Thinkronization Newsletter – January 2011
Thinkronization Newsletter – January 2011
It is almost February and it seems like we rang in the New Year just yesterday. 2010 was a good year and a bounce back one for many as the economy recovered, at least for corporate America. Now for 2011, we need it to be the bounce back year for the consumer!
We are a third of the way into Q1 2011, and hope things are well with you and your organization. Our clients have planned, budgeted, and launched their early 2011 integration initiatives and we hope you are also progressing with your initiatives. REMEDI is excited about the opportunities and challenges that lie before our clients and ourselves. Change seems to be a constant theme, and will be especially so in 2011 as well as the foreseeable future given economic, regulatory, and competitive conditions. We hope this year’s editions of “THINKRONIZATION”, a REMEDI semi-monthly eNewsletter, will be valuable for you the Integration and supply chain professional as you confront the change that Integration initiatives and business challenges can bring.
If you have suggestions for Integration material you would like to see us cover in newsletters case studies, research/surveys, or blog material, contact us with your ideas.
In this edition, you will find:
The Other Side of Sourcing Integration Professionals
Past articles from REMEDI, Valuable Relationships in Tough Times and RDBMS Versus Real Relationships detail the candidate supply and demand pendulum that confronts hiring managers when staffing contract and full-time hire needs in varying economic conditions. These articles outline in each economic circumstance how hiring managers can best engage the sourcing pros of professional services firms to derive value in the search for resources.
We have received positive feedback from hiring managers on these articles, and somewhat surprisingly, from Integration candidates as well. The article Interviewing your Recruiter takes a reciprocal approach, providing guidance for Integration professionals in terms of how to best select and engage with a recruiter. Hopefully hiring managers will find this view of the recruiting process valuable as well.
The Contingent Workforce, Where is it Headed?
As we look into the future, we look at the past. The use of a contract or contingent workforce was extremely small in the early 1980s and decades before that. Business and workforce needs were more predictable, you know employment for life type stuff, along with low levels of automation and computerization requiring a physical workforce. As business cycles became more varied along with increased use of computers and robotics, resource needs became more varied. In the late 1980s and particularly the 1990s a contingent workforce became more appealing. Reasons why contingent resources became popular, and remain so today, include supplementing current staff, acquiring expertise not available on staff, to get a fresh approach or different perspective on a problem, to acquire experience from different companies in your industry or cross industry experience, to do the repetitive/complex task that no one else wants to do, to off load work (outsourcing or managed services) which enable staff to concentrate on core competencies, vacation/expertise/cross trained backups, try before you buy contract to hire, and so on.
So with the past and present, what does the future hold? Much of our research indicates that contingent staffing and use of consultants will increase. The increase will be as a result of increased uncertainty of full-time benefits cost, tax structure, government regulation, business conditions, global competitive pressures, and more. On a more positive note the contingent model will grow in popularity due to appropriate means of outsourcing, managed services, SaaS models, and to support corporate growth.
REMEDI continues to see disproportional growth in its Consulting, Managed Service, and Contract to Hire practices which we believe results from many of the points above.
What do you think about the contingent work force and where it is headed? Let us know and we will report in the next edition of our newsletter.
Supporting material for our contingent staffing / managed services premise, and services growth is as follows:
The Role of Contingent Workers in Workforce Strategy
Weighing Costs, Companies Favor Temporary Help
Employers Increasingly Rely on Temps, Part-Timers
Integration Software, In Case You Didn’t Know
In addition to consulting, managed services, training, and recruiting/placement, REMEDI sells EDI software, B2Bi software, and managed file transfer software, through a reseller relationship with choice integration vendors. Contact us with your integration software and implementation needs as you consider EDI, business / data integration, and file transfer solutions. Through software sales and implementation services we make the integration solution total cost of ownership affordable.
EDI & Data Integration Complimentary Offers
In addition to our project assessments, which provide planning and budgeting assistance with Scope Analysis, Obstacle Planning, Timeline Development, Resource Requirements, and Project Costing, REMEDI offers a test drive of our EDI map conversion tool and business process documentation tool. Check out complimentary offers and contact us with your project requirements.
Upcoming Integration Events…
Logistics 2011 – Retail’s Supply Chain Conference – Feb. 20-23, Gaylord Palms Resort, Orlando, FL
A leading event for retail and consumer product executives in logistics, distribution and supply chain management.
Impact2011 IBM / Sterling Commerce – April 10 – 15, Las Vegas, NV
Changing the Way Business and IT Leaders Work, Impact2011 brings together more than 6,000 technology and business leaders at a single event for a transformative learning opportunity.
REMEDI, an IBM and Sterling Commerce Business Partner, will be sponsoring / exhibiting at the event. More details on where to find us will follow as exhibitor locations are announced in the coming weeks.
Impact (formerly Customer Connection) for Sterling Commerce Users
Impact for IBM WebSphere Users
Convergence 2011 – Georgia World Congress Center
April 10 – 13, 2011 – Atlanta, GA
The premier Microsoft Dynamics event.
SapphireNow
May 15 – 18, 2011 – Orlando, FL
Event for SAP Users, Partners, and Integrators
U Connect LIVE – Orlando World Center Marriott
May 31 – June 3, 2011 – Orlando, FL
An event that focuses on how value chain visibility – through GS1 Standards – provides opportunities for companies to reach consumers over new channels, win confidence and loyalty, and enhance experiences while improving company efficiency and trading partner relationships.
Follow REMEDI on Twitter And Facebook
The place to get information and links to opportunities, company announcements, research, articles, blog posts and more…
Twitter (41 Followers)
Facebook (59 Likes)
Recent Tweets/FB Posts Include:
Another FTE EDI person placed this week, food products co. in CA. See jobs @ http://ow.ly/3DhPV file/manage your resume @ http://ow.ly/3DhBD
Thought Leadership pieces from GXS, 2011 B2B e-Commerce Predictions from various staff… http://ow.ly/3KPiK
IMPACT 2011 Webcast. Find out what Sterling Commerce offers at this IBM conference, where REMEDI is a sponsor/exhibitor http://ow.ly/3KK9F
New Sterling Integrator case studies posted to our Sterling Integrator competency page… http://ow.ly/3JofA
IBM at the NRF conference..announces consumer products frameworks and solutions which include solutions from recent buys http://ow.ly/3CD8y
As you prepare for the holidays, close 2010, and plan for 2011, REMEDI would like to leave you with a Holiday Video… http://ow.ly/3qrzS
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We are interested in your ideas for future newsletter articles, research, or blog material. Please let us know your ideas.
Thanks.
Brad Loetz – President
REMEDI Electronic Commerce Group
bloetz@remedi.com
614.436.4040 Phone Ext. 108
www.remedi.com
REMEDI Electronic Commerce Group is a business integration services and staffing provider. We have served clients in the US and Canada since 1994. Clients come to REMEDI for our application-2-application (A2A) and business-2-business (B2Bi) integration niche, expert resources, engagement flexibility, quality / speed in resource placement, integration experienced account managers / resource managers, and our tenure in business.
The company installs, maintains, upgrades, and expands business/data integration and EDI solutions for its clients. Consulting Services provide temporary resources for projects such as integration infrastructure upgrades and ERP conversions, or staff supplementation to eliminate backlogs. Placement Services assist the client in finding the right full-time person for the client integration team.
