Outsourcing Law & Business Journal™: October 2009
October 29, 2009 by Bierce & Kenerson, P.C. ·
OUTSOURCING LAW & BUSINESS JOURNAL (™) : Strategies and rules for adding value and improving legal and regulation compliance through business process management techniques in strategic alliances, joint ventures, shared services and cost-effective, durable and flexible sourcing of services. www.outsourcing-law.com. Visit our blog at http://blog.outsourcing-law.com for commentary on current events. Insights by Bierce & Kenerson, P.C. www.biercekenerson.com […]
Failed Deals in Outsourcing of State Welfare Benefits Administration: Anatomy of Unsuccessful Business Process Transformation
October 29, 2009 by Bierce & Kenerson, P.C. ·
In October 2009, the State of Indiana terminated a ten-year $1.34 billion outsourcing agreement with IBM for the administration of the welfare benefits. This followed a 2007 termination by the State of Texas of a similar privatization of State health and welfare benefits administration, including eligibility determinations, food stamps, Medicaid and the Temporary Assistance to […]
Case Study for Legal Risk Management for “Cloud Computing”: Data Loss for T-Mobile Sidekick® Customers
October 29, 2009 by Bierce & Kenerson, P.C. ·
Telecom providers are increasingly outsourcing IT functions for “cloud computing.” A widespread data loss in mid-October 2009 by an IT outsourcer to a mobile telephony provider underscores the practical limitations of using the Internet as a data storage platform. In this episode, subscribers to T-Mobile Sidekick® mobile devices were informed that their personal data – […]
Outsourcing Law & Business Journal™: September 2009
October 29, 2009 by Bierce & Kenerson, P.C. ·
OUTSOURCING LAW & BUSINESS JOURNAL (™) : Strategies and rules for adding value and improving legal and regulation compliance through business process management techniques in strategic alliances, joint ventures, shared services and cost-effective, durable and flexible sourcing of services. www.outsourcing-law.com. Visit our blog at http://blog.outsourcing-law.com for commentary on current events. Insights by Bierce & Kenerson, P.C. www.biercekenerson.com […]
Tuesday, November 17, 2009 – Managing Knowledge, Compliance and Legal Risks in Sourcing of Global Talent
October 28, 2009 by Bierce & Kenerson, P.C. ·
Special Notice – Webinar on Sourcing of Global Talent Managing Knowledge, Compliance and Legal Risks in Sourcing of Global Talent Tuesday November 17, 2009, 11 A.M. – 12 Noon, Eastern Daylight Time U.S. Speakers: William B. Bierce, Esq., Bierce & Kenerson, P.C. – outsourcing lawyer Larry Scinto, PA Consulting, Managing Consultant Neil McEwen, PA Consulting, […]
Legislation in Outsourcing: Gain-Sharing under the E-Government Act of 2002
October 16, 2009 by Bierce & Kenerson, P.C. ·
Overview. The E-Government Act of 2002 authorizes federal agencies to enter gain-sharing contracts for information technology (as defined in 40 USC 11101(6)). The new law refers to such contracts as “share-in-savings initiatives.” Under such contracts, the Government awards an IT contract to “improve mission-related or administrative processes” or to “accelerate the achievement of its mission.” […]
Case Study: Farmland Industries Inc.
October 16, 2009 by Bierce & Kenerson, P.C. ·
Farmland Industries Inc., a federation of 1,700 rural farm cooperatives that is the largest farm cooperative in the United States, filed for bankruptcy protection on May 31, 2002, after reportedly rejecting an offer by Smithfield Foods Inc. for acquisition of Farmland’s meat business. The meat business is operated as a joint venture with U.S. Premium […]
Joint Venture between IBM and French Bank BNP Paribas
October 16, 2009 by Bierce & Kenerson, P.C. ·
On December 19, 2003, IBM and the French bank BNP Paribas announced the creation of a joint venture to manage BNP Paribas’s IT operations. The deal represents the evolution of a “partnership” model between service provider and its customer within the framework of the European Union’s protective labor laws. Scope. The joint venture was structured […]
Shared Services in Lieu of Outsourcing: Offshore Captive Internal Bank
October 16, 2009 by Bierce & Kenerson, P.C. ·
Summary. In making the classic “buy vs. build” decision in relation to services to manage sophisticated business processes, enterprises may elect to establish a captive enterprise to perform “shared services” for affiliates. The “shared services captive” is an alternative to buying outsourced services. But it is also an alternative to internal administration of a business […]
Call Centers and Customer Relationship Management
October 16, 2009 by Bierce & Kenerson, P.C. ·
Thanks to Customer Relationship Management (“CRM”) software and low-cost, high-speed international telecommunications, a call center can be located anywhere in the world. While the legal issues in offshoring of any outsourced service can be complicated, the business issues are generally the same. Who Should Outsource Call Center or CRM Functions? Call centers connect your enterprise, […]
Reciprocal Outsourcing by EDS and WorldCom, Inc.
October 16, 2009 by Bierce & Kenerson, P.C. ·
In July 2002, the EDS share price was rocked by the sudden decline and subsequent bankruptcy filing of WorldCom, Inc., a telecom services company. In October 1999, EDS had entered into a reciprocal deal with WorldCom, where EDS was providing IT services and EDS agreed to act as a reseller for WorldCom. The total of […]
“Offshoring” of BPO Services within the European Union: A Transatlantic View of the Proposed Services Directive
October 16, 2009 by Bierce & Kenerson, P.C. ·
The European Common Market (and its successor the European Union, “EU”) were founded on the principles of four freedoms of movement: capital, people, goods and information. According to the European Commission, the service sector accounts for more than 70% of economic activity in the EU, much of which involves Europe’s small and medium sized companies. […]
Financial Planners Outsource Their Back Office Support Staff to Home-Based Workers
October 16, 2009 by Bierce & Kenerson, P.C. ·
Summary. Suddenly, outsourcing benefits come to financial planners. But reports of the advantages may be too good to be true. What is Outsourced, and to Whom. In a lead article, The Wall Street Journal announced in April 2003 that a small number of financial planner are adopting an outsourcing model in their business, hiring “independent […]
Proctor & Gamble Highlights New Legal and Business Issues in Multi-Sourcing
October 16, 2009 by Bierce & Kenerson, P.C. ·
Background This case study examines some extraordinary circumstances involving competitive sourcing of services. It is not typical of the normal competitive sourcing, but it highlights some emerging business and legal issues in managed competitive sourcing of global services. During the late 1990’s, Proctor & Gamble Co. (“P&G”), maker of soaps, toiletries and personal care consumer […]
Inside Job: Bank One’s Decision to Insource Bank’s IT Operations
October 16, 2009 by Bierce & Kenerson, P.C. ·
Bank One, the sixth largest bank holding company in the United States with $270 billion in assets, has been conscientiously in-sourcing its technology, managing the integration of bank acquisitions through its own internal teams. In November 2002, the bank announced the completion of a major systems conversion in Illinois to consolidate its information technologies on […]
International Trade Regulation of Outsourcing
October 16, 2009 by Bierce & Kenerson, P.C. ·
The Trade Act of 2002, signed by President Bush on July 27, 2002 , H.R. 3009, authorizes the President to negotiate trade agreements that will be approved, or disapproved, by Congress without any changes. The law identifies the same old American public policy objectives. In relation to trade in services and trade in intellectual property, […]
Courts of India as an Inconvenient Forum: Impact of Long Delays in Access to Court Procedure
October 9, 2009 by Bierce & Kenerson, P.C. ·
“Justice delayed is justice denied.” Enforcement of contract rights depends on a viable system that not only applies the rule of law, but does not delay the application of law to the aggrieved party’s petition for judicial redress. In one recent judicial decision in New York, the court addressed the question whether a possible ten […]
Data use contracts between health care covered entitties and business associates including outsourcers
October 9, 2009 by Bierce & Kenerson, P.C. ·
Overview. The final Privacy Rule adopted in August 2002 sets forth specific requirements for contracts between “covered entities” and “business associates” (outsourcers). For further details, please contact one of our attorneys. Minimum Provisions. For the minimum terms of such a contract, the final HIPAA Privacy Rule provides: A covered entity may use or disclose a […]
C&W US Clients Face Uncertain Future
October 9, 2009 by Bierce & Kenerson, P.C. ·
By Ed Agar, primesourcingadvisors.com October 27, 2003 – The drama surrounding Cable and Wireless’ US hosting business remains an unresolved story for its approximately 1,500 clients. Since declaring its intention to exit the U.S. market in early summer, C&W has yet to deliver a clear update with regard to its business direction. C&W seems to […]
Patents in Outsourcing: Strategy and Practice for Business Process Patents and International Trade in Services
October 9, 2009 by Bierce & Kenerson, P.C. ·
Should a service provider develop a patent portfolio? In performing outsourced services, the service provider performs certain business processes that range from information technology to office procedures. Since U.S. courts have interpreted patent laws to make business processes eligible for patent protection, the patent law has played a small but growing role in business process […]