Is Outsourcing a Silver Bullet?
Outsourcing works best when expectations can be clearly identified—another battle many in-plant managers have been facing for years. The old three-legged stool analogy (service, quality or price: pick any two) applies to outsourcing vendors as well. Maintaining service and quality levels requires resources that the vendor may not want to commit.
Ray Chambers, CGCM, MBA, has invested over 30 years managing and directing printing plants, copy centers, mail centers and award-winning document management facilities in higher education and government.
Most recently, Chambers served as vice president and chief information officer at Juniata College. Chambers is currently a doctoral candidate studying Higher Education Administration at the Pennsylvania State University (PSU). His research interests include outsourcing in higher education and its impact on support services in higher education and managing support services. He also consults (Chambers Management Group) with leaders in both the public and private sectors to help them understand and improve in-plant printing and document services operations.
