investments. And (of course!) shared service centers among them. And… it is really worth fol…
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Added by Magdalena Szarafin on December 23, 2009 at 2:30am —
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An old dilemma: Offshore outsourcing vs. labor market. To be or not to be? – to outsource or not? The opposers are of the opinion that outsourcing produces unemployment. It is quite easy to say. In fact, outsourcing lets to improve the situation on labor market. Let’s analyze the findings of one of the latest studies.
A research team led by…
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Added by Magdalena Szarafin on November 8, 2009 at 4:52am —
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Offshore outsourcing has paid back. That has been shown by many Indian companies which have originally been established as local business organizations and now expand internationally, being global giants and creating jobs in these countries where they traditionally have been outsourced from. Infosys,…
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Added by Magdalena Szarafin on October 24, 2009 at 4:00pm —
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Managed services… You have already heard about this concept, haven’t you?
Just in one sentence: Good – cheap – fast: You can have two of them
Managed services is a concept implying a form of outsourcing without assets and/or personnel transfer. The value added (a service) is offered for money and the service provider bears the risk and is also responsible for managing of the service. Which means: The buyer does not have to do anything more…
“One size fits all”-mentality ca…
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Added by Magdalena Szarafin on October 11, 2009 at 4:57am —
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You know what? It really does not look well: Public opinion does not like outsourcing. That has also been confirmed by many surveys, e.g. the latest survey by Capgemini: A majority of executives (79%) recognize that outsourcing may have a poor public perception as the survey says
How do the execut…
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Added by Magdalena Szarafin on September 27, 2009 at 3:00am —
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The story begins in 1940 – that time Dick and Mack McDonald opened McDonald’s Bar-B-Que restaurant in San Bernardino, California. The food offered has to be: always fresh, always looking and tasting the same way and basic – burger, cheeseburger, fries, shakes… But: What does that all actually have to do with shared services?!
“Real good and still only 15¢”? I am not going to tell you that your service should start with 15 cent rate as that was in one of the first McDonald’s advertisement…
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Added by Magdalena Szarafin on September 15, 2009 at 12:41pm —
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Yes, the title sounds complicated, I know. But it is very simple as such: It is about the discussion “make or buy” and the proportion made/bought in a car. And it is for both parties: The “fans” of outsourcing and those who are sceptical about outsourcing as a business strategy. And it is not just for people liking cars… Let’s start then (and try to build a small car – or imagine how it can be built)
Focus on what gives your company its competitive edge,
…
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Added by Magdalena Szarafin on September 7, 2009 at 1:30am —
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Diversity is the key to success: the most brilliant and amazing ideas and discoveries are made at the border of two – sometimes being far away and contrasting – disciplines. And international teams achieve even 20% more productivity than those consisting of members of just one nation
You know it, don’t you: a German company acquires an Indian one – or vice versa. Or they build a facility together. Or representatives of many nations do a…
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Added by Magdalena Szarafin on August 30, 2009 at 7:00pm —
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Is outsourcing model something new for you? Do you have to deal with it – and think how to influence key employees? Or maybe you have problems with not clearly defined goals and objectives in an outsourcing engagement? Or… Maybe you like Murgh Dansek or Alu Channa Masala and want to extend your network…
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Added by Magdalena Szarafin on August 22, 2009 at 4:00pm —
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Yes, that is as simple as described. If you want somebody to invest in your country, just make it attractive. Which means: Try to anticipate investors’ needs and prepare suitable conditions for them.
Location, location, location…
Centralizing business operations, companies decide to outsource or insource them. Establishing a shared service center (
SSC) or a…
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Added by Magdalena Szarafin on August 17, 2009 at 3:03am —
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The Japanese film "The Seven Samurai" co-written, edited and directed by Akira Kurosawa is a story about attack on a small village. After the desperate villagers have realized that they do not have enough money for weapons or for the warriors to wield them, they have decided to use services of seven unemployed samurai offering them three meals a day for protecting themselves.
This film taki…
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Added by Magdalena Szarafin on August 12, 2009 at 5:36am —
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Workflow software is one of the factors which – according to Thomas L. Friedman – have “flattened” the world and supported globalization and offshore outsourcing. It has also contributed to establishing of the paper-free-office concept and outsourcing digitalization and archiving services. The latest solution helps to cut costs even by 40%
We live in digital era. However, there are still many organizations as private companies and public institutions which prefer the traditional way of p…
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Added by Magdalena Szarafin on August 8, 2009 at 3:42am —
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Myth 1.: Outsourcing is just about savings in expenses. Myth 2.: Shared services are just about labour and rental costs. In fact, much more is at stake in the global insourcing and outsourcing game – let’s discover it together …
India, China and Malaysia being on the top… India and Philippines controlling about 50 per cent of the global outsourcing market… India as a top BPO destination for o…
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Added by Magdalena Szarafin on August 1, 2009 at 2:00am —
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Well, we actually do not have presidential election in the US now. We could follow the US presidential battle a few months ago. And I am also not going to make a campaign here. I just want to tell you something (really!) important regarding both of them: Obama and Clinton. And let me tell you something about offshore outsourcing, too
How has it all begun?
We could read such headlines in the newspapers just a few months ago:
Will Obama really take back outsourced jobs?…
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Added by Magdalena Szarafin on July 25, 2009 at 3:30am —
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I have actually written this article by chance: searching for materials on Legal Process Outsourcing, I have met Total Attorneys, a legal service provider. Their recruitment strategy, based on activity in social networking media, seemed to be very interesting to me…
Total Attorneys is a company employing 215 professionals in Chicago and 12 professionals in India. Ed Scanlon, their founder, uses a very intere…
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Added by Magdalena Szarafin on July 19, 2009 at 3:00am —
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While talking about outsourcing we tend to estimate the value of the outsourcing market, measuring the worth of services offered. Except of that, we can also measure the value of other resources the outsourcing industry has, as the value of popular websi…
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Added by Magdalena Szarafin on July 11, 2009 at 9:30pm —
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