Outsourcing is a key issue for many organisations having moved from the contracting out of peripheral activities such as cleaning to more critical areas such as design and marketing. This report is for managers and people in finance and accounting functions and takes a practical approach in developing a framework and then applying this framework in an actual organisation which makes it easier for practitioners to understand.• This report provides a framework which incorporates both qualitative and quantitative performance measures that can be used in the outsourcing process• This research is of value to commercial and public sector organisations as well as academics as it provides insights for organisations considering outsourcing that will enable them to assess service levels throughout the contract

Introduction to Built Asset Management Provides a multidisciplinary introduction to building maintenance management and execution, covering a wide range of current technical and management issues The maintenance and upgrading of existing buildings is no longer viewed as separate from the operational phase of the completed building. Maintenance and management are now regarded as fundamental parts of a building’s life cycle, forming a significant percentage of the construction industry’s total output. As higher education programmes in the UK and elsewhere continue to place greater emphasis on the longer-term view of construction projects, students and instructors require a thorough and up-to-date textbook that emphasises the comprehensive nature of building maintenance. Introduction to Built Asset Management is a systematic introduction to both the technology and management issues central to building maintenance and refurbishment. Covering the entire life cycle of built assets, the textbook reviews the role of framework agreements, describes key performance indicators, discusses recent advancements in the procurement of maintenance activities and more. Detailed yet accessible chapters include illustrative examples, seminar questions and self-assessment tasks that enable students to measure their progress as they work through the material. Designed to meet the needs of today’s learners, this much-needed textbook: Addresses a variety of both environmental and commercial concerns Evaluates important concepts of sustainability, sustainable maintenance and carbon resilience Discusses the growing retrofit market in the wider context of asset management and maintenance Describes information management tools such as building information modelling (BIM) and geographic information systems (GIS) Introduction to Built Asset Management is ideally suited for courses in construction, construction management, building surveying and facilities management with modules in built asset management and maintenance.

TRB’s National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Report 692: Decision Making for Outsourcing and Privatization of Vehicle and Equipment Fleet Maintenance presents a framework for conducting systematic analysis and making decisions on outsourcing and privatization of vehicle and equipment fleet maintenance.

In this study outsourcing is defined as the organizational practice of contracting for services from an external entity while retaining control over assets and oversight of the services being outsourced. In the 1980s, a number of factors led to a renewed interest in outsourcing. For private sector organizations, outsourcing was identified as a strategic component of business process reengineering-an effort to streamline an organization and increase its profitability. In the public sector, growing concern about the federal budget deficit, the continuing long-term fiscal crisis of some large cities, and other factors accelerated the use of privatization measures (including outsourcing for services) as a means of increasing the efficiency of government.

"This book provides evidence-based insights into the management and contribution of IT in organizations, to offer practical advice & solutions, models and tools that are instrumental in getting business value from IT"--Provided by publisher.

During the last decade, logistics outsourcing is growing in importance worldwide. Meanwhile, many different kinds of logistics services are also introduced in the outsourcing market. However, up to now, there are no guidelines for the food processing industry to identify which logistics activities should be outsourced to which type of logistic service provider (LSP). By combining managerial and economic theory, this book builds an integrated research framework to demonstrate decisive factors for outsourcing different kinds of logistics activities and their effect on logistics performance. Using empirical evidences from the food processing industry in Taiwan and the Netherlands, this study shows that: - outsourcing decisions of different levels of logistics activities have different determining factors. - total outsourcing (i.e. having the LSP orchestrate the whole logistics process) results in higher logistics service performances in terms of lead-time, reliability, and flexibility. - currently the Netherlands have higher percentages of outsourcing of transportation and transportation management than Taiwan. In the future, Taiwan will probably outsource value added activities and logistics orchestration activities more than the Netherlands. This book is recommended for a broad audience of professionals and practitioners who concern themselves with the design, planning and management of logistics in international food supply chains.

This book opens the “black box” of software sourcing by explaining how dynamic software alignment is established and how it impacts business performance outcomes. By investigating how software-sourcing modes are related to value generation in the post-implementation phase, it shows researchers and managers the impact logic of on-demand, on-premises, and in-house software on dynamic fit and process-level performance outcomes in a client organization. It describes dynamic IT alignment as the key to success in a fast-moving digital world with software-as-a-service on the rise and highlights the fact that today companies can choose between developing software in-house (make) or sourcing packaged systems in an on-premises (buy) or an on-demand (lease) mode. This book is the first to explicitly compare these sourcing arrangements with each other in terms of alignment and business performance.

Outsourcing has become an increasingly important issue for many organisations. This book provides a framework for an up-to-date understanding of the outsourcing process and the key issues associated with it. It integrates a number of contemporary topics including benchmarking, buyer-supplier relationships, organisational behaviour, competitor analysis, and technology influences. The analysis draws upon both empirical research and real case studies. The author starts by providing guidelines as to when outsourcing is appropriate and what its implications will be, before moving on to explain how outsourcing is implemented. The benefits of both successful outsourcing and the risks and consequences of outsourcing failure are outlined. The book is ideal for use by postgraduate students studying the area of outsourcing. It would also benefit industry managers who are considering outsourcing or who already have outsourcing programmes in place.