Innovation

The Value Of Unproductivity

Posted: 12/14/2017 - 06:07
Author: Mathew Daniel

In ‘The Fog’ ("Mad Men" Season 5, Episode 3), SCDP’s creative director, Don Draper, delivers a memorable line for today’s procurement managers and professionals. After being endlessly nagged over the waste of office supplies, alcohol and time by the company's CFO, Lane Price, Draper levels this profound declaration: 

"You came here because we do this better than you. And part of that is letting our creatives be unproductive until they are." 

The SAVO Methodology

Posted: 12/06/2017 - 09:05
Author: Ian Barkin

The SAVO methodology speaks to our origin story as process-focused organization. We set out to emphasize the importance of process as the foundation for any stable and meaningful transformation. What SAVO represents are the following steps to digital transformation:

Simplify

Automate

Virtualize

Orchestrate

Embarking on RPA? Educate First

Posted: 12/06/2017 - 09:00
Author: Ian Barkin

“RPA is more complex than you think”, as said by my wise colleague, David Brain.  In fact, not only is the technology itself complex, but the successful deployment is also largely dependent upon extensive planning and collaboration among key stakeholders. That’s why it’s critical that champions and executives prepare the organization for RPA implementation as a first step in the process.  

Comparing Outsourcing Companies: How to Simplify the Process

Posted: 09/16/2017 - 04:26
Author: Jaroslaw Czaja

Measuring the value of an outsourcing company for your own service requirements can be a surprisingly disorienting task to complete. But beyond its complexity, it also involves a lot of responsibility. Your decision is likely to affect your organisation’s strength and efficiency for the upcoming months, if not years. Making a good choice will mean the right level of support that will help your organisation grow. But selecting a wrong partner can be highly detrimental to the health of your business.

Everyone Into The Cloud

Posted: 09/08/2017 - 22:30
Author: Chris Niccolls

Outsourcers fear the coming Robot Revolution. Specifically, they are concerned that robots and artificial intelligence (AI) will wipe out traditional outsourcing. The reality is that the technologies behind the Robot Revolution will create the greatest outsourcing opportunity of all time…cloud services.

Why Process Management is Key to Innovation

Posted: 07/22/2017 - 04:22
Author: Richard Holmes

Today’s outsourcers and shared services operations are expected to deliver not just cost savings, but also innovation, agility, quality and growth. At the same time the bar has been raised when it comes to expectations with customers having lower tolerance for mistakes, delays or poor service. In fact, Gartner rates customer experience at the top of CEOs’ priorities for 2017. It is the ability for organisations to respond and adapt quickly to both customer requests and changing market circumstances that can provide that key point of differentiation.

Offshore Impact: Report From The Trenches

Posted: 06/24/2017 - 08:01
Author: Ashutosh Agarwal

Almost every week in the last few months someone has asked me about the general mood on the streets of Bangalore. What are the IT professionals in the Silicon Valley of East making of the changes in the industry? How is the senior management of offshore headquartered service providers preparing for the future? While there are several versions of the predicted future, everyone agrees that this is a watershed moment in the evolution of the IT outsourcing and offshoring industry.

How Big Data Can Improve Supply Chain Efficiency

Posted: 06/03/2017 - 07:03
Author: David Adams

Recently, supply chain professionals have recognized that better data collection and increased computing power can track sourcing, scheduling and routing better and faster than any human. Applying big data to thorny supply chain problems is still an emerging art as companies adapt their internal processes to rely on algorithms rather than rules of thumb. Here’s what you need to know to understand how big data is changing the supply chain and improving efficiency.

Herbert Simon: “Economic Man” and “Bounded Rationality”

Posted: 05/05/2017 - 19:57
Author: Kate Vitasek

Herbert Simon explored the intersection of philosophy, science, politics, economics and a range of other fields and called into question the traditional idea that “economic man” acts rationally. Simon, who was a long-time professor at Carnegie Mellon University, received the Nobel Prize in Economics in 1978. Simon’s diverse research ranged across the fields of cognitive psychology, cognitive science, computer science, economics, management, philosophy of science, sociology, and political science; he helped lay the foundation for behavioral economists around the world.

TOP TEN: Opportunities and Legal Risks Considerations When Embracing New Technologies

Posted: 05/05/2017 - 19:54
Author: Oliver Yaros

The opportunities

For organisations that are looking to strengthen their position in established industry sectors, adopting new technologies may provide the opportunity to: 

1. Demonstrate innovative thinking to customers 
Proving to customers that your organisation is committed to continually improving the manner in which it conducts its business by adopting new technologies should lead to better customer awareness of your business and a stronger reputation for customer service. 

Will apps or chatbots determine the supply chain's future?

Posted: 04/25/2017 - 00:58
Author: Chris Shepherd

Over in Silicon Valley, the latest battle for technological dominance is on. On the one hand, you have apps. Apps have been with us for nearly ten years, but 2016 marked the first year that mobile internet use overtook desktop internet use. This trend, which shows no sign of slowing down, puts apps on the front page of the internet — so to speak.

Digital strategies without the hype: fundamentals for effective implementation

Posted: 01/20/2017 - 00:42
Author:

Undoubtedly, digital has huge potential: to fundamentally transform the business operating model; to unlock the “impossible challenge”; to greatly accelerate change; and to intimately connect a company to its customers in real time. However, digital can also expose a company’s inner contradictions, reveal hidden pockets of poor performance, and even lead to perceived core capabilities being seen as critical weaknesses.

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