Top Businesses in America-The Forefront Group


April 25th, 2010

The Forefront Group will be recognized on April 27 at the Annual National Business Awards Ceremony and Conference in Washington DC as a Top Business in America by DiversityBusiness.com. This is the second year in a row that this award has been granted to The Forefront Group. The list of recognized companies is derived from the most comprehensive look at the most important segment of the United States economy – America’s privately held companies. This esteemed, elite list is coveted by the most successful companies in the U.S. and has become the most recognized and respected compilation of companies that truly differentiate themselves in the market place in a time when doing so has never been more important.


The Forefront Group Selected as Top 100 Women Owned Businesses in New Jersey


April 25th, 2010

The Forefront Group has been selected as one of the Top 100 Women Owned Businesses in New Jersey.


Vested Outsourcing Introductory 3-Day Course-University of Tennessee 2011 Schedule


April 25th, 2010

3 Day Open Enrollment Class         2011 Schedule:   April 5-7      August 1-3      November 8-10

This class is held at the University of Tennessee’s campus in Knoxville, Tennessee. It is designed as an overview for corporate managers in charge of outsourcing operations and outsourcing professionals at service providers who are trying to move beyond conventional outsourcing approaches. It is ideal for individuals wanting to learn more about how Vested Outsourcing works. Attendees receive complimentary soft copies of Vested Outsourcing tools to help them after they leave class.

Companies serious about exploring a Vested Outsourcing relationship with their business partner can attend with a group. Typically this involves at 2-3 people from both the company outsourcing and the service provider attending the class together. This approach allows for in depth strategic discussions about their relationship and how to improve it by following the Vested Outsourcing methodology. Companies choosing to attend as a group will be dedicated a private breakout room for all of the interactive learning sessions where they can freely discuss their contract.

Register now at the program web site, http://VO.utk.edu, where you may also download a free eBook excerpt of the new book, Vested Outsourcing: Five Rules That Will Transform Outsourcing.

Brad Mitchell – President of Distribution and Logistics, UPS
“Companies will take a vested interest in Vested Outsourcing”. He lists it as one of the top five supply chain trends for 2010.
Tim McBride – Chief Procurement Officer, Microsoft
“As the Chief Procurement Officer at Microsoft it is my job to help us adopt next generation outsourcing models and Vested Outsourcing is definitely one of the tools we have in our toolkit that we are exploring”.
Todd Shire – Global Logistics Sourcing Strategy Manager, Intel
“I predict the buzzword for the next decade will be “incentives”. Only when our incentives are aligned will we succeed with collaboration. Vested Outsourcing nails how to get collaboration right”
Clifford F. Lynch – DC Velocity Magazine
“In the outsourcing world, a genuinely new concept comes along only once every 10 years or so. I have a feeling Vested Outsourcing is one of them.”
Adrian Gonzalez – ARC Advisory Group
“I view Vested Outsourcing as a cutting edge approach to structuring and managing service provider-client relationships.”
Frank Casale – CEO, Outsourcing Institute
“Vested Outsourcing is a game-changing approach that will quickly become the new gold standard for advanced outsourcing relationships. It is a critical enabler for Outsourcing 2.0.”


Vested Outsourcing Executive Briefings a Success


February 28th, 2010

The Forefront Group along with Capto Consulting held two Vested Outsourcing Executive Briefings, February 24 in Philadelphia and February 25 in New York City. Kate Vitasek, author of “Vested Outsourcing, Five Rules that Will Transform Outsourcing”, was the keynote speaker. The feedback from the maximum capacity filled sessions was extraordinay. There has been a request for additional sessions to be scheduled. Planning is underway to offer more briefings for Senior Executives and Key Decision Makers again in Philadelphia and New York City along with other key locations.

What is a Vested Outsourcing Relationship? It is an outsourcing relationship where both parties have a stake in maintaining the arrangement and where both parties work together to create a performance partnership which takes both the company outsourcing and the service provider to new levels of cost, service and profitability not realized by traditional outsourcing models. While no two Vested Outsourcing partnerships are alike, all good ones achieve a performance partnership based on optimizing for innovation and improved service, reduced cost to the company outsourcing, and improved profits to the outsource provider.

The Vested Outsourcing process is a compilation of best outsourcing practices supported by a structured protocol and tools driven by the Five Rules of Vested Outsourcing.
Companies using this process have save millions of dollars and have improved their operational response and market position.


The Forefront Group Launches New Website


January 24th, 2010

As we move into our eighth year of business, we have so much more to talk about and such high quality value generating services to offer.   From our certification to support leading edge Vested Outsourcing projects to our accelerated Operational Excellence assessment program, we continue to raise the bar on assisting our clients with procurement transformation and movement to current best practices with a no-nonsense approach.  

We have expanded our Knowledge Development options with on-line courses, Vested Outsourcing training options, cross functional team development and management training and introduced a series of webinar topics; and we have forged a partnership with Scotwork, Inc., the premier provider of Negotiations training. We have also aligned with key thought leading companies to provide a broader geographic coverage and deeper level of supply chain management support.

Features of our site include a sample on-line course, an area where clients can ask questions via a Blog format, a continuous news and articles update, the ability to sign up for Forefront News and a fresh new look!

We hope you will find our website useful and informative.


The Forefront Group and Vested Outsourcing Team Up!


December 30th, 2009

The Forefront Group is proud to be part of the Vested Outsourcing team as a Vested Outsourcing Advisory Board Member.  We are a certified project support and training provider. 

What is a Vested Outsourcing Relationship? It is an outsourcing relationship where both parties have a stake in maintaining the arrangement and where both parties work together to create a performance partnership which takes both the company outsourcing and the service provider to new levels of cost, service and profitability not realized by traditional outsourcing models. While no two Vested Outsourcing partnerships are alike, all good ones achieve a performance partnership based on optimizing for innovation and improved service, reduced cost to the company outsourcing, and improved profits to the outsource provider.

Industry thought leaders are praising Vested Outsourcing, saying the following:

Vested Outsourcing is a game-changing approach that will quickly become the new gold standard for advanced outsourcing relationships. It is a critical enabler for Outsourcing 2.0.” Frank Casale – CEO, Outsourcing Institute

“I view Vested Outsourcing as a cutting-edge approach to structuring and managing service provider-client relationships.” Adrian Gonzalez – ARC Advisory Group

“In the outsourcing world, a genuinely new concept comes along only once every 10 years or so. I have a feeling Vested Outsourcing is one of them.”  Clifford F. Lynch – DC Velocity Magazine  

“These fresh ideas about outsourcing could change the way in which logistics services are purchased and managed in the future.” Ken Ackerman – Warehousing Forum

View the Vested Outsourcing Services page on The Forefront Group’s website to learn more about how we are augmenting strategic sourcing strategy efforts with vested outsourcing principles and methodologies.


5 Trends in Strategic Procurement


December 30th, 2009

At the Forefront Group, we have observed 5 trends that organizations are integrating into their procurement practices.  These trends are driving companies to be better positioned to weather the challenging business landscape in which we currently find ourselves, allowing supply management teams to deliver both immediate cost reductions and build longer term sustainable strategic advantages.

Category-Led Supply Management

Most recently, a key change for Strategic Sourcing activities is the concept of Category-led supply management (CLSM).  This trend incorporates all stake holders, participating cross-functionally, in developing sourcing strategies that focus on corporate objectives, moving beyond simple cost containment.   CLSM requires to the cross-functional team to approach a category with a comprehensive process that supports a strong partnership with suppliers, from product design and requirements building to sourcing and negotiations, to ongoing supplier performance management. 

Expanded Scope of Managed Spend to Include Services

With the increased focus on more strategically managing Indirect spend and suppliers, a focus on impacting Services spend has emerged.  Managing services spend brings unique challenges that do not exist with Product-based suppliers, including (a) a reduced ability to forecast and control spend, (b) a fragmented internal user base which splinters ordering and price negotiations with single suppliers, and (c) a decreased visibility to historical spend (most likely because this spend was not captured when spend management systems and processes were implemented).  This also requires a different set of activities and processes than managing Product-based supply, specifically, an ability to influence across functions and the ability to deploy creative supply arrangements based on flexibility and decentralized business requirements.

Skill-set Balancing

Organizations are looking to do more with less people, and are asking that these people do more, faster.   Training and developing resources is one of the top areas of focus for most CPOs.  The focus of this training should include more than just how to build a supply strategy or negotiate with suppliers; rather, training and performance measurement should foster characteristics such as (a) Ability to influence across functions, (b) Positions Supplier Relationships that support mutual business value, including intangible rewards, and (c) Demonstrates creativity in problem solving versus identifying roadblocks.

Sustainability & “Green” Sourcing

Companies are held accountable for the actions of their suppliers;  there is no excuse for irresponsible behavior within your supply chain, be it pollution, labor mistreatment, or sub-par quality testing.  This has created a strong focus by Procurement organizations to not only measure their suppliers more broadly, but also to identify and develop smaller suppliers who can partner with them in developing “green”, sustainable products.  This approach, more than any other change in Procurement’s role, requires an integration of the suppliers into corporate objectives and operations.  Procurement organizations must educate themselves on the opportunities for “green” products and technologies relevant to their industry and customer base, and be able to identify and develop innovative suppliers to help them meet their corporate sustainability goals.  Building an expertise in this area will be critical to Procurement organizations being able to maintain their leading role in executing corporate strategy. 

Business Process Outsourcing

While tactical activities have been outsourced for quite some time, companies have begun to evaluate options to outsource the management of core category spend.  This is especially true for categories that are strategic and large in size, but not necessarily drive by unique, proprietary specifications.  Several service providers have emerged to consolidate the management of these categories (both direct or indirect).  This trend is driven by the reduction in procurement resource budgets, as well as the desire to leverage the expertise of the outsourcing provider, who bundles the spend (and associated contracted terms) of its clients.  While outsourcing the supply management of Indirect categories, which are not necessarily integral to a company’s market positioning and growth, has been common in the past, the decision to outsource the management of Direct products and services should be made with more caution.  Relationships  should be driven by metrics such as Vested Outsourcing principles.