Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

Forward Thinking

Outsourcing for mutual success

The Vested Outsourcing Manual: A Guide for Creating Successful Business and Outsourcing Agreements outlines a methodology for creating an outsourcing agreement in which both parties are mutually invested in a successful outcome.

The new book The Vested Outsourcing Manual: A Guide for Creating Successful Business and Outsourcing Agreements outlines a methodology for creating an outsourcing agreement in which both parties are mutually invested in a successful outcome.

Kate Vitasek, a faculty member at the University of Tennessee's Center for Executive Education, wrote the book together with co-authors Jeanette Nyden, Jacqueline Crawford, and Katherine Kawamoto. The Vested Outsourcing Manual draws on research conducted by the University of Tennessee with the United States Air Force on supply chain outsourcing and acts as a companion piece to Vitasek's earlier work, Vested Outsourcing: Five Rules That Will Transform Outsourcing.


The methodology described in the book provides a template that parties in an outsourcing arrangement can use to help them create and achieve a shared vision based on true collaboration and mutual gain. It also explains ways companies can share their evolving expertise, manage change, and encourage each other to innovate while managing risk.

Published by Palgrave Macmillan, the hardcover edition of The Vested Outsourcing Manual: A Guide for Creating Successful Business and Outsourcing Agreements sells for US $85.00. For more information or to order, go to https://us.macmillan.com/thevestedoutsourcingmanual or www.vestedoutsourcing.com/books/.

Recent

More Stories

AI image of a dinosaur in teacup

Amazon to release new generation of AI models in 2025

Logistics and e-commerce giant Amazon says it will release a new collection of AI tools in 2025 that could “simplify the lives of shoppers, sellers, advertisers, enterprises, and everyone in between.”

The launch is based on “Amazon Nova,” the company’s new generation of foundation models, the company said in a blog post. Data scientists use foundation models (FMs) to develop machine learning (ML) platforms more quickly than starting from scratch, allowing them to create artificial intelligence applications capable of performing a wide variety of general tasks, since they were trained on a broad spectrum of generalized data, Amazon says.

Keep ReadingShow less

Featured

Logistics economy continues on solid footing
Logistics Managers' Index

Logistics economy continues on solid footing

Economic activity in the logistics industry expanded in November, continuing a steady growth pattern that began earlier this year and signaling a return to seasonality after several years of fluctuating conditions, according to the latest Logistics Managers’ Index report (LMI), released today.

The November LMI registered 58.4, down slightly from October’s reading of 58.9, which was the highest level in two years. The LMI is a monthly gauge of business conditions across warehousing and logistics markets; a reading above 50 indicates growth and a reading below 50 indicates contraction.

Keep ReadingShow less
chart of top business concerns from descartes

Descartes: businesses say top concern is tariff hikes

Business leaders at companies of every size say that rising tariffs and trade barriers are the most significant global trade challenge facing logistics and supply chain leaders today, according to a survey from supply chain software provider Descartes.

Specifically, 48% of respondents identified rising tariffs and trade barriers as their top concern, followed by supply chain disruptions at 45% and geopolitical instability at 41%. Moreover, tariffs and trade barriers ranked as the priority issue regardless of company size, as respondents at companies with less than 250 employees, 251-500, 501-1,000, 1,001-50,000 and 50,000+ employees all cited it as the most significant issue they are currently facing.

Keep ReadingShow less
diagram of blue yonder software platforms

Blue Yonder users see supply chains rocked by hack

Grocers and retailers are struggling to get their systems back online just before the winter holiday peak, following a software hack that hit the supply chain software provider Blue Yonder this week.

The ransomware attack is snarling inventory distribution patterns because of its impact on systems such as the employee scheduling system for coffee stalwart Starbucks, according to a published report. Scottsdale, Arizona-based Blue Yonder provides a wide range of supply chain software, including warehouse management system (WMS), transportation management system (TMS), order management and commerce, network and control tower, returns management, and others.

Keep ReadingShow less
drawing of person using AI

Amazon invests another $4 billion in AI-maker Anthropic

Amazon has deepened its collaboration with the artificial intelligence (AI) developer Anthropic, investing another $4 billion in the San Francisco-based firm and agreeing to establish Amazon Web Services (AWS) as its primary training partner and to collaborate on developing its specialized machine learning (ML) chip called AWS Trainium.

The new funding brings Amazon's total investment in Anthropic to $8 billion, while maintaining the e-commerce giant’s position as a minority investor, according to Anthropic. The partnership was launched in 2023, when Amazon invested its first $4 billion round in the firm.

Keep ReadingShow less