You Have to Give to Get

I have been reaching out to many companies trying to introduce Corbus and our service offerings as an individual responsible for business development. The classic – open the door, tell the story and ask for the next meeting.

This can be a very frustrating endeavor; many phone calls and emails go unreturned and you begin to wonder at what point are you a professional and at what point do you become a pest that nobody wants to talk to?

I recently took a job opening that we have here at Corbus and forwarded it to many friends as well as individuals that I had been trying to reach over the course of the last several months in my business development efforts. I was surprised to get several responses from my efforts from individuals that I had been trying to reach for some period of time.

I had three responses:

• One response invited me to have coffee the next morning – it led to the signing of a NDA and some details about Corbus’ offerings had been shared.
• Another response confirmed that I should be pursuing a specific individual whom I thought was correct, but was uncertain.
• Finally I heard back from an individual that wanted some detailed information about several specific service offerings and where I thought Corbus might be able to help the organization.

As I reflect on the recent string of events, I will move forward trying to help others while helping myself open doors to share the Corbus story.

-Don Cornett, Director, Sales

Unleashing the Power of Effective Communication

“Communication is the real work of leadership.”

– Nitin Nohria

On your first day of kindergarten, you were taught the basics on how to succeed in school: share, play fair, be respectful, tell the truth, listen and communicate.  While at the time, you might not have given much thought to these attributes, it doesn’t take long to realize how relevant they are today – particularly in business.

In this ever-changing global market, businesses must consistently seek out ways to develop, grow and adapt. Leaders are faced with positioning their companies and leveraging their products and services in the marketplace effectively increasing profits and decreasing costs.  And, they must be client-driven to succeed. How is that accomplished? It begins with one of the fundamental lessons taught in kindergarten: communication.

In addition to offering unique and innovative products and services, successful companies communicate a clear global vision and consistent message that is articulated to employees, clients, customers and potential customers.  An effective communications management strategy ultimately helps to build relationships and trust with customers, and if executed successfully, the plan furthers corporate goals by:

• Enhancing expansion efforts – Competition is global, and to be a major player, businesses have to think globally. In order for global expansion to occur, businesses must consider cultural, language and other differences and communicate accordingly.
• Building relationships –To build a solid foundation with clients, businesses must establish relationships founded on two-way communication and transparency. Building and managing these relationships fosters trust and reliability, and ultimately, more business. Good customer service falls into this category as well.
• Increasing efficiency and profits – Plain and simple, companies are in business to make money, or else they wouldn’t be in business. Effective global expansion, good relationship management and responsiveness to consumer needs are all contributors to success and profit.
• Managing escalations and breaking down barriers – When it comes to issue management and crisis situations, swift action and follow up communication is essential in dealing with problems head-on. Ultimately, relationships and business can weather storms as long as communication is responsive, appropriate and immediate.
• Reaching the target audience – All of the marketing and advertising in the world will not contribute to a company’s bottom line if the right communications strategy is not in place for the audience at hand. Whether through networking, traditional advertising or social media, the medium is the message, as Marshall McLuhan proclaimed decades ago. The key is identifying the correct medium to deliver that message.

Clearly, understanding your audience and customers, knowing how to reach them, and implementing a well-constructed plan are critical aspects of communications management. With the explosion of digital marketing, social media and use of mobile devices, communication is evolving and changing rapidly. Simply put, businesses today cannot thrive without incorporating digital media into their marketing communications plans. Consumers want information on-demand, anywhere and everywhere that they are.

And, let’s not forget the impact of mobile devices. It’s hard to believe, but the iPhone was non-existent just six years ago. Today, it seems almost every adult (and child) has a smartphone. In fact, the term “nomophobia” was coined – the fear of being without one’s mobile phone.

Mobile content and access was the largest industry sector in 2011 with revenues of $39.17 billion, up 27.8%. Of that $39.17 billion, the business segment accounted for 58% of the total and the consumer segment accounted for 42%.*

Keeping pace with technology is essential, yet it can be daunting as well. Corbus offers a comprehensive strategy for digital marketing efforts focused on managing multi-channel strategies, cost savings and the need for flexibility. This is accomplished through project/program management, governance, standards and processes, metrics and measurements, and tools and technologies. Corbus employs the latest technologies on websites for Search Engine Optimization analysis, Google Analytics, website architecture and more.

Communication is a broad term that has a multitude of applications in business today. In fact, many problems that occur in business (and life) today could be avoided if the right communications strategy had been in place. If only we had realized the importance of communicating effectively when we were in kindergarten!

-Sherrie Thomas, Client Operations Lead, P&G Global Account Team

*http://www.marketingprofs.com/charts/2012/7188/mobile-ad-and-marketing-now-the-fastest-growing-media-sector

Web Platform Agreement Between Corbus, LLC and Netbiscuits

October 17, 2012 – Corbus, LLC, a global supply chain and technology solutions provider, has entered into a web platform agreement with Netbiscuits, the global leader in software solutions for adaptive mobile web experiences.  Corbus is now a Netbiscuits Certified Solution Partner that will market the Netbiscuits platform to current and future Corbus digital platform clients. Corbus will be responsible for optimizing websites with mobile functionality via the Netbiscuits platform along with providing client support and professional services.  The combination of Corbus’ technical skills with the Netbiscuits best in class platform gives customers access to the most advanced mobile solutions on the market.  Both companies’ commitment to international customers and trends resolves that all mobile devices and solutions will continue to be globally accepted in the mobile environment.

“’We are pleased to have Corbus as a Netbiscuits Certified Solution partner, joining our comprehensive ecosystem of leading web solution vendors who are building alongside and off of the Netbiscuits Cloud platform,” Craig Besnoy, Netbiscuits President and Managing Director for the Americas. “Corbus is an ideal partner because they believe in the Netbiscuits platform’s ability to deliver performance and efficiency. Time and again, Corbus has demonstrated their expertise at combining their platform, design and implementation expertise at scale for global brands.”

“Netbiscuits is a company that aligns with our goals,” commented David P. Spencer, Corbus  President and COO.  “Our clients demand reliable, interactive and trendsetting mobile websites.  With the Netbiscuits platform, our teams can build the mobile solutions that our clients expect. 

This strategic relationship along with our common goals guarantees our clients will have the most nimble and fluid mobile platform available.  We partner with the best companies to deliver the best service.”

On October 4^th, Corbus served as the presenting sponsor of Netbiscuits World, a yearly event that brings together mobile leaders and decision makers to discuss, present and network around the power of the mobile web.  During the event, Corbus VP of Digital Solutions, Don Crawford, gave a presentation highlighting how Corbus builds and delivers mobile web templates using the Netbiscuits platform.

Corbus, LLC currently offers best in class mobility and web application development services to global clients.  The Netbiscuits global presence complements Corbus’ diverse clientele.  Together, Corbus and Netbiscuits have created industry leading mobility offerings and look forward to working with companies seeking to move into the mobile age.

Underutilized Purchasing Skills

Being a Strategic Sourcing Buyer is a wonderful job in many different aspects. First of all, you are the party who has the money and as a general rule, the one who has the money has the power as well. As opposed to being a seller who is chasing the customer, you are the one being chased. In a world which is full of challenges and competition, what further can a professional expect!

On the other hand, one should never underestimate the power of negotiation skills which is mandatory to be successful in this particular profession. The satisfaction that comes with decreasing costs and selecting the supplier which brings most value through your own action gives many buyers satisfaction in a high-pressure position. At the end of the day, the bottom line in this job is “spend budget and realized savings.”

An efficient purchasing department brings value to its organization. First of all, they are the control mechanisms over budget. Often, there is a request for the wrong material/service and maybe even for the wrong quantity. By analyzing the past spend, the purchasing department guarantees that the budget is well spent for the right commodity/service at the right time and right quantity. Secondly, a good purchasing department gets the best value for the purchases made. That does not necessarily mean the lowest cost but the best value including quality, delivery, quantity, etc. Furthermore, a good purchasing department is also the face of the company and represents the organization. In a way, if purchasing does a good job it increases its the reputation within the industry. Finally, a good purchasing department also means the improvement of the paperwork flow and reduction of confusion within the other departments.

But what if you do not even have a chance to demonstrate your capabilities because your own internal customer such as IT, finance, sales or marketing close the deals with the vendors, sign the contracts without purchasing getting involved till the minute a PO needs to be created?

There are many reasons why this is impractical, but first and foremost, a purchasing professional is an experienced negotiator. He negotiates frequently, maybe even daily. Negotiation constitutes a big portion in a purchasing professional’s job description. Under these conditions, by deliberately keeping the purchasing department out of the negotiation process, the internal customer is failing to utilize a good resource that can benefit the organization in financial aspects.

Most salespeople are very good at spotting the right questions that seem harmless to your internal customer, but actually get the information that they need to get the customer’s buying plans and maximize margins.

Furthermore, sales professionals are trained at manipulating even the most experienced professionals who feel uncomfortable negotiating because they don’t do it every day. By having a skilled purchasing professional present, the organization can better identify these tactics and prevent the supplier from getting that sense of certainty that results in high margins on their ends.

As a matter of fact, many companies recognize the consequences of not involving purchasing early enough and not making it compulsory for the purchasing department to be present during the negotiation process with the supplier. Keeping that in mind, if it is not common policy in a company to involve purchasing early enough, it may be the purchasing department’s responsibility to help understand their internal customers that suppliers’ flexibility with their pricing; this is highly dependent on their perceived certainty of getting the deal closed. At the end of the day, if a supplier “closes the deal” with an internal customer and the purchasing department is involved only at the end, chances are that the supplier will be certain of getting the deal anyway and will be quite reluctant to bow to any pricing pressure that the purchasing department tries to apply.

-Sibel Kacmaz, Strategic Sourcing Lead

Time Flies: An Update from Brazil

Yes, the Corbus Brazil office in São Paulo city has completed six months of very hard work. We plan to significantly expand our resources in the next 12 months.

Despite challenges of any other new office, at Corbus São Paulo we have been able to overcome all normal startup difficulties with the assistance of Corbus global staff members. So, thanks to everyone who has been part of this journey. The most important fact is that we are growing according to our customers’ necessities.

For one of our main customer, we have already sourced 10 projects. As part of the learning curve with this client, we are mapping and agreeing to local procedures and reviewing work-flows to meet the local needs. The rule of engagement is to be as simple as possible in order to keep everything in the same format Corbus and the client have agreed to across the other regions, but respecting the local reality. The next step is to expand Corbus services to other areas. There are many discussions in place around providing additional services across a number of spend pools.

The office is also busy working with Corbus global teams to source temporary labor and travel spend for another global client.   Our team is charged with providing support across Latin America for this important project.

As part of Corbus’ expansion in Latin America, the team in São Paulo is looking at a number of opportunities across companies that will allow us to work with both local and global companies assisting in cost reduction and the implementation of best practices.

Our location in São Paulo offers us the opportunity to meet many of our clients face to face since they are also located in this large business complex.

In November, we are going to participate in the upcoming Congresso Internacional de Compras held by Conselho Brasileiro dos Executivos de Compras, a local council which is a member of the International Federation of Purchasing and Supply Management. This local council is focused on promoting networking and leverages the best business practices.

In December, Corbus will participate in the CIO LATAM meeting in São Paulo.

These are exciting opportunity to improve the visibility of Corbus in Latin America and develop new network channels to penetrate the local market.

In parallel, Brazil’s economic outlook shows signs that again we are going to surpass the current international crisis slowdown in good shape. Even behind schedule it seems that the Brazilian government has taken the right moves to ensure the continuous Brazilian market growth. Recently, announcements have been made towards that direction like: energy tax cuts, interest rates reduction and more recently a fiscal package of incentives to accelerating growth in an adverse global scenario.

These actions together with the upcoming World Cup and the Rio Olympics open a very positive environment for 2013 and beyond and create conditions for a strong growth path. Our mission is to enchant our customers and increase Corbus’ presence by meeting our customer’s needs in the region.

-Corbus Brazil Team

What About Windows 8?

Microsoft recently released yet another operating system called “Windows 8” (official launch set for October).  Many are asking what Windows 8 offers for the user and how difficult it is to learn.   There are numerous changes with this new version of Windows and a first look will leave many wondering whether this new OS is something to consider.   If you have not seen or heard about Windows 8, this information will help you understand what all the hype is about.

Windows 8 was released in the final version publically in August 2012.  The most obvious difference one  notices is that it employs a completely new user interface, based on Microsoft’s “Metro design language”.  The Metro environment features a new tile-based Start screen similar to that of the Windows Phone operating system.  This radical change in the user interface is also accompanied by a new application model, along with thousands of technological changes behind the scenes within the OS.  Here is an example of the new tiled look:

Microsoft has designed this to be very customizable.  The interface can be made to look and function just like Windows 7.  That said there are many new parts that may not be intuitive and will seem awkward.  The tradeoff is that the Windows 8 operating system is designed to work on multiple devices including tablets, laptops, desktops, and various smartphones.  There are a number of editions of Windows 8 to run on these varying devices.  Here is a description of the four main editions:

Windows 8 (Standard)

Windows 8 Pro (Enhanced features)

Windows RT (Version for smartphones and proprietary devices)

Windows RTM (This is the OEM version for PC resellers)

*An Enterprise edition will be available through special licensing agreements

The list of new features in Windows 8 is too numerous to list, but here are some of the most notable ones that a typical user would find most useful:

Modern UI Applications-
Windows 8 comes with a whole slew of new-style applications, or apps, that are built-in so users can get started using them right away.  Many of these are communications, or cloud-based.  Windows 8 is designed to integrate very closely with cloud-based services such as Skydrive, Bing, Windows Live, Xbox Live, and many others.

Windows-To-Go and Storage Options-

These allow Windows 8 to boot and run from a bootable USB device (such as a flash drive).

Improved Security-

This includes Windows Defender, which now has anti-virus capabilities similar to those of Microsoft Security Essentials. It is intended to replace the Security Essentials package and function as the default anti-virus program.

Internet Explorer 10-

It’s loaded with new features and enhancements; it’s also supposed to be faster browser.

Windows Store-

Of course Microsoft makes it easy to purchase add on’s and software online via this new feature.

Performance Enhancements-
With Windows 8, Microsoft has at last addressed the issue of protracted startup times and it will boot from a cold start in just about 8-10 seconds.

New RTM Versions will include a new version of Microsoft Office.

Windows 8 System Requirements:

Minimum hardware requirements for Windows 8 (editions may vary):

• Processor: (32-bit) (64-bit) 1 GHz
• Memory: (RAM) 1 GB (X86) 2 GB (X64)
• Graphics Card: DirectX 9 graphics device with WDDM 1.0 or higher driver

The bottom line – I have some misgivings, most which stem from the new tiled interface, which is a radical departure from the traditional Windows desktop.  There is a definite learning curve involved and a good amount of frustration getting used to the navigation changes.  However, I do think the benefits outweigh the initial perceived negatives.  You will want to make the change sooner or later.

Q: What if Bill Gates had a dime for every time Windows crashed?

A: Oh, wait a minute, he already does!

-Robin Bower, Manager, Hosting and Managed Services

DBJ Names Corbus Executive CFO of the Year

DAYTON, Ohio – Dayton Business Journal named Corbus Chief Financial Officer, Steve Catanzarita, CFO of the Year for large/medium private companies in a ceremony September 20, 2012. The CFO awards program highlights the area’s top financial executives, who do not need the title of CFO as long as they are the top officials responsible for finances in the organization.

Steve Catanzarita’s peers call him the definition of a seasoned, “roll up the sleeves” financial executive who has achieved business-impacting accomplishments at every level.

The CFO at Corbus, LLC has been responsible for all financial operations of the company including financing reporting and accounting since he joined the organization in November 2011. It’s a role that has become even more critical as the IT services firm is ramping up to hire thousands of workers and expand its footprint across the globe.

“His skills and leadership are rarely matching in the industries in which he has served over these past four decades,” said David Spencer, President and COO of Corbus.

With a career in corporate finance spanning over 30 years, Catanzarita has been an integral part of several globally operated companies, in both the public and private sector. That includes work at Mantech International, MTC Technologies Inc., BAE Systems and DRS Technologies before coming to Corbus.

Catanzarita’s interest in finance traces back to his high school days in upstate New York where his mother was a bookkeeper. He was captivated by the field and went on to earn an accounting degree and CPA designation.

As CFOs have evolved to become a more integral part of crafting business strategy, Catanzarita has embraced that role. And he traces his effectiveness to being open and honest as well as being a team player.

“I see my job as trying to enable my team to do the best they can do,” Catanzarita said. “I want to be a part of helping the company grow.”

Catanzarita has been a major force in helping drive Corbus’ significant growth plans, Spencer said, which includes:

• Designing financial operations processes to optimize the global finance team across four continents to improve reporting timeliness and accuracy;

• Bringing on seasoned people in key roles in both

accounting and finance;

• Implementing pricing models designed to drive higher margins

• Establishing detailed departmental and geographic budgets to allow for increased financial performance management; and

• Establishing multi-geo banking and payroll processes and partnerships to support Corbus teams spread across five continents.

Catanzarita’s work ethic also has been described as unrivaled for one at his level.

“He is very talented at balancing his business knowledge with the core financial disciplines that are needed for a successful company to grow,” Spencer said. “He’s not just a financial officer, he’s a business officer. Steve asks the hard questions that help make sure our organization is moving in the right direction.”

Corbus, a wholly owned subsidiary of Soin International LLC, is in the midst of a growth spurt.

Earlier this year, it unveiled an expansion plan that includes adding several thousand workers and more than doubling its number of offices around the world to 18 by mid 2014.

Between its Dayton and Cincinnati offices, as well as people working at client sites in the region, Corbus has about 350 employees. The company’s regional workforce is up from less than 250 people a year ago.

Globally, it has about 700 employees. Corbus recently completed a move to the former Teradata Corp. headquarters building in Miami Township.

 

Courtesy of Dayton Business Journal