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		<title>Sourcingmag.com Blogosphere</title>
		<link>http://www.sourcingmag.com/blog/</link>
		<description>Outsourcing Blogs at the Sourcingmag.com Blogosphere</description>
		<language>en-us</language>
		<copyright>Copyright 2004-2013Sourcingmag.com, CTQ Media</copyright>
		<managingEditor>blogs@sourcingmag.com</managingEditor>
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    	<ttl>60</ttl>

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			<title><![CDATA[Pricing as a Solution for Process Improvements?]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sourcingmag.com/blog/blog.asp?bi=1521</link>
			<description><![CDATA[A simplification of Pricing your product or service could simplify a lot of your business processes and save you money in the long run! Hard to believe, but I can give you an example from my own recent experiences!Recently I was in both New York City and Washington D.C. In ...]]></description>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[BPO&nbsp;,&nbsp;Call Centers&nbsp;,&nbsp;Companies&nbsp;,&nbsp;Cool Tools&nbsp;,&nbsp;General&nbsp;,&nbsp;Globalization&nbsp;,&nbsp;HRO&nbsp;,&nbsp;Offshoring&nbsp;,&nbsp;Ploys and Tactics&nbsp;,&nbsp;Research]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Sat, 30 Dec 1899 00:00:00 -0700</pubDate>
			<guid>http://www.sourcingmag.com/blog/blog.asp?bi=1521</guid>
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			<title><![CDATA[Process Design/Redesign With a Clean Sheet]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sourcingmag.com/blog/blog.asp?bi=1520</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Quite often, Process Design or Redesign are burdened with a lot of Legacy Thought! Sometimes, it may be better to start a Design or a Redesign of a Business Process with a clean sheet rather than make marginal improvements!Many processes just evolve from nothing, or have a lot of outdated ...]]></description>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Blogger Bios&nbsp;,&nbsp;BPO&nbsp;,&nbsp;Call Centers&nbsp;,&nbsp;Cool Tools&nbsp;,&nbsp;General&nbsp;,&nbsp;Globalization&nbsp;,&nbsp;Offshoring&nbsp;,&nbsp;Ploys and Tactics&nbsp;,&nbsp;Research&nbsp;,&nbsp;The Buzz]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Sat, 30 Dec 1899 00:00:00 -0700</pubDate>
			<guid>http://www.sourcingmag.com/blog/blog.asp?bi=1520</guid>
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			<title><![CDATA[Conflicts between Internal Controls and Lean Improvement]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sourcingmag.com/blog/blog.asp?bi=1519</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Internal controls, like multiple levels of approvals for say Purchase Orders or Paying Invoices, are all necessary, but in many business processes they are the bane of Lean Process Improvement.From a Value-adding point of view, Internal Control hardly adds any value to the end customer, but may add value to ...]]></description>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[BPO&nbsp;,&nbsp;Call Centers&nbsp;,&nbsp;General&nbsp;,&nbsp;Globalization&nbsp;,&nbsp;Offshoring&nbsp;,&nbsp;Ploys and Tactics&nbsp;,&nbsp;Research]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Sat, 30 Dec 1899 00:00:00 -0700</pubDate>
			<guid>http://www.sourcingmag.com/blog/blog.asp?bi=1519</guid>
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			<title><![CDATA[Services and Handoffs]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sourcingmag.com/blog/blog.asp?bi=1517</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Handoffs are encountered in Business Processes, whether they are In-house or Outsourced. Many are artifacts of the division of the different functions within a company. Like the Finance Department is responsible for the payment of a vendor on an Invoice even if the user has the budget and has approved ...]]></description>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Blogger Bios&nbsp;,&nbsp;Call Centers&nbsp;,&nbsp;Cool Tools&nbsp;,&nbsp;General&nbsp;,&nbsp;Globalization&nbsp;,&nbsp;HRO&nbsp;,&nbsp;Offshoring&nbsp;,&nbsp;Ploys and Tactics&nbsp;,&nbsp;Research]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Sat, 30 Dec 1899 00:00:00 -0700</pubDate>
			<guid>http://www.sourcingmag.com/blog/blog.asp?bi=1517</guid>
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			<title><![CDATA[Information Availability and Business Process Improvement]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sourcingmag.com/blog/blog.asp?bi=1516</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Information Availability is half the battle in Business Process Improvement!First, it is the availability of information itself, in a central, easily accessible way, that can speed up Business Processes by an order of maginitude!Measurement and reporting of Performance Measures or Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) themselves help Business Process Improvement. In ...]]></description>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[BPO&nbsp;,&nbsp;Call Centers&nbsp;,&nbsp;Companies&nbsp;,&nbsp;Cool Tools&nbsp;,&nbsp;General&nbsp;,&nbsp;Globalization&nbsp;,&nbsp;Ploys and Tactics&nbsp;,&nbsp;Research&nbsp;,&nbsp;The Buzz]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Sat, 30 Dec 1899 00:00:00 -0700</pubDate>
			<guid>http://www.sourcingmag.com/blog/blog.asp?bi=1516</guid>
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			<title><![CDATA[Ease of Implementation Vs Payoffs in Lean Improvement]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sourcingmag.com/blog/blog.asp?bi=1515</link>
			<description><![CDATA[The funny thing about Process Improvement, whether Six Sigma or Lean, is that not all Process Improvement efforts are equal to others.Some are "More Equal" than others!Efforts needed for different Process Improvement ideas may not be linearly proportional to their payoffs. Before jumping into Kaizen activities, it may be worthwhile ...]]></description>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[BPO&nbsp;,&nbsp;Call Centers&nbsp;,&nbsp;Companies&nbsp;,&nbsp;Cool Tools&nbsp;,&nbsp;General&nbsp;,&nbsp;Globalization&nbsp;,&nbsp;Ploys and Tactics&nbsp;,&nbsp;Research&nbsp;,&nbsp;The Buzz]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Sat, 30 Dec 1899 00:00:00 -0700</pubDate>
			<guid>http://www.sourcingmag.com/blog/blog.asp?bi=1515</guid>
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			<title><![CDATA[Process Improvement in Tough Times]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sourcingmag.com/blog/blog.asp?bi=1513</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Process Improvement has never been more important or more needed during tough times. The kicker may be the lack of funds to take up new efforts at this time when budgets are pared to the bone. However, surveys of Fortune 500 CIOs the past few years have shown Business Process ...]]></description>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[BPO&nbsp;,&nbsp;Call Centers&nbsp;,&nbsp;Cool Tools&nbsp;,&nbsp;General&nbsp;,&nbsp;Globalization&nbsp;,&nbsp;Offshoring&nbsp;,&nbsp;Ploys and Tactics&nbsp;,&nbsp;Research]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Sat, 30 Dec 1899 00:00:00 -0700</pubDate>
			<guid>http://www.sourcingmag.com/blog/blog.asp?bi=1513</guid>
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			<title><![CDATA[Measuring The Unmeasurable in Business Processes]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sourcingmag.com/blog/blog.asp?bi=1512</link>
			<description><![CDATA[There are many Unmeasurables in Business Processes such as Customer Support Effectiveness, Customer Satisfaction, Service Excellence, etc. However, State of the Art in Business Process Measurement and Analysis is that many of these Subjective Factors are converted into some sort of Objective Scores.For example, Customer Satisfaction Index (CSAT) may be ...]]></description>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[BPO&nbsp;,&nbsp;Call Centers&nbsp;,&nbsp;Companies&nbsp;,&nbsp;Cool Tools&nbsp;,&nbsp;General&nbsp;,&nbsp;Globalization&nbsp;,&nbsp;Offshoring&nbsp;,&nbsp;Ploys and Tactics&nbsp;,&nbsp;Research]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Sat, 30 Dec 1899 00:00:00 -0700</pubDate>
			<guid>http://www.sourcingmag.com/blog/blog.asp?bi=1512</guid>
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			<title><![CDATA[Waste in Over Capacity]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sourcingmag.com/blog/blog.asp?bi=1511</link>
			<description><![CDATA[We seldom think of Unused Capacity as a Wasted Resource! In fact, it can be a wasted resource that can be fatal to the long term survival of your company and even your industry!The Wallstreet Journal ran this story last Saturday - More Car Plants at Risk. It talks about ...]]></description>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[ADM / IT&nbsp;,&nbsp;BPO&nbsp;,&nbsp;Call Centers&nbsp;,&nbsp;Companies&nbsp;,&nbsp;General&nbsp;,&nbsp;Globalization&nbsp;,&nbsp;HRO&nbsp;,&nbsp;Offshoring&nbsp;,&nbsp;Ploys and Tactics&nbsp;,&nbsp;Research&nbsp;,&nbsp;The Buzz]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Sat, 30 Dec 1899 00:00:00 -0700</pubDate>
			<guid>http://www.sourcingmag.com/blog/blog.asp?bi=1511</guid>
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			<title><![CDATA[Business Processes and Information About Business Processes]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sourcingmag.com/blog/blog.asp?bi=1510</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Fred Smith, CEO and President of Fedex is quoted to have said "Information about Packages are just as important, if not more important, than the packages themselves". Thinking this way has allowed Fedex to use this information to create new premium services such as being able to withdraw a package ...]]></description>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[ADM / IT&nbsp;,&nbsp;BPO&nbsp;,&nbsp;Call Centers&nbsp;,&nbsp;Companies&nbsp;,&nbsp;General&nbsp;,&nbsp;Globalization&nbsp;,&nbsp;Offshoring&nbsp;,&nbsp;Ploys and Tactics&nbsp;,&nbsp;Research]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Sat, 30 Dec 1899 00:00:00 -0700</pubDate>
			<guid>http://www.sourcingmag.com/blog/blog.asp?bi=1510</guid>
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			<title><![CDATA[Data Quality more Important than Process Improvement Efforts]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sourcingmag.com/blog/blog.asp?bi=1509</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Continuous Process Improvement, Lean Improvement or Six Sigma efforts can only be as successful or as reliable as the quality of data they use!Data Quality is a pernicious, persistent and widespread problem in every organization. On the surface, reports look neat, wrapped up, and reliable but quite often the data ...]]></description>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[BPO&nbsp;,&nbsp;Companies&nbsp;,&nbsp;Cool Tools&nbsp;,&nbsp;General&nbsp;,&nbsp;Globalization&nbsp;,&nbsp;Ploys and Tactics&nbsp;,&nbsp;Research&nbsp;,&nbsp;The Buzz]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Sat, 30 Dec 1899 00:00:00 -0700</pubDate>
			<guid>http://www.sourcingmag.com/blog/blog.asp?bi=1509</guid>
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			<title><![CDATA[Barcodes are Your Best Friend for Process Improvement]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sourcingmag.com/blog/blog.asp?bi=1507</link>
			<description><![CDATA[I was pleasantly surprised by my recent visit to a Target Store here in California. I wanted to return something.I have never seen product returns go faster and easier than how they do it here. They scanned the barcode on the receipt, scanned the barcode on the product and the ...]]></description>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Call Centers&nbsp;,&nbsp;Cool Tools&nbsp;,&nbsp;General&nbsp;,&nbsp;Globalization&nbsp;,&nbsp;Offshoring&nbsp;,&nbsp;Ploys and Tactics&nbsp;,&nbsp;Research]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Sat, 30 Dec 1899 00:00:00 -0700</pubDate>
			<guid>http://www.sourcingmag.com/blog/blog.asp?bi=1507</guid>
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			<title><![CDATA[Automate or Eliminate?]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sourcingmag.com/blog/blog.asp?bi=1506</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Automating Process Steps with many different IT technologies is always a big temptation. Document digitization, workflow, business rules engines are all very tempting Information Technologies that can execute business process steps much more efficiently,and make processes run faster, cutting time, resources needed to execute them.But is it always a good ...]]></description>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[BPO&nbsp;,&nbsp;Companies&nbsp;,&nbsp;Cool Tools&nbsp;,&nbsp;General&nbsp;,&nbsp;Offshoring&nbsp;,&nbsp;Ploys and Tactics&nbsp;,&nbsp;Research]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Sat, 30 Dec 1899 00:00:00 -0700</pubDate>
			<guid>http://www.sourcingmag.com/blog/blog.asp?bi=1506</guid>
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			<title><![CDATA[Potential of 5S in Services]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sourcingmag.com/blog/blog.asp?bi=1503</link>
			<description><![CDATA[5S methodology is a Japanese set of methods to keep the workplace tidy - everything having its place and everything in its place.  In Japanese these terms are:1. Seire - Sorting. 2. Seiton - Get in Order. 3. Seiso - Sweeping or Shining 4. Seiketsu  - Standardizing 5. ...]]></description>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[BPO&nbsp;,&nbsp;Cool Tools&nbsp;,&nbsp;General&nbsp;,&nbsp;Globalization&nbsp;,&nbsp;Offshoring&nbsp;,&nbsp;Ploys and Tactics&nbsp;,&nbsp;Research]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Sat, 30 Dec 1899 00:00:00 -0700</pubDate>
			<guid>http://www.sourcingmag.com/blog/blog.asp?bi=1503</guid>
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			<title><![CDATA[True Cost of Lip Service]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sourcingmag.com/blog/blog.asp?bi=1502</link>
			<description><![CDATA[If Detroit does not stand on the cusp of really traumatic possible bankruptcies of companies like General Motors and Chrysler, I would be tempted to play I-Told-You-So even more loudly!Two years ago, I wrote this blog in a sister blog of this one - The Cost of Lip Service , ...]]></description>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[BPO&nbsp;,&nbsp;Companies&nbsp;,&nbsp;General&nbsp;,&nbsp;Globalization&nbsp;,&nbsp;Offshoring&nbsp;,&nbsp;Ploys and Tactics&nbsp;,&nbsp;Research&nbsp;,&nbsp;The Buzz]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Sat, 30 Dec 1899 00:00:00 -0700</pubDate>
			<guid>http://www.sourcingmag.com/blog/blog.asp?bi=1502</guid>
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			<title><![CDATA[Leaning Processes Can Cause Problems Also]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sourcingmag.com/blog/blog.asp?bi=1501</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Leaning or Elimination or Waste - either in Time, unnecessary physical movement or entire pieces of the process is usually considered good and beneficial, but may not be, always. Leaning can cause sub-optimization at an organizational level when performed within the perspective of a Department or just a workgroup alone! ...]]></description>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[BPO&nbsp;,&nbsp;Call Centers&nbsp;,&nbsp;General&nbsp;,&nbsp;Globalization&nbsp;,&nbsp;Ploys and Tactics&nbsp;,&nbsp;Research]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Sat, 30 Dec 1899 00:00:00 -0700</pubDate>
			<guid>http://www.sourcingmag.com/blog/blog.asp?bi=1501</guid>
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			<title><![CDATA[Master Data Management (MDM) and Business Process Improvement]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sourcingmag.com/blog/blog.asp?bi=1499</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Many organizations are busy implementing Master Data Management (MDM) solutions on top of all of their applications. Master Data Management unifies the concept of a Customer of a business or a Patient in a Healthcare System. MDM solutions unifies the data about a single Customer or a single Patient in ...]]></description>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Blogger Bios&nbsp;,&nbsp;BPO&nbsp;,&nbsp;Call Centers&nbsp;,&nbsp;General&nbsp;,&nbsp;Globalization&nbsp;,&nbsp;Ploys and Tactics&nbsp;,&nbsp;Research]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Sat, 30 Dec 1899 00:00:00 -0700</pubDate>
			<guid>http://www.sourcingmag.com/blog/blog.asp?bi=1499</guid>
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			<title><![CDATA[Small Improvements vs Big Improvements]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sourcingmag.com/blog/blog.asp?bi=1497</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Micro level improvements are usually used by Six Sigma efforts to calculate savings in $. But are these numbers always true? That’s an interesting question for which the answer seems to be ’It Depends".In many cases, small local improvements do add to an large overall improvement. Especially, if you look ...]]></description>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[BPO&nbsp;,&nbsp;Call Centers&nbsp;,&nbsp;Companies&nbsp;,&nbsp;General&nbsp;,&nbsp;Globalization&nbsp;,&nbsp;Ploys and Tactics&nbsp;,&nbsp;Research]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Sat, 30 Dec 1899 00:00:00 -0700</pubDate>
			<guid>http://www.sourcingmag.com/blog/blog.asp?bi=1497</guid>
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			<title><![CDATA[How does outsourcing affect the today’s graduates?]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sourcingmag.com/blog/blog.asp?bi=1493</link>
			<description><![CDATA[As stated regularly in my other blog entries the world of outsourcing is becoming more mature year on year. There is a vast array of process that can be outsourced, everything from lower skilled jobs in call centres to risk analytics in banking. From BPO (Business Process Outsourcing) to KPO ...]]></description>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[BPO&nbsp;,&nbsp;Companies&nbsp;,&nbsp;General&nbsp;,&nbsp;Ploys and Tactics]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Sat, 30 Dec 1899 00:00:00 -0700</pubDate>
			<guid>http://www.sourcingmag.com/blog/blog.asp?bi=1493</guid>
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			<title><![CDATA[Web-Services and Process Improvement]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sourcingmag.com/blog/blog.asp?bi=1492</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Talking about end-to-end processes, one has the idea it is all a smooth flowing, highly automated system that keeps rolling on! Reality in most companies is that end-to-end processes are islands of automation in various departments, with manual links between these islands of automation. This is usually because of the ...]]></description>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[BPO&nbsp;,&nbsp;Call Centers&nbsp;,&nbsp;General&nbsp;,&nbsp;Globalization&nbsp;,&nbsp;Offshoring&nbsp;,&nbsp;Ploys and Tactics&nbsp;,&nbsp;Research]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Sat, 30 Dec 1899 00:00:00 -0700</pubDate>
			<guid>http://www.sourcingmag.com/blog/blog.asp?bi=1492</guid>
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			<title><![CDATA[Mining Process Intelligence For Gold!]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sourcingmag.com/blog/blog.asp?bi=1489</link>
			<description><![CDATA[When it comes to Business Intelligence and what it means within organizations, these days it is primarily Sales Intelligence - Slicing and Dicing data to get insights into which products are selling in which regions/areas/cities, which salespeople are selling which products, etc. They are all possibly different views of the ...]]></description>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[BPO&nbsp;,&nbsp;Call Centers&nbsp;,&nbsp;Companies&nbsp;,&nbsp;Cool Tools&nbsp;,&nbsp;Globalization&nbsp;,&nbsp;Ploys and Tactics&nbsp;,&nbsp;Research]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Sat, 30 Dec 1899 00:00:00 -0700</pubDate>
			<guid>http://www.sourcingmag.com/blog/blog.asp?bi=1489</guid>
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			<title><![CDATA[Process Improvement And Design of Experiments (DOE)]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sourcingmag.com/blog/blog.asp?bi=1488</link>
			<description><![CDATA[When you consider a process for improvement, there are a number of things you could do it - Train the people better, give them more latitude in decision making and keeping customers happy who bring in more business, invest more in a rules engine that automates many of the otherwise ...]]></description>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[BPO&nbsp;,&nbsp;Call Centers&nbsp;,&nbsp;Companies&nbsp;,&nbsp;General&nbsp;,&nbsp;Globalization&nbsp;,&nbsp;Ploys and Tactics&nbsp;,&nbsp;Research]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Sat, 30 Dec 1899 00:00:00 -0700</pubDate>
			<guid>http://www.sourcingmag.com/blog/blog.asp?bi=1488</guid>
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			<title><![CDATA[California DMV - Stellar Example of Process Improvement Efforts]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sourcingmag.com/blog/blog.asp?bi=1487</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Departments of Motor Vehicles around the globe are nightmares for people in every country. They will tell you horror stories about how they had to wait interminably for hours, how the DMV gave them the runaround while trying to get a new license or a driving license renewed. Getting your ...]]></description>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Cool Tools&nbsp;,&nbsp;General&nbsp;,&nbsp;Globalization&nbsp;,&nbsp;Ploys and Tactics&nbsp;,&nbsp;Research]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Sat, 30 Dec 1899 00:00:00 -0700</pubDate>
			<guid>http://www.sourcingmag.com/blog/blog.asp?bi=1487</guid>
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			<title><![CDATA[The 7 Deadly Sins of Performance Measurement and How to Avoid Them]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sourcingmag.com/blog/blog.asp?bi=1486</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Michael J. Hammer, the famous Management Guru, wrote this article - The Seven Deadly Sins of Performance Management and How To Avoid Them in the MIT Sloan Review in 2007. It’s written for the larger topic of Performance Measurement as in Financial or Sales Performance but is just as applicable ...]]></description>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[BPO&nbsp;,&nbsp;Call Centers&nbsp;,&nbsp;General&nbsp;,&nbsp;Globalization&nbsp;,&nbsp;HRO&nbsp;,&nbsp;Offshoring&nbsp;,&nbsp;Ploys and Tactics&nbsp;,&nbsp;Research]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Sat, 30 Dec 1899 00:00:00 -0700</pubDate>
			<guid>http://www.sourcingmag.com/blog/blog.asp?bi=1486</guid>
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			<title><![CDATA[Four Key Lessons from Toyota Production System for Process Improvement]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sourcingmag.com/blog/blog.asp?bi=1485</link>
			<description><![CDATA[The Toyota Production System (TPS) is much studied and emulated for use in other companies around the world. Unfortunately, many study the Toyota Production Systems’ Tools and Tactics such as the Kanban pull systems, cords, production cells, etc rather than the underlying principles!Ran across this very interesting article published in ...]]></description>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[BPO&nbsp;,&nbsp;Call Centers&nbsp;,&nbsp;Companies&nbsp;,&nbsp;General&nbsp;,&nbsp;Globalization&nbsp;,&nbsp;Offshoring&nbsp;,&nbsp;Ploys and Tactics&nbsp;,&nbsp;Research]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Sat, 30 Dec 1899 00:00:00 -0700</pubDate>
			<guid>http://www.sourcingmag.com/blog/blog.asp?bi=1485</guid>
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			<title><![CDATA[Notion of Value in a Service]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sourcingmag.com/blog/blog.asp?bi=1484</link>
			<description><![CDATA[When applying the notion of Value and Value-Adding steps in a Service, the idea is not as clear-cut as in a product. For example, if you were to buy a car, fastening the door on to the car when it is manufactured is clearly a Value-Adding step for the end ...]]></description>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[BPO&nbsp;,&nbsp;Call Centers&nbsp;,&nbsp;Cool Tools&nbsp;,&nbsp;Globalization&nbsp;,&nbsp;Ploys and Tactics&nbsp;,&nbsp;Research]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Sat, 30 Dec 1899 00:00:00 -0700</pubDate>
			<guid>http://www.sourcingmag.com/blog/blog.asp?bi=1484</guid>
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			<title><![CDATA[Manufacturing Vs. Services - Value Stream Mapping Differences]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sourcingmag.com/blog/blog.asp?bi=1483</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Value Stream Mapping, very simply put, tries to eliminate Non-Value Adding activities while speeding up Value-Adding Activities. For example, in Manufacturing a Toy, attaching two pieces of the toy together is Value Adding while filling out a Production Floor Log is Non-Value adding. This is from the point of view ...]]></description>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[BPO&nbsp;,&nbsp;Cool Tools&nbsp;,&nbsp;General&nbsp;,&nbsp;HRO&nbsp;,&nbsp;Ploys and Tactics&nbsp;,&nbsp;Research]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Sat, 30 Dec 1899 00:00:00 -0700</pubDate>
			<guid>http://www.sourcingmag.com/blog/blog.asp?bi=1483</guid>
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			<title><![CDATA[Business Intelligence Always Precedes Process Improvement]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sourcingmag.com/blog/blog.asp?bi=1478</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Before you can effect any Process Improvement you need to have a clear, accurate and reliable picture of the AS-IS condition of a Business Process in terms of its Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). These KPIs can be measured against SLAs if it is outsourced, or in the Shared Services context. ...]]></description>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Blogger Bios&nbsp;,&nbsp;Call Centers&nbsp;,&nbsp;Companies&nbsp;,&nbsp;Cool Tools&nbsp;,&nbsp;General&nbsp;,&nbsp;Globalization&nbsp;,&nbsp;Offshoring&nbsp;,&nbsp;Ploys and Tactics&nbsp;,&nbsp;Research&nbsp;,&nbsp;The Buzz]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Sat, 30 Dec 1899 00:00:00 -0700</pubDate>
			<guid>http://www.sourcingmag.com/blog/blog.asp?bi=1478</guid>
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			<title><![CDATA[Value Innovation in Process Improvement]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sourcingmag.com/blog/blog.asp?bi=1477</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Value Innovations are a very useful concept pioneered by people in Competitive Product and Services Positioning. Analyzing the various of dimensions of Value of products or services as perceived by customers leads to competitive positioning that can lead to success.McDonalds restaurants always sold very inexpensive coffee. However they wanted to ...]]></description>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[BPO&nbsp;,&nbsp;Call Centers&nbsp;,&nbsp;Companies&nbsp;,&nbsp;Cool Tools&nbsp;,&nbsp;F&amp;A&nbsp;,&nbsp;General&nbsp;,&nbsp;Globalization&nbsp;,&nbsp;Offshoring&nbsp;,&nbsp;Ploys and Tactics&nbsp;,&nbsp;Research&nbsp;,&nbsp;The Buzz]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Sat, 30 Dec 1899 00:00:00 -0700</pubDate>
			<guid>http://www.sourcingmag.com/blog/blog.asp?bi=1477</guid>
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			<title><![CDATA[Mizen Boushi - Prevention of Mistakes in Business Processes]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sourcingmag.com/blog/blog.asp?bi=1476</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Mizen Boushi is a Japanese term (Used in Toyota Product Development Systems and others in Japan) for Mistake Prevention or "designing in quality". It seems to be a cousin of Poke Yoke which is on a smaller scale, "mistake proofing",  on physical things. The notch in your Mobile Telephone ...]]></description>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Blogger Bios&nbsp;,&nbsp;BPO&nbsp;,&nbsp;Call Centers&nbsp;,&nbsp;Companies&nbsp;,&nbsp;Cool Tools&nbsp;,&nbsp;General&nbsp;,&nbsp;Globalization&nbsp;,&nbsp;Ploys and Tactics&nbsp;,&nbsp;Research]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Sat, 30 Dec 1899 00:00:00 -0700</pubDate>
			<guid>http://www.sourcingmag.com/blog/blog.asp?bi=1476</guid>
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			<title><![CDATA[The effort to innovate, is it worth it?]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sourcingmag.com/blog/blog.asp?bi=1475</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Innovation has always been a top buzz word of outsourcing, often mentioned but rarely achieved. When outsourcing was in its infancy everyone perceived that innovation was just another deliverable to be defined in the outsource contract. When it was never actually delivered upon the clients blamed he vendors without asking ...]]></description>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[BPO&nbsp;,&nbsp;Companies&nbsp;,&nbsp;General&nbsp;,&nbsp;Ploys and Tactics&nbsp;,&nbsp;The Buzz]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Sat, 30 Dec 1899 00:00:00 -0700</pubDate>
			<guid>http://www.sourcingmag.com/blog/blog.asp?bi=1475</guid>
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			<title><![CDATA[Traffic Jams and Capacity Planning for Processes]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sourcingmag.com/blog/blog.asp?bi=1474</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Accidents and Traffic Jams have a lot to teach about Capacity Planning for Business Processes!Whether it is Claims Processing or Home Loans or Help Desks, processes invariably deal with traffic jams.Usually, there could be long, serene periods, when things are flowing smoothly; no customer is waiting on the phone long ...]]></description>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[BPO&nbsp;,&nbsp;Call Centers&nbsp;,&nbsp;Companies&nbsp;,&nbsp;Cool Tools&nbsp;,&nbsp;General&nbsp;,&nbsp;Globalization&nbsp;,&nbsp;Offshoring&nbsp;,&nbsp;Ploys and Tactics&nbsp;,&nbsp;Research]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Sat, 30 Dec 1899 00:00:00 -0700</pubDate>
			<guid>http://www.sourcingmag.com/blog/blog.asp?bi=1474</guid>
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			<title><![CDATA[Innovation in outsource projects]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sourcingmag.com/blog/blog.asp?bi=1473</link>
			<description><![CDATA[In the first generation of outsourcing contracts this term was a bit of an oxymoron. If it was mentioned at all in was purely as a side note in the contract. Neither party knew how to, nor planned on delivering this aim, but the lack of achieving it is still ...]]></description>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[BPO&nbsp;,&nbsp;Companies&nbsp;,&nbsp;General&nbsp;,&nbsp;Offshoring&nbsp;,&nbsp;Ploys and Tactics]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Sat, 30 Dec 1899 00:00:00 -0700</pubDate>
			<guid>http://www.sourcingmag.com/blog/blog.asp?bi=1473</guid>
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			<title><![CDATA[Process Interleaving - Lessons from Toyota Product Development System]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sourcingmag.com/blog/blog.asp?bi=1472</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Automobile Design is a very intense process in a very intensely competitive industry. Design of new cars used to take five years plus, even as far back as ten years. Now the industry average is becoming around 3 years and the Toyota Prius design cycle was slightly less than two ...]]></description>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[BPO&nbsp;,&nbsp;Call Centers&nbsp;,&nbsp;Companies&nbsp;,&nbsp;General&nbsp;,&nbsp;Globalization&nbsp;,&nbsp;Ploys and Tactics&nbsp;,&nbsp;Research]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Sat, 30 Dec 1899 00:00:00 -0700</pubDate>
			<guid>http://www.sourcingmag.com/blog/blog.asp?bi=1472</guid>
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			<title><![CDATA[Process Towers - Could Spoil The Process Improvement You Achieve?]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sourcingmag.com/blog/blog.asp?bi=1468</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Steven Arbogast has written a seminal article about Process Towers and how they can spoil the Process Improvement you can effect in any part of an end-to-end business process.Steven uses an excellent example of a waiter taking your order at a restaurant with many variations, and special requests you may ...]]></description>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[BPO&nbsp;,&nbsp;Call Centers&nbsp;,&nbsp;General&nbsp;,&nbsp;Globalization&nbsp;,&nbsp;Offshoring&nbsp;,&nbsp;Ploys and Tactics&nbsp;,&nbsp;Research]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Sat, 30 Dec 1899 00:00:00 -0700</pubDate>
			<guid>http://www.sourcingmag.com/blog/blog.asp?bi=1468</guid>
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			<title><![CDATA[Key pitfalls in vendor selection]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sourcingmag.com/blog/blog.asp?bi=1467</link>
			<description><![CDATA[One of the most critical processes during an outsource project is vendor selection. There are numerous companies that will take at least part of that responsibility away from you but ultimately it is you signing the contract. When deciding on a vendor here are some points to keep in mind. ...]]></description>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[BPO&nbsp;,&nbsp;Companies&nbsp;,&nbsp;General&nbsp;,&nbsp;Offshoring&nbsp;,&nbsp;Ploys and Tactics]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Sat, 30 Dec 1899 00:00:00 -0700</pubDate>
			<guid>http://www.sourcingmag.com/blog/blog.asp?bi=1467</guid>
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		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Lean Improvement Is Green Improvement]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sourcingmag.com/blog/blog.asp?bi=1465</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Green Enterprise is on the agenda of most corporations and organizations these days. Even the usually conservative Wall Street Journal published a whole section on Green Energies and Green Enterprise iniatives (Subscription may be required to see all the articles).In one of the interviews featured here, there is a very ...]]></description>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[BPO&nbsp;,&nbsp;Call Centers&nbsp;,&nbsp;Cool Tools&nbsp;,&nbsp;General&nbsp;,&nbsp;HRO&nbsp;,&nbsp;Ploys and Tactics&nbsp;,&nbsp;Research]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Sat, 30 Dec 1899 00:00:00 -0700</pubDate>
			<guid>http://www.sourcingmag.com/blog/blog.asp?bi=1465</guid>
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		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Free vendor selection application]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sourcingmag.com/blog/blog.asp?bi=1457</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Outsourcing Mentor has just released a new free application that can assist in the vendor selection process. This application poses a series of questions in 4 main pillars of vendor selection. ·         Quality – How much does quality matter when thinking about ...]]></description>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Cool Tools&nbsp;,&nbsp;Ploys and Tactics&nbsp;,&nbsp;The Funhouse]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Sat, 30 Dec 1899 00:00:00 -0700</pubDate>
			<guid>http://www.sourcingmag.com/blog/blog.asp?bi=1457</guid>
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			<title><![CDATA[Lean Before Six Sigma]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sourcingmag.com/blog/blog.asp?bi=1456</link>
			<description><![CDATA[I have seen many Six Sigma Projects that collect data at a very minute level (at a sub process level) and try to effect improvements at that level. In many cases, these may not account for much in the overall scheme of things. This happens more in the context of ...]]></description>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[BPO&nbsp;,&nbsp;Call Centers&nbsp;,&nbsp;Cool Tools&nbsp;,&nbsp;Globalization&nbsp;,&nbsp;Offshoring&nbsp;,&nbsp;Ploys and Tactics&nbsp;,&nbsp;Research]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Sat, 30 Dec 1899 00:00:00 -0700</pubDate>
			<guid>http://www.sourcingmag.com/blog/blog.asp?bi=1456</guid>
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			<title><![CDATA[Vendor Ploy: Making an Impression]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sourcingmag.com/blog/blog.asp?bi=1453</link>
			<description><![CDATA[After the Getting to Know You and Mirroring ploys are in play (described in my earlier blog entries), the vendor will likely next use the "Making an Impression" ploy.  The ploy is exactly what it sounds like—it’s an attempt to impress or awe you.  The intent is to ...]]></description>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Ploys and Tactics]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Sat, 30 Dec 1899 00:00:00 -0700</pubDate>
			<guid>http://www.sourcingmag.com/blog/blog.asp?bi=1453</guid>
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			<title><![CDATA[Vendor Ploy: Mirroring]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sourcingmag.com/blog/blog.asp?bi=1448</link>
			<description><![CDATA[So, what comes after the "Getting to Know you" vendor ploy I discussed in my last blog entry?  Well, now that the vendor has gathered some personal information about you (such as your age, marital status, educational background, and hobbies), the next step is for the vendor to make ...]]></description>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Ploys and Tactics]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Sat, 30 Dec 1899 00:00:00 -0700</pubDate>
			<guid>http://www.sourcingmag.com/blog/blog.asp?bi=1448</guid>
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			<title><![CDATA[Creative Shortcuts in Lean Improvement]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sourcingmag.com/blog/blog.asp?bi=1447</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Lean Improvement need not have to do ONLY with improving business processes as they are currently. True Lean Improvement may come from some creative shortcuts also, sometimes.Lean Improvement may not just have to do with doing something more efficiently. Instead of asking the question, "How can I do this faster ...]]></description>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[BPO&nbsp;,&nbsp;Call Centers&nbsp;,&nbsp;Companies&nbsp;,&nbsp;Cool Tools&nbsp;,&nbsp;General&nbsp;,&nbsp;Ploys and Tactics&nbsp;,&nbsp;Research]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Sat, 30 Dec 1899 00:00:00 -0700</pubDate>
			<guid>http://www.sourcingmag.com/blog/blog.asp?bi=1447</guid>
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		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Vendor Ploy: Getting to Know You]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sourcingmag.com/blog/blog.asp?bi=1445</link>
			<description><![CDATA[The "Getting to Know You" is a starting ploy for vendors, meaning that it occurs at the onset of a new relationship between vendor and prospective customer.  Just like the name of the ploy indicates, it’s all about vendors getting to know you so that they can gather information ...]]></description>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Ploys and Tactics]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Sat, 30 Dec 1899 00:00:00 -0700</pubDate>
			<guid>http://www.sourcingmag.com/blog/blog.asp?bi=1445</guid>
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			<title><![CDATA[The Contract Negotiation Handbook: Ploys and Tactics Explained]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sourcingmag.com/blog/blog.asp?bi=1444</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Some of the ploys and tactics that I'll describe in this blog are explained in greater detail in my book, The Contract Negotiation Handbook: An Indispensable Guide for Contract Professionals.  The book contains more ploys and tactics, as well as counter-tactics to vendor ploys.  You can get the ...]]></description>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Ploys and Tactics]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Sat, 30 Dec 1899 00:00:00 -0700</pubDate>
			<guid>http://www.sourcingmag.com/blog/blog.asp?bi=1444</guid>
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			<title><![CDATA[Complex scorecards Vs Simple SLAs]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sourcingmag.com/blog/blog.asp?bi=1442</link>
			<description><![CDATA[There are as many opinions as there are options when it comes to monitoring outsource relationships, and they basically break down into 2 options, simple Vs complex. When a company outsources a function the first thing they have to give up is control. They no longer run that function on ...]]></description>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[BPO&nbsp;,&nbsp;General&nbsp;,&nbsp;Ploys and Tactics]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Sat, 30 Dec 1899 00:00:00 -0700</pubDate>
			<guid>http://www.sourcingmag.com/blog/blog.asp?bi=1442</guid>
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			<title><![CDATA[Costco Prescanning - Good Examples of Reducing Waste]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sourcingmag.com/blog/blog.asp?bi=1440</link>
			<description><![CDATA[I was standing in line at our local Costco behind four or five people. Was pleasantly surprised to see a Costco person come by and "Pre Scan" all the items in your cart before you reach the checkout counter! She had a wireless checkout handheld. She scanned the membership card ...]]></description>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[General&nbsp;,&nbsp;Globalization&nbsp;,&nbsp;Ploys and Tactics&nbsp;,&nbsp;Research&nbsp;,&nbsp;The Buzz]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Sat, 30 Dec 1899 00:00:00 -0700</pubDate>
			<guid>http://www.sourcingmag.com/blog/blog.asp?bi=1440</guid>
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