August 23, 2010

Shared Services & Outsourcing Network, "Business Benefits of the Nordic Region for Shared Services and Outsourcing"

The Nordic region is growing as a hub for Shared Services and Outsourcing activity. This interview with Tom Bangemann, Vice-President of Business Transformation at The Hackett Group, explores the challenges facing businesses looking to offshore and why the Nordic region holds growing appeal. As an expert in the field, Tom discusses how he sees the Shared Services industry developing over the next few years. This interview was done in preparation for the Nordic Shared Services and Outsourcing Forum 2010, which takes place in Copenhagen Sept 14-15.

August 18, 2010

Ariba Live 2010 Video, "What's Next for Business Technology & Efficiency?,"

In this three-part video, Hackett Global Managing Principal, Procurement Advisory Chris Sawchuk is joined by executives from AMR, IDC, and Saugatuck Technologies for this discussion, from the Ariba Live 2010 conference.

August 12, 2010

CFO Magazine Webcast: "Creating World-Class Organizations for Measuring and Monitoring Business Performance,"

Organizations are under ever-increasing pressure to deliver accurate and timely financial and operational information to a wide variety of internal and external stakeholders. Yet, given the reality that finance resources and budgets will continue to be cut, this goal must be achieved at the lowest possible cost. In this IBM-sponsored Webcast, The Hackett Group EPM Program Leader Tom Willman will review the impact world-class organizations derive in optimizing their performance measurement systems.

August 10, 2010

Business Finance Video," Making the Case for Shared Services,"

Brief insights from Sean Kracklauer, President - Advisory Services and Research, in video filmed at Hackett's 2010 Best Practices Conference.

August 10, 2010

Business Finance Video,"Improving Data Standards: Where good Forecasting begins,"

Brief insights from Sean Kracklauer, President - Advisory Services and Research, in video filmed at Hackett's 2010 Best Practices Conference.

August 10, 2010

Business Finance Video, "Augmenting Forecasting Accuracy Through Better Data Standards,"

An extended interview with Sean Kracklauer, President - Advisory Services and Research, in video filmed at Hackett's 2010 Best Practices Conference.

July 20, 2010

ComputerWorld, "IT budgets pointing to the cloud, expansion,"

Debt collection agency Deca Financial Services LLC, which was formed last year, chose a cloud provider for its IT operations, after addressing issues such as security, service level guarantees, and disaster recovery capabilities. According to Honorio Padron of The Hackett Group Inc, Deca's experience is becoming more common, as companies recognize the cloud's ability to enable them to adjust IT budgets to match changes in corporate revenue.

July 14, 2010

CIOInsight, "Trends Slideshow: IT Agility Embraced By Top-Performing Companies,"

A new kind of IT organization has emerged in the wake of the recession -- one that has reduced fixed costs by using on-demand strategies, according to a new study from The Hackett Group.

July 13, 2010

Enterprise Systems Journal, "IT Budgets: Good-bye Fixed Costs, Hello Variability,"

In the wake of the recession, IT is replacing fixed costs with on-demand strategies and processes that can handle cost variability so it can be positioned to take advantage of business opportunities as they minimize risks in a today's high-volatility economy. How? By exploiting new service delivery models such as cloud computing that help an enterprise respond faster, according to new research by The Hackett Group.

July 1, 2010

CFOZone, "Why corporations may not care about the domestic economy,"

CFOZone Editor Ron Fink cites his conversation with Molson Coors CFO Stewart Glendinning at the 1010 Hackett Best Practices Conference in this blog posting.

July 1, 2010

CPOAgenda (UK), "Process Matters Too,"

Organisations are increasing risk and inefficiency by failing to define and implement optimal purchase-to-pay (P2P) process flows by spend category, research has revealed. The Hackett Group found that only 63 per cent of world-class organisations have defined the P2P transactional channels they feel are optimal, compared with 53 per cent of their peer group. These percentages are low, according to Hackett.

July 1, 2010

CFOZone, "How Philips pushes the outsourcing envelope,"

An indepth video interview on outsourcing strategy with Ron Eikelenbloom, CFO of Philips Latin America, from Hackett's 2010 Best Practices Conference.

July 1, 2010

SmartPros Financial Management Network, "The New Normal"

In this video, Sean Kracklauer, President - Advisory Services and Research, discusses insight's from Hackett's research into the impact of the recession on corporate finance, and how companies are moving forward from the standpoint of improving effectiveness and efficiency.

June 25, 2010

Inc.com, "5 Ways to Improve Cash Flow,"

With revenue gains still something of a pipe dream for most businesses, owners are looking for ways to squeeze as much cash flow as possible out of their existing operations. It's a simple enough formula: collect your receivables as fast as possible and slow down your payables without jeopardizing your relationship with suppliers. Still, some companies are much better at it than others: Top-performing companies collected from customers 17 days more quickly than typical companies in 2009 and stretched payables by an additional 10 days, according to REL, a consultancy focused on improving cash flow and working capital and a division of the Hackett Group. REL's Analis a DeHaro provides the lion's share of the analysis and input for the five tips included in this article.

June 22, 2010

Business Finance Webcast, "Forecasting 2010: Improving Performance with Predictive Cash Flows,"

REL Americas President Mark Tennant and Business Finance Editor in Chief Jack Sweeney discuss research showing how companies struggle to achieve accuracy in cash forecasting, and best practices companies use to identify forecasting obstacles, improve organizational alignment, and enhance measurement and management accuracy.

June 17, 2010

Handelsblatt, "Sticking to the guns after the crisis,"

Indepth German-language coverage of the 2010 REL 1000 analysis of the working capital performance of the largest public companies in Europe. The three articles in this two-page spread focus in part of the performance of DAX companies. The lead story also includes quotes and information from several German companies, including SAP, Bayer, Salzgitter and Klöckner. Separate article in the spread focus on the performance of small- and medium-sized companies in the DAX, and on the performance of German companies in comparison to those in other countries of Europe. (Note: The underlying research materials are also available directly from REL, with free registration, here www.relconsultancy.com/workingcapital)

June 16, 2010

Associated Press, "How to keep your best employees on board,"

Money is nice. But attention, recognition and the chance to learn new skills are the key to keeping top performers on board as the job market improves, experts say. According to The Hackett Group's Harry Osle, one strong strategy companies can use is to go personal and communicate. Employees "will be more hesitant to make a jump if they feel like they're part of a family, an organization that's investing in them," Osle said.

June 14, 2010

Business Finance Video, "Achieving Working Capital Improvements,"

According to a recent study by REL, only 34 % of industries posted an improvement in days working capital (DWC) last year, and most companies took a big hit in working capital performance as collections slowed and inventory grew. REL President Mark Tennant outlines some best practices designed to improve DWC, while discussing the study's findings with Business Finance editor in chief Jack Sweeney.

June 4, 2010

Business Finance, "Cytec CFO: Touts Working Capital Elixir,"

Cytec Industries CFO David Drillock speaks with Business Finance Editor in Chief Jack Sweeney about how Cytec achieved $200 million in working capital improvements as part of an aggressive working capital management strategy, accomplished with the support of REL. Recorded last month at The Hackett Group's 20th Annual Best Practices Conference.

June 4, 2010

Bloomberg News, "Bank pledges to support small firms,"

Bank of America Corp., the largest US bank by assets, plans to boost its procurement spending on small, mid-size, and minority-owned businesses by $10 billion over the next five years to help support job growth. According to Hackett's Kurt Albertson, the bank benefits by aiding small- to mid-size businesses, which make up a key customer base, despite the fact that the decision runs counter to the proven best practice of supplier consolidation exhibited by world-class procurement organizations.

June 3, 2010

Dow Jones, "IN THE MONEY: Recession's Fiscal Fitness Gives Way To Flab,"

Corporate America got fiscally fit during the recession. But as the recovery picks up steam, signs are emerging that exercise might have been a passing fad, according to a survey by REL, the working-capital consulting unit of Hackett Group. In the depths of the recession, companies collected debts quickly and strung out payments to creditors, tactics that allowed them to build cash and dodge borrowing. Now, that thrift appears to be reversing. This trend should concern investors because it means companies aren't using their capital as effectively as they could be. In turn, that means companies could be doing better on a host of efficiency metrics--such as return on capital--to which investors should pay attention.

June 3, 2010

CFO.com, "To Cut Working Capital, Try Bonuses,"

Pay incentives for hitting working capital targets proved effective during the recession, although companies are already starting to scale them back, according to REL President Mark Tennant, and the experiences of companies such as Cytec, Allergan, and Heineken.

June 1, 2010

CFO, "Working it Out,"

This cover story package spotlights findings from the 2010 REL/CFO US Working Capital research. While most observers view 2009 as the very heart of the Great Recession, it was also - in terms of working capital - the beginning of the Great Hangover. As 2008 drew to a close and the full extent of the financial crisis became clear, many companies scrambled for cash by pushing down hard on every available working capital lever at their disposal. For them, it was payback time: inventories had to be replenished and overdue bills were finally paid in full. For other companies, those further down the supply chain or with longer cycle times, the full recession didn't hit until late in the year, when unsold inventory swelled, customers lobbied suppliers for longer payment terms or discounts, and those suppliers asked their suppliers for leniency. Either way the result was the same: 2009 was one of the worst years ever for corporate working capital performance. The article also features the working capital improvement initiative of REL client Cytec and their CFO Dave Drillock, along with efforts by Intel, Allergan, Thomson Reuters, and Hughes Communication.

May 27, 2010

L'Agefi (FR), "Global financial crisis had an impact on the Europeans' Working Capital Survey in 2009,"

This article, in the French-language business L'Agefi, details results from the 2010 REL Europe Working capital research, focusing in part on the performance of French companies.

May 26, 2010

FinancialDirector (UK), "Spare Tyre,"

It seems that after a decade of spending, businesses have actually got into the habit of austerity and of saving - but perhaps a little too zealously. The latest study of working capital practices by REL reveals that there is excess capital of €742bn held on the balance sheets of Europe's largest companies by revenue.

May 25, 2010

Business Finance, "Molson Coors CFO Discusses Outsourcing's Pros & Cons,"

Over a period of twelve months, Hackett client Molson Coors outsourced its IT, HR and finance functions - from selection to completion - a feat that transformed and consolidated the brewery's worldwideoperations. At The Hackett Group's 20th Annual Best Practices Conference, Molson Coors CFO Stewart Glendinning spoke to Business Finance Editor in Chief Jack Sweeney about the success and challenges of his company's outsourcing journey.

May 24, 2010

CIOUpdate, "Special Report - What's on the CIO's Mind: Key Issues in 2010,"

This bylined article by Hackett's Honorio Padron and Erik Dorr, discusses how as companies slowly emerge from the recession, they are encountering fundamental changes in the global business environment, and are making it a strategic priority to retool the IT organization to support the business in an environment of high risk and volatility, accelerated globalization and need for innovation. According to Hackett's research, CIOs are reporting that their top priorities are demand and project portfolio management; transformation and optimization of their service delivery model; talent management; and continued cost reduction. CIOs report their chief initiatives in 2010 include infrastructure virtualization, function reorganization, application portfolio consolidation and improving portfolio management capability.

May 24, 2010

ComputerWorld, "The best companies have fewer applications, study says,"

CIOs monitor a lot of metrics, but advisory firm The Hackett Group Inc. says there's one more to watch: the number of enterprise software applications per 1,000 end users. The best-performing companies have an average of 20 applications per 1,000 users, whereas run-of-the-mill companies have an average of 39, according to Hackett's benchmarking database.

May 21, 2010

CFOZone, "Yet another view of outsourcing,"

In his blog posting, Editor Ron Fink discusses insights on outsourcing from Ron Eikelenbloom, CFO of Philips Latin America, as presented at Hackett's 2010 Best Practices Conference.

May 20, 2010

CFOZone, "Molson Coors CFO issues warning about outsourcing,"

In his blog posting, Editor Ron Fink discusses insights on outsourcing from Molson Coors CFO Stewart Glendinning, as presented at Hackett's 2010 Best Practices Conference.

May 17, 2010

Spend Matters Blog, "Diverse Mediocrity? Supplier Diversity Programs Fail to Deliver, Showing Disappointing Homogeneity,"

From Blogger Jason Busch... "Even though I've been won over to supplier diversity as a tool to promote private sector revenue growth and customer intimacy -- don't get me started on the absurdity and wastefulness of supplier diversity in public sector procurement -- it appears as if few organizations are actually making supplier diversity programs deliver on promised returns."

May 14, 2010

Diversity Executive, "Hackett: Most Supplier Diversity Programs Simply Fail To Deliver,"

While world-class procurement organizations continue to outperform their peers in driving supplier diversity spending, a new study by The Hackett Group Inc. identifies several critical ways that most companies fail in their supplier diversity programs. According to Hackett's research, most rely on overly simplistic measures to evaluate the progress of supplier diversity programs, and never truly assess whether programs are meeting corporate objectives. Most companies also fail to consider whether a few large suppliers or many smaller suppliers best supports their corporate goals.

May 6, 2010

Accountancy Age (UK), "Drop the Debt,"

Tax incentives are needed from the new government to keep interest rates down and reduce corporate borrowing and working capital, according to REL Senior Director Brian Shanahan.

May 1, 2010

Inc., "Linking Faster Order Fulfillment to Customer Satisfaction,"

To truly optimize inventory management processes, it's critical for companies to implement fully integrated, automated order management systems that extend from customer-facing to supply-chain processes, according to Rob Weinstock, director of Archstone Consulting, a division of The Hackett Group.

May 1, 2010

Recruitment Matters (UK), "Avoid the Need to Get Heavy-Handed,"

This article on how UK companies can improve collections policies cites REL's research showing that the UK is a "relatively benign payment environment" with typical Days Sales Outstanding (DSO) of 43 days. This compares favorably to the European average of 58 days, the French average of 71 days and Italy's DSO, which is 83 days. Note: Once you click on the link below, the article begins on page 35.

April 27, 2010

Inside Edge, "Late Payers: Who's Really to Blame?,"

Are late-paying customers really delinquents, or just unhappy? Before canceling accounts or calling a collection agency, make sure past-due payments aren't as much your fault as theirs. Some companies purposely pay slowly to conserve cash. But, according to Mark Tennant, a working capital expert with the consulting firm REL, many late payers are simply reacting to mistakes made by vendors that charged the wrong amount, sent an invoice to the wrong address, left key information off an invoice, or, perhaps worst of all, delivered damaged or out-of-spec goods or services. Pricing errors are the most common culprit behind late payments, according to Analisa DeHaro, leader of REL's North American customer-to-cash practice.

April 21, 2010

Big Fat Finance Blog, "Maximize IT Through Portfolio Management,"

The Hackett Group's research suggests that application portfolio management is the key to a number of good things you want from IT, including improved effectiveness, cost reduction, and better partnering with the business. The trick lies in reducing the number of applications in the portfolio. Top-performing IT organizations, according to Hackett, operate with nearly half the applications per thousand end-users of typical companies.

April 12, 2010

Big Fat Finance Blog, "External Factors Become "Brick and Mortar" for New Forecasting Models"

Growing demand for improved forecasting capabilities is leading companies to more closely track the material impact external factors are having on company forecasts, according to a recent Hackett Group study.

April 6, 2010

Purchasing BizConnect, "What gets measure d gets done - but is the reverse true? If not, read on!,"

Initial findings from Hackett's Procurement Value Measurement study are spotlighted in this Guest Blog from Hackett's Pierre Mitchell. The findings show that while virtually all companies measure procurement's ability to reduce hard costs, only half measure measure avoided supplier price increases as cost avoidance. Measurement of other value streams drops off in similarly steep fashion.

April 1, 2010

Human Resource Executive, "FYI: Talent Management,"

A new Hackett Group study of more than 60 companies over a three-year period finds that those organizations with mature talent-management capabilities reap strong bottom-line benefits, including earnings that are 18 percent higher than typical Global 1000 companies with less-developed TM programs.

April 1, 2010

IAOP, "2010 World's Best Outsourcing Advisors,"

The International Association of Outsourcing Professionals ranked Archstone 12th on its list of the Top Outsourcing Advisors. The quality of Archstone's customer references was cited as a key element in the ranking. The list appeared in a special advertising supplement to Fortune Magazine. Download: Fortune Ad Supplement or Download: Just the Rankings.

March 30, 2010

IDG News Service," Office technology: Productivity boost or time sink?"

It's difficult if not impossible for experts to agree on how to quantify the impact of technology on white-collar productivity. But according to The Hackett Group's research, the cost of finance operations and other back office functions has been dropping for more than 15 years, in large part due to the impact of technology.

March 16, 2010

Big Fat Finance Blog, "Even A Recovery Presents Challenges"

It appears that the economy is slowly and painfully inching toward a turnaround. Unemployment is holding steady at 9.7 percent, reports the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and The Bureau of Economic Analysis says that GDP grew at an annualized rate of 5.9 in the fourth quarter of 2009.

It all sounds great. And it is. However, a recovering economy can present its own challenges. Most significantly, if companies don't continue to focus on working capital and cash flow management, they can end up back in trouble. That's one conclusion of some research recently completed by REL, a consulting firm focused on working capital management. REL examined the ins and outs of the cash flow of the 1,000 largest public companies in the U.S. The researchers found that working capital performance, as measured by days of working capital (DWC), improved by about five percent between the second and third quarters of 2009, to 31.7 days. While a move in the right direction, the number remains worse than it was in 2007 and 2008, when it dipped below 30 days.

March 12, 2010

CFO.com, "Good to the Last Drop"

Despite the overall lack of top-line growth during the economic downturn, many companies have stayed afloat by downsizing staff and eking out supply-chain efficiencies. In the face of continuing unemployment and the attendant lag in consumer demand, however, how long can companies maintain respectable margins merely by growing leaner?

Maybe longer than you might think. Opportunities still abound for doing more with less, according to a new study of the 1,000 largest U.S. companies (in terms of sales) by REL, a division of The Hackett Group. Indeed, the study concludes that those companies could wring a total of as much as $709 billion in excess cash flow from their supply chains by adjusting their inventory levels, getting their customers to pay their bills on time, and managing their accounts payable carefully, according to research on working capital for the third quarter of 2009.

March 3, 2010

Spend Matters, "What's the difference between Procurement Value and Procurement Performance?" - Part 1 / Part 2

In this two-part guest post on Jason Busch's Spend Matters Blog, Hackett Research Director Pierre Mitchell discusses how companies can move beyond traditional metrics to more effectively assess and improve both the performance and value of procurement operations, and enhance alignment with internal stakeholders.

March 3, 2010

Silicon.com, "Five things CFOs must do in IT after recession,"

In this article on tips on how CFO's can prepare for growth coming out of the recession includes guidance on IT standardization from Hackett's Tony Chauhan and the value of automation overall from Hackett's Joel Roques.

March 1, 2010

Human Resource Executive, "Six Steps to a More Strategic HR,"

Do companies that achieve effective HR transformation really have a competitive advantage? According to The Hackett Group, an Atlanta-based strategic advisory firm, they do if the effort results in better talent-management capabilities. And for a lot of companies still transforming HR, that's the direction they're headed for.

February 24, 2010

SupplyChainBrain, "Sales & Operations Planning: Lessons Learned to Get Supply Chains Back in Balance in 2010,"

Analyst Insight, from Archstone Principals Dave Sievers and Bob Allen: The recent economic turmoil has pulled into sharp focus the issue of h ow to manage increasingly volatile supply chains. Through late 2008 and 2009, many companies simply panicked and aggressively cut both production and productive assets. These companies are beginning to pay for those aggressive cuts as demand is now starting to increase -- straining diminished capabilities. For 2010, we offer guidance on how companies can get supply chains back in balance and get sales and operations planning right.

February 10, 2010

CIOZone, "Top Five Strategic Priorities for CIOs"

Every year, the Hackett Group, a global strategic advisory firm, polls IT leaders at major companies to identify their strategic priorities. For 2010, these priorities have largely have been framed by the impact of the recent economic crisis. According to Hackett, they clearly show the reality of both ongoing and permanent cutbacks in resources relative to the business demand for IT services. In other words, CIOs are necessarily seeking to do less with more. And they're relying on a new service delivery model to do this, said IT advisory practice leader Honorio Padron.

February 2, 2010

Credit Today, "Hackett's Finance Metric of the Month: Number of Secondary Finance Applications per Billion of Revenue"

At most companies, business units are given leeway to choose the secondary applications that best support their business needs, but this comes at a cost: As use of technology increases, transactional process cost falls, but technology costs rise. According to new research from The Hackett Group, world-class finance organizations rationalize the number of secondary applications they use to support both transactional and planning and reporting processes.

February 2, 2010

Big Fat Finance Blog, "Putting the Focus on Cash"

So cash is king, once again. Not that it ever was dethroned; it's just that, for a while, it shared its perch with other corporate goals, like growth. Not anymore. Credit is tight and sales are down, so companies have to wring all they can from the funds they have on hand. This prompts the question, Just how do you do that? A recent report by REL/Hackett Group, "Cash Culture Study," offers some strategies that companies can use to foster a "cash culture."

January 28, 2010

Supply & Demand Chain Executive, "On-shoring Revisited: Aborted Idea or Still Sound Strategy?"

As the recession wanes, organizations considering jumping back into offshoring must adopt a robust total cost model as they rebalance their manufacturing and sourcing strategies, according to Len Prokopets, principal and Sourcing and Procurement Practice co-leader for Archstone Consulting, a division of The Hackett Group. Mr. Prokopets details his recommendations in this extended bylined article.

January 23, 2010

CFOZone, "Crisis has companies focused on cash"

Companies are managing their cash more effectively than they were before the onset of the financial crisis, a survey released on Wednesday suggests. The survey of 53 companies with an average of $24 billion in revenue found that 94 percent consider cash flow optimization to be important or very important. REL's research details the key steps companies can take to build a cash culture, and how prevalent they are in companies today.