Step by step: Breaking outsourcing down into manageable phases

The phases of the outsourcing process and the actions required are discussed. The most difficult and the most important phase of o a successful outsourcing process is to know what activities to outsource. The criteria for suppliers selection must be developed and should cover the reasons why the activity is being outsourced, the expected benefits and potential dangers. Contract negotiation is a very important phase of the outsourcing contract in which rules of the outsourcing are set. The transfer of activity phase corresponds to the reassignment of control of the outsourced activity from the outsourcer to the contractor.

Total acquisition cost of overseas outsourcing/sourcing: A framework and a case study

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to develop a framework of total acquisition cost of overseas outsourcing/sourcing in manufacturing industry. This framework contains categorized cost items that may occur during the overseas outsourcing/sourcing process. The framework was tested by a case study to establish both its feasibility and usability. Design/methodology/approach - First, interviews were carried out with practitioners who have the experience of overseas outsourcing/sourcing in order to obtain inputs from industry. The framework was then built up based on combined inputs from literature and from practitioners. Finally, the framework was tested by a case study in a multinational high-tech manufacturer to establish both its feasibility and usability. Findings - A practical barrier for implementing this framework is shortage of information. The predictability of the cost items in the framework varies. How to deal with the trade off between accuracy and applicability is a problem needed to be solved in the future research. Originality/value - There are always limitations to the generalizations that can be made from just one case. However, despite these limitations, this case study is believed to have shown the general requirement of modeling the uncertainty and dealing with the dilemma between accuracy and applicability in practice. © Emerald Group Publishing Limited.

Making the most of production

This report from the IfM's Centre for Economics and Policy investigates the importance of production to companies and seeks to understand the long-term implications of moving production abroad or outsourcing production to other companies.

One style does not fit all

The different types of outsourcing and the management requirements for each of them are discussed. An outsourcing has a high strategic importance to the buying company when it is aligned with the organization's long term strategies and when its results are either positive or negative. Functional outsourcings are characterized by both low strategic importance and financial impact, and the products/services that fall in this category belong to support activities which are highly standardized. Leverage outsourcings are those that have a low strategic importance, but high financial impact to the outsourcer, and they concentrate on operational aspects, leaving strategic issues.

Disentangling the Complexity of Early-Stage Technology Acquisitions

While tools have been developed to assist firms' decision making for bringing known products and components into the supply chain, fewer tools are available to guide the acquisition of earlier-stage technologies, which is a riskier proposition due to higher technological and market uncertainties. Through synthesis of literature in technology sourcing, open innovation, alliances, mergers and acquisitions, outsourcing, and technology and knowledge transfer and consultation with industry, this paper identifies critical issues that decision makers should consider before making an early-stage technology acquisition. Sixteen questions emerge to guide decision making, comprising internal, technology, and partner assessments. These questions allow a firm to disentangle the complexity of early-stage technology acquisitions and select the most appropriate targets.

A preliminary study on methods for retaining data quality problems in automatically generated test data

Data in an organisation often contains business secrets that organisations do not want to release. However, there are occasions when it is necessary for an organisation to release its data such as when outsourcing work or using the cloud for Data Quality (DQ) related tasks like data cleansing. Currently, there is no mechanism that allows organisations to release their data for DQ tasks while ensuring that it is suitably protected from releasing business related secrets. The aim of this paper is therefore to present our current progress on determining which methods are able to modify secret data and retain DQ problems. So far we have identified the ways in which data swapping and the SHA-2 hash function alterations methods can be used to preserve missing data, incorrectly formatted values, and domain violations DQ problems while minimising the risk of disclosing secrets. © (2012) by the AIS/ICIS Administrative Office All rights reserved.