The answer lies within benchmarking data. In a first of many columns, The Hackett Group discusses what it means to be “world class.”

Despite interest in cutting costs and adopting best practices, traditional barriers to outsourcing keep buyers on sidelines.

Former CFO, FAO metrics guru, and FAO provider Chris Gattenio of IBM has been an advisor for more than 1,000 CFOs. This month, she answers the question “What have you done for me lately?”

Q&A with Steve Grossman of Strategic Restaurants, who speaks about being king in the industry.

Everest Group’s Phil Fersht is today’s heavyweight champion of sourcing advice and research to F&A outsourcing buyers and providers. You may have seen his writing in this magazine, speaking at an HRO or FAO event, or on a plane to India. As today’s hardest working man in FAO, his secrets are less well known, like where he got his start, what his big prediction is for F&A, how many days a month he travels, and why Phil’s father got knighted by Queen Elizabeth .

In outsourcing-speak, “governance” means one thing. In the boardroom or Congress, it means quite another. Screwing up one type could mean a civil lawsuit, and goofing up another could mean jail time. If you don’t understand the differences, you had better read this.

Our Annual Guide

The market will gain momentum as providers reach critical mass, and buyers who once shied away from outsourcing jump in with both feet.

The positive spiral of cost and process productivity—a look at how Six Sigma discipline can help transform real-life buyers.

The unparalleled pace of globalization presents opportunities as well as challenges for industrial product companies. Customers are shifting their supply base and, with competitive pressures intensifying, it is only a matter of time before you do the same.