Blogs, White Papers and Publications

Lean Outsourcing

There is a  nice article on the lean outsourcing experience of Wipro, a large Indian outsourcing company. The company worked with Bradley R. Staats, Assistant Professor of Operations, Technology, and Innovation Management Kenan-Flagler Business School, University of North Carolina to understand and apply the fundamental principles of Toyota Production System to its software outsourcing projects.

Summary of the analysis:

  • A Lean solution provides greater value because they can get the work completed more efficiently and with higher quality
  • It provides more flexibility to the outsourcing vendor to craft a better solution
  • It focuses the vendor’s attention on the value the customer seeks because the supplier works backwards from the end state
  • It removes the focus on just technology, quite often the bane of technology solution developers
  • The Toyota Production System (TPS) methodology advocates tools that can identify problems as early as possible, thereby allowing managers identify and fix mistakes immediately and as early as possible. This procedure works because early detection means the people who are tasked to fix the issue have the relevant knowledge to actually fix it and it teaches them what to do so they won’t do it again.
  • Using a visual control board tracks progress, creates the opportunity for positive interventions, maps the productivity of the team, and builds team spirit.

http://www.outsourcing-center.com/2010-02-how-wipro-translated-toyotas-l...

Highly recommended for those who are trying to innovate on the cut-and-dry world of outsourcing.

 

MOBILE TELEPHONY AND MOBILE BANKING

PDFAdoption, Issues, and Potential Economic Impacts for Nepal

Our white paper on the potential of Mobile Banking in Nepal and the related adoption challenges. The number of mobile subscribers in Nepal is increasing rapidly.  This means mobile technology can serve as an important tool to bring access to financial services.  In Nepal, where the currently banked population is estimated to be about 20% of the general population, the transformative nature of mobile banking is expected to revolutionize the financial sector.  It is practically not feasible for banks to provide access to financial services to the people at the less affluent “bottom of the pyramid” citizens via the traditional bricks and mortars type branches. Providing these services entail high fixed and operating costs to maintain the branches.  Consequently, these people have largely been excluded from access to sustainable financial services.  Bringing financial services to the people under the poverty line or in rural areas represents an attractive business opportunity.  Just as important is the opportunity for social impact:  access to capital is vital to facilitate entrepreneurial activities. In turn, this creates wealth through job creation and trade. However getting the mobile banking adoption in a country like Nepal where a vast majority of the population are hesitant on any kind of technology intermediary when it comes to financial services is not without daunting challenges.