Qcom Outsourcing has just been awarded renewed accreditation from ‘safecontractor’ in recognition of a continuous commitment to excellence in health and safety.  safecontractor is a leading third partyaccreditation scheme which recognises very high standards in health and safety management and Qcom’s application for renewed accreditation was driven in part by a forward looking desire  to build on high and uniform standards across a varied outsourcing work base.

A vigorous vetting process looked not only at the business’ health and safety procedures but also its ongoing track record for safe practice. Commenting on Qcom’s success John Kinge, technical director of safecontractor said:

“Organisations simply cannot afford to run the risk of employing contractors who are not able to prove that they have sound health and safety policies in place.

“More companies need to understand the importance of adopting good risk management in the way that Qcom has done.  The firm’s high standard has set an example which hopefully will be followed by other companies within the sector.”

At Qcom we are always interested in both new technologies and recent innovation, especially if it can lead to business change and subsequent growth. It was therefore pleasing to attend the UKITA (UK IT Association – a trade body for the IT services industry) www.ukita.co.uk AGM and Expo and hear the chair Helen Brewster encouraged us to ignore the media led negativity of double dip recessions and instead talk about success stories and “be positive about growth and technology”. Click here to watch the webcast

One such success story is the NTAILS project in the IT Futures department, University of Wolverhampton. NTAILS stands for ‘New Technologies for Automatic Identification, Location and Sensing’ and is focused on supporting West Midlands based companies innovate through the use of RFID, whilst also researching into the latest technology. With a full demo suite, showing a retail set-up, a library, a warehouse, food chain traceability and a pharmacy; a number of the vertical applications for the technology are in evidence.

For a long time, we have of course, been in the trough of disillusionment with RFID
(after Gartner) but perhaps at least in a quiet way the full power and benefits of the technology are about to be unleashed. The RIFD journal is once again reporting stellar growth for the sector. At Qcom we are ready to support the technology and indeed have seen a recent upturn in projects featuring RFID enabled printers. Do you think RFID is resurging ? Tell us what you think on at twitter.com/theoutsourcer #RFID

The IT Futures department also features a number of other innovation zones, including touch screens and 3D printing, so if you get the chance I would readily advocate taking the time out to see what’s happening at the forefront of technology.

In the meantime, taking the innovation theme to heart, we will be rolling out a number of new services
in the coming weeks, as we strive to work with our partners to be different and so help their clients prosper - delivering growth for us all in a positive way.

Keep up to date with changes in the industry by following UKITA and RFID Journal on Twitter.

Neil Anderson
MD, Qcom

I am really delighted to announce that Zebra has appointed Qcom as the service provider for the ZebraCare Services Programme in the UK and Ireland. Zebra is in the process of launching this new Services Programme which will transform the services landscape for end user customers of Zebra printers.

Zebra’s strategy is to build a service platform across EMEA. This platform is designed to deliver technical services that include phone and email support, warranty and non warranty repair services, on-site maintenance services under contract and on-site professional services. To build the platform, Zebra is partnering with the best European service companies. I’m proud to say that Zebra has counted Qcom among these highly ranked businesses.

This development builds on a truly long-standing business partnership between Qcom and Zebra and provides an excellent model of our collaborative engagement process with clients – a model that drives mutual development and success.

Already Zebra and Qcom have invested in infrastructure that includes:-

• The largest inventory of Zebra spare parts in the UK
• Stock of Zebra printers available for loan and replacement services
• Technical Helpdesk for VARs and end users to access support services and access Qcom’s fast and reliable on site services
• Training in the full Zebra product line for all Qcom’s engineers

Here’s what Paul Vogt Zebra’s Services Director for EMEA had to say:

”Zebra Europe is delighted to engage with Qcom as a ZISP (Zebra Independent Service Provider) principally for the UK and Ireland. In the ZISP programme, we sub-contract a range of services to key partners located across our region capable of delivering the highest levels of quality.

“Central to Zebra’s selection criteria is the Qcom team of dedicated and knowledgeable people who are always out to delight the customer, no matter what it takes in personal sacrifice and effort.”

Neil Anderson
MD, Qcom

We are pleased to confirm our appointment as the UK and Ireland’s Certified Service Centre (CSC) for Datamax-O’Neil. This new appointment cements a long standing relationship as a repairer for Datamax-O’Neil, and our fully trained team of engineers can now accept RMA’s on Datamax-O’Neil product as well as warranty and non-warranty repairs on the company’s complete range of printers.

I was delighted to receive this quote from Ged Cairns, Datamax-O’Neil’s territory account manager (UK, Ireland and BENELUX):

“We are currently implementing a global strategy to introduce local authorised repair facilities to provide a faster response to our warranty repair services. After personal research into the UK and Ireland market and evaluating the needs of our partner community, Qcom became our preferred option due to the current activities it performs …

….but more importantly, Neil and his team gave me the confidence that this was a contract they could deliver above and beyond our expectations. The transition has been very positive and we are delighted with our choice of Qcom as our CSC partner in the UK and Ireland.”

Neil Anderson
MD, Qcom

PS: Whilst the CSC programme rolls out we are happy to accept interim repairs from other countries across Europe and assist with the supply of spare parts. Please call our helpdesk on +44 (0)1905 827600.

Once again a major public-private outsourcing contract has hit the skids with the well documented troubles at G4S and the Olympics.

Why does this seem to happen and tarnish the reputation of the outsourcing industry, when we know that outsourcing not only works but delivers powerful business benefits to its exponents?

Well, it’s probably a matter of lack of communication and poor relationship management. How could Locog or the Government not know until 10 days before the event that things were not going to plan? They could and should have been closer to the outsourcer, monitoring and assessing performance, and likewise the outsourcer could and should have been giving honest and open feedback on the relevant KPIs and SLAs.

Outsourcing Works

This close relationship is something both Qcom and other members of the NOA (National Outsourcing Association) recommend for successful outsourcing, and at Qcom we have been recently developing our relationship management plans in line with the new BS11000 standard, developed with the NOA to ensure our partnerships work smoothly and deliver the desired outcomes.

As an industry we are working to ensure the country not only understands the scale and success of the outsourcing industry but the industry is also advocating how to manage relationships well to maximise the returns from the process.

So outsourcing works

Neil Anderson
MD, Qcom