Compaq Global Services has cut 20% off its solution report and proposal delivery times since outsourcing its combined project management office and strategic bid centre functions to software quality assurance company iLAB Project Services.
"By combining Compaq Global Services` internal processes with those of iLAB Project Services, we have put together an overall information delivery and quality assurance process which has speeded up report production times and greatly enhanced the quality output of proposals and market-facing material," says Jan Booyzen, director, Compaq Global Services SA.
The combination of the project management office (PMO) and the strategic bid centre is a first in Compaq`s worldwide operations. Special permission was needed from the company headquarters for the South African division to take this step.
"Our operating processes have also been made far more collaborative and all market-facing personnel are aware of initiatives at all levels of the organisation, allowing for cross-enterprise co-operation on a scale we did not have before," says Booyzen.
Compaq Global Services provides IT infrastructure, systems integration, managed services, performance and availability services, and financial services to its clients. It operates independently of Compaq`s hardware provision unit.
"Previously, Compaq Global Services had two different offices controlling its customer-facing operations," says Kira Lloyd, project manager at iLAB Project Services. "The PMO was responsible for the quality assurance of the sales and project review and approval policy, while the strategic bid centre was responsible for drawing up responses to customer and potential client requests for solutions," she says.
Compaq Global Services came across iLAB Project Services while doing research on project management specialists, and asked the quality assurance company to do a presentation on its service offerings last year.
"After evaluating all the options, we decided that iLAB Project Services was a perfect match for our organisation in terms of common strategy and vision," says Booyzen. `We saw the company shared Compaq Global Services` commitment to innovative and progressive solutions, and decided that the best synergies could be obtained by combining the two previously separate functions and outsourcing them."
"iLAB Project Services` methodology has supplemented Compaq Global Services` already established quality assurance practice by streamlining processes, facilitating the production of solutions, establishing control points and addressing quality assurance issues," says Steven Lauter, general manager at iLAB Project Services.
"We also created a central information repository, in which generic data, common to all projects, is kept. This plays a major role in shortening report production time, allowing Compaq Global Services personnel to spend more of their time working on a proposed solution rather than having to search for company information as background detail," says Lloyd.
This knowledge management functionality is then re-integrated with the quality assurance process, and lies at the core of the time-savings, clarifies Lauter. This in turn is directly linked to the sales process lifecycle, enabling the company to get to market quicker than competitors with a markedly better service offering.
The benefits to Compaq Global Services of outsourcing the entire process to iLAB Project Services are significant in personnel terms as well, says Booyzen. "We no longer need massive training exercises, and iLAB Project Services has brought skills and expertise into our company. In addition, we have access to additional people as we need them, and have cut out the long and costly recruitment cycle for specific projects."
Officially launched in January, the project is scheduled to last six months, with iLAB Project Services mandated to establish, run and train staff for that period.
"Once the six months is up, depending upon the nature of the larger Compaq-HP merger, the possibility exists of an extended contract and further close involvement between Compaq Global Services and iLAB Project Services," concludes Booyzen.
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