Posts Tagged ‘sourcing’
Signs It’s Time to Switch Vendors
Wednesday, April 20th, 2011How to Develop Successful Vendor Relationships
Wednesday, April 6th, 2011Seven Ways to Increase Your Appeal to Potential Vendors
Saturday, March 26th, 2011
Whether your company needs to outsource human resources, IT or any other business function, finding quality vendors you can work well with is always the important first step. This can be a time-consuming process, but you’re already halfway there if you run your company in a way that attracts quality vendors.
Vendor selection can be much easier if your reputation places you among the companies that B2B service providers prefer to do business with. If, on the other hand you are known for haggling over pricing, delaying payments or being difficult to deal with in any number of ways, you may eventually find very few providers who are willing to do business with you.
How do you know if yours is the type of company that attracts the best vendors?
- Look at your current vendor relationships. Do you have frequent misunderstandings with service providers? If so, the problem could lie with you rather than them.
- Examine your relationship with your own employees. Is there a high turnover rate, a history of disputes or low morale? Your relationship with vendors will likely follow the same pattern.
- When contacting potential vendors, do you make it clear you’re in the market to purchase and not just doing research?
- Do you project that you have a budget in place for the services you are seeking?
- Do you communicate your needs confidently? It helps to know in advance what you are looking for in a vendor.
Here are seven ways you can improve your vendor relationships and increase your company’s appeal to potential service providers:
- Improve your communication skills. Be clear, friendly and open to discussion. If communicating with your vendors continues to be a source of frustration, consider hiring someone to manage these relationships.
- Demonstrate respect for the other person’s perspective, even if you disagree with them.
- Avoid micromanaging; allow the vendors you work with to apply their expertise to your projects.
- Be available. Respond to emails within the same day whenever possible.
- Avoid giving the impression that you’re simply looking for the cheapest vendors. This doesn’t mean you should always pay the highest price for every service, but do be willing to pay a fair price for quality service.
- Maintain a good rating with the Better Business Bureau and keep your Dunn & Bradstreet profile up to date as well.
- Make sure your website projects the image of a reputable company.
Five Reasons to Use National Vendors for Business Services
Tuesday, February 8th, 2011
When choosing a vendor for the business processes you plan to outsource, you might want to expand your list to include national vendors as well as local ones. Some business owners limit their choices by considering only locally based service providers, but adding national vendors to your list can offer a number of advantages, such as:
- Access to the best providers available. Business services can vary greatly, not only in terms of quality, but also in the variety of features and services offered. While there may be several B2B service providers in your area who offer excellent service, your local provider in any given category may not always be the best choice to meet your needs. Comparing services on a national level will give you a much broader selection and could result in finding the ideal provider for your company.
- Better price range. In some parts of the country, prices for local businesses services run higher than the national average. National vendors are often much more competitive in their pricing. Many of the larger companies have greater buying power when purchasing software, business supplies and other business services, and pass these savings on to their customers. Even if you do choose to go with a local vendor, researching the price range of national vendors will give you a good idea of what you should expect to spend for the type of business service you need.
- Greater scalability. After assessing your plans for future growth, you might find that some of your local business service providers are not as capable of handling your company’s increasing needs as a national vendor would be.
- Superior customer support. In some cases, national vendors come with a larger and more fully developed customer service and support center, with representatives available at all hours to help you resolve any issues immediately.
- Local branches. With many B2B services, having a local presence is not essential to providing excellent service to their customers. When, for example, was the last time you needed to visit your phone or Internet provider’s office in person? Nevertheless, many national vendors do have local offices in several cities across the country, so if being able to speak to someone face-to-face is important to you, choosing a national vendor with an office in your area can give you the best of both worlds.
Five Tips for Choosing a Long Distance Provider
Saturday, December 18th, 2010
Long distance services are communication services that allow business associates to communicate with one another regardless of location. These services make it possible for business operations to run smoothly and for employees to be able to communicate effectively with clients.
There are many different types of long distance services vendors, including phone vendors and VOIP services. In some situations, VOIP services are far less expensive than telephone long distance services, especially when a business is located in a remote area. When looking for a long distance vendor, consider the following:
- Cost – This is one of the most important variables when it comes to long distance services. The cost of the long distance service vary based on the service provider and the technology the provider is uses. Be sure to look at the base monthly rate, minutes you will receive at that rate (if applicable), and additional features available at that rate.
- Sound Quality – The sound quality of your long distance service has a major impact on your ability to communicate effectively. Some providers who offer low rates use outdated technology, so the sound is muffled or appears to be distant. Select a long distance service that guarantees crisp sound and ask for a trial period before signing up.
- Ease of Use – How easy is it for your employees to use the long distance service? Do they need to be near a certain computer or type of phone in order to place a call? Some VOIP services operate through phones as well as computers. Assess your needs and determine how mobile your long distance service needs to be.
- Contract – If the long distance company requires you to sign a contract for its services, request a trial period first. Also be sure the contract you sign offers you the flexibility to switch services if a superior technology becomes available during the term of your contract.
- Reputation – Some long distance services have a reputation for dropping calls. Others may be known low call quality. Performing a Google search for reviews on your top choices will help you find the company that’s most reliable.
InsideUp can help you locate a long distance service provider to keep your business communication network flowing. We have carefully selected top national long distance vendors who will provide high quality communication services for your business at a significant cost savings.
Reduce Your Capital and Operating Costs by Outsourcing
Thursday, October 7th, 2010
The shift toward outsourcing continues as businesses seek ways to remain competitive despite streamlined budgets. According to the Journal of Accountancy, “Outsourcing is becoming popular even in small and midsize companies. Nowadays, a small business may not have staff members such as a human resources recruiter or a 401(k) specialist in- house…many of these functions are being handled by outsourcers.”
Here are a few ways outsourcing can save money for your company, according to the experts at AllBusiness.com:
Outsourcing human resource duties, for example, will save your company considerable expense by eliminating the need to hire and train HR personnel to perform duties such as benefits administration and payroll. Instead, your provider’s trained and experienced HR experts will be able to handle these duties expediently, resulting in substantial savings in terms of labor costs.
Outsourcing also releases capital for investment revenue-producing activities, which will in turn make your firm more attractive to investors.
In addition, outsourcing can save you the expense of hiring temporary employees for short-term projects, as well as the cost of paying benefits to in-house staff. And it allows you to avoid large expenditures in the early stages of your business.
Companies that handle every function in-house have much greater research, development, marketing and distribution expenses, which are often passed on to customers.
Although cost savings remains the number-one reason most companies choose to outsource, there are additional benefits as well, such as:
Time savings – Outsourcing business functions such as IT and HR provides relief from the administrative tasks involved in employee-related responsibilities, allowing you time to focus on strategies that will create growth and sharpen your competitive edge.
Start new projects quickly – A good outsourcing firm will have the resources to take on your projects immediately. Handling the same project in-house might involve taking weeks or months to hire and train additional staff.
Focus on your core business – Business managers must set priorities in order to focus limited resources where they will do the most good. Outsourcing can help shift you company’s focus away from peripheral activities and toward serving customers better.
Level the playing field – Most small firms simply cannot compete with the in-house support services that larger companies can provide. With the help of outsourced providers, small firms can appear “big” and enjoy the same capabilities, efficiency and expertise of large companies.
Reduce risk – When an outsourcing provider handles your business operations, they also assume much of the risk inherent in those functions, removing some of the burden of compliance with government regulations and other considerations.
According to outsourcing expert Frank J. Casale, outsourcing “is the great equalizer for small to medium-sized firms. Growth-oriented entrepreneurs can benefit tremendously. Not only do employees frequently gain access to better benefits, the owner gains freedom to focus.”
New iPhone App Lets You Connect Instantly with Business Services
Friday, August 6th, 2010
InsideUp has has just released an iPhone app that will help you find the services you need instantly, and get immediate quotes from multiple vendors. When you submit a request on the iPhone or iPad, you will be instantly matched with vendors that fit your criteria, and receive custom quotes from up to five providers. Not only will you save money on business services, but you will get access to top quality, pre-qualified vendors.
Business owners are increasingly relying on Web-enabled phones and other mobile wireless devices to conduct business on-the-fly. With this app, you can take immediate action whenever an idea presents itself. If brainstorming over lunch produces a brilliant plan for a direct marketing campaign, just a few touches to your iPhone screen will have you in touch with a direct mail provider while your ideas are still fresh.
The application currently includes VoIP phone service, call center services, direct mail, web design, credit card processing, debt collection services, and payroll accounting vendors. More services will be added to the system in the future.
Once you’ve downloaded the app, all you need to do is answer a few simple questions about your business needs, and the system will match you with qualified vendors, based on your company profile and specific needs. The app is free, and it only takes a couple of minutes to submit your information.
This new app will be an indispensable time-saver for businesses, eliminating the ordeal of researching each provider to find the one that best matches their needs and budget. The immediacy of this system makes it simple and cost-effective for businesses to have ready access to service providers.
Statistics from research firm Gartner show that the number of smartphones and Web-enabled phones will soon exceed 1.82 billion units. With 6.5 billion mobile connections expected by 2014, all companies, both large and small, will be accustomed to conducting business online.
Download this time-saving app here, and discover how easy it can be to get the business services you need, as soon as you need them.
Experienced Management Builds Successful Relationships with Providers
Thursday, July 1st, 2010When entering an agreement with a new vendor, businesses naturally hope for a successful long-term relationship, resulting in a measurable return on their investment. Assuming you have chosen a quality provider, some of the responsibility for a successful relationship lies within your management of it.
The Outsourcing Journal recently analyzed the findings of a survey involving businesses whose relationship with outsourced service providers had been in place for more than one year. The survey revealed that 50 percent of these buyers had assigned an inexperienced employee to manage the relationship with the providers.
Of the 50 percent of participants who did use managers with previous experience, 22 percent admitted that they had chosen someone who had limited experience in this area, or whose scope of experience was limited to managing the process before it was outsourced.
This resulted in some common mistakes and challenges in managing the relationship with the providers, including:
- A tendency to micromanage the provider. For the relationship to work smoothly, a manager needs only be concerned about the delivery of tasks. Details of how the work is carried out are best left to the service provider.
- Trying to improve the provider’s performance level by imposing penalties or offering incentives. This might work with in-house processes, but is not likely to have the desired effect on your vendor.
- Lack of effective communication between buyer and vendor; as a buyer, you will need to have some insight into how your provider plans to handle your company’s processes. A manager should be willing to listen to and understand the provider’s viewpoint on matters of mutual concern. He or she should also be able to effectively communicate the company’s needs and priorities.
- Inadequate skills to manage changes, and to bring the buyer/provider relationship to an optimum level.
Some of the companies in the study did invest in formal training for their relationship managers, but nearly 30 percent did so long after the buyer/vendor relationship had begun to experience difficulties due to the lack of knowledge or experience.
To avoid this problem, and to pave the way for a successful relationship with your providers, be sure your relationship manager has adequate skills in areas such as change management, negotiation, communication, partnering, and project management. Relationship managers can also acquire a great deal of applicable knowledge by reading the latest white papers, books, and articles on the topic of managing vendor relationships.
56% of Businesses Plan to Boost Growth through Outsourcing
Friday, May 7th, 2010
Companies are outsourcing more, not only because of economic factors, but also to utilize the talents of skilled specialists.
In a January 2010 poll conducted by Accenture, in collaboration with the International Association of Outsourcing Professionals, 56 percent of respondents indicated that they intended to outsource more of their business activities in the coming months.
This reflects an increase of 9 percent over the responses to a similar poll in September, 2009. As IAOP Chairman Michael Corbett observed, “Increasingly, companies are outsourcing to do more than cut costs but to add value, increase business flexibility and prepare for future growth. Companies that are using outsourcing are poised to emerge from the current economic crisis stronger.”
Businesses cited strategic considerations as a further reason for the increased use of outsourced talent. Outsourcing allows for a higher level of flexibility and scalability, making it easier to plan for future expansion, according to 50 percent of those surveyed.
Kevin Campbell, group chief executive, technology, at Accenture, expounded on this point, stating, “Outsourcing remains a strong option for businesses facing unprecedented market conditions and the imperative to change both quickly and dramatically. Most companies pursue outsourcing to not only realize immediate and sustained cost savings but to implement solutions to improve cash flow, achieve real business outcomes and to drive topline growth.”
Also a notable trend in outsourcing is the use of multi-sourcing, or bundled services. Knowledge-based outsourcing is also becoming a priority for many companies, with over 40 percent of survey respondents citing their increased use of highly skilled professionals. The use of lower skilled services is also increasing, however, as indicated by 30 percent of businesses surveyed, who plan to outsource more of these activities as well.
This increased use of outsourcing by both large and small businesses is reflected in the tremendous growth in the six trillion dollar global outsourcing industry. Many providers of outsourced services are responding to this demand by raising their standards of quality service through improved monitoring and training methods, and the companies who use them are reaping the benefits.
Share Tweet
