Outsourcing Control

Boeing takes risks with design and manufacturing outsourcing across its integrated supply chain for the 787 Dreamliner and loses control of the process. Regardless of the industry space, manufacturing or information technology, management controls are necessary on the outsourced processes - clear visibility and accountability should not be compromised. Boeing is making adjustments. ...

... "The company’s chief, W. James McNerney Jr., concedes that Boeing lost control of the process by farming out more design and production work than ever and not keeping close tabs on suppliers. He says the company is retaking control. " ...

Via New York Times: 787 Dreamliner

Improving Sales Process

Insights into bringing discipline and predictability to the sales process, an area where IT systems struggle to deliver sustainable value. Just like a project needs controls, so too does the selling process. ...

... "After improving their qualification criteria, one company dramatically improved their close ratio. After a client's salespeople actually scored their prospects using their qualification criteria, I hired a statistician to analyze it. The results were amazing. When we got salespeople at another company to change the sequence they used for demos and proposals, sales costs went town, close ratios went up. " ...

Via Six Sigma Selling: Production Control for Sales