06.20.08

My Favorite Companies: Apple, Southwest and Toyota

Posted in Best Practices, Outsourcing at 9:39 am by Gary M. Zeiss

Topping my list of favorite companies are Apple, Southwest and Toyota.  Why?  Because they unerringly meet my expectations.  That is what I expect out of a company, whether they insource everything or outsource everything.

What makes these companies great?  Top quality products, for sure, but there is something else beyond the quality of their products that comes into play.  It’s a sense of fit-and-finish to their products, I think, that takes them to the next level.

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06.18.08

More Evidence of Market Fragmentation

Posted in Posts at 1:21 pm by Gary M. Zeiss

This year’s TiECon East conference focused on the continued likely growth in outsourcing to India - seeking to dispel rumors of a bubble in the outsourcing market.  While this is not surprising - TiECon is the conference of the Trans Indus Entrepreneur organization - and may, in fact, prove true - that assertion was not the news in this article.

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06.12.08

Does Risk Awareness Cost Too Much?

Posted in Best Practices at 9:01 am by Gary M. Zeiss

In recent years, it seems as if corporate decision making has become increasingly risk driven.  Compliance requirements are seen as a key driver - because of some of the corporate excesses of the recent past, complex regulations like Sarbannes-Oxley have unquestionably increased the difficulty of addressing compliance issues.

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06.05.08

LOI’s and Outsourcing Agreements

Posted in Best Practices, Healthcare, Negotiations at 1:48 am by Gary M. Zeiss

In a recent article published on Law.com, W. Carter Santos makes an argument against using Letters of Intent (LOI’s) to move projects forward when the negotiations of an outsourcing deal become protracted. His primary argument is that the customer looses substantial leverage by letting the vendor begin work prior to the signing of the deal.

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06.02.08

Customer Service – The Way it should Be

Posted in Posts at 9:01 pm by Gary M. Zeiss

Just moments after I wrote this morning’s post, my computer, a six-month old MacBook, froze.  After several attempts at restarting and some web research, I called AppleCare.  The agent, clearly domestic and probably an Apple employee, walked me through several, ultimately futile steps.  He then suggested that I take it to my local Apple Store and made an appointment for me for 2 hours later. 

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