Service Level Agreement For Business Support Services Equipment Management Division: Fill & Download for Free

An underrated way to improve the customer service of your organization is by implementing a tool that is specifically designed to do so.SugarCRM has a Sugar Serve division that covers customer service tasks in many new and interesting ways. They help you in the following:Boost ProductivitySugar Serve also cuts down the manual tasks and saves time which makes it the best customer support software. With customers demanding that you already understand their preferences, it’s crucial to equip your customer service agents with all the information about a customer. In such a situation, Sugar Serve will better help gain customer insights and provide a quick response to all customer queries.Cost-EffectiveCustomer service plays a big role in making a business grow and ensuring that you have a happy customer base. This leads to companies investing huge amounts in their customer service infrastructure. However, with Sugar Serve, it’s quite different. Not only will it make your customer relationship management quite simple and effective but also cut down on costs; so you can save money and drive efficiency in your business.Prioritize Customer Service CasesYou can prioritize different customer service cases based on the service level agreement. It can determine the priority level on its own and make you aware, making actions more obvious.Rolustech is an official SugarCRM Partner firm, feel free to reach out to us and I’m sure we can assist you. You can also visit our website here.

“If I were the President of the United States and wanted to make Canada my puppet state as well as make Canada more America-like politically and culturally, what would I do?”I would say that is exactly what has been happening for some years, and even decades. American administrations and governments have sought to:use free-trade agreements to intertwine the smaller Canadian economy to the much larger American one so that our supply chains and economies become tightly integrated, with the result that we cannot pull out if things go south (pun!).show Canada that it must impose US norms on itself. This is done, for example, by imposing American tariffs on Canadian softwood lumber simply because most of our land is publicly-owned, unlike the US, where most land is privately-owned. The grounds for the imposition of these tariffs is “illegal subsidies” (because our logging companies pay a government-set rate for logging, rather than paying off multiple individual landowners who can charge whatever they want). The US also tried to get Canada to scrap its universally-acclaimed supply management for the dairy industry in the latest USMCA negotiations so that Canadian dairy farmers would be just as weak as their US counterparts. Fortunately, Canada’s side stood firm. (There is not a single Canadian party in Parliament that does not support the supply management regime.)show Canada that it cannot win an argument with the US. This can be done simply by ignoring repeated international rulings on said softwood lumber tariffskeep showing Canada that it cannot win an argument with the US by gaslighting us by imposing tariffs on our aluminum and steel on “national security” grounds even though we have been a loyal friend and ally for generations.threaten the outright “ruination” of our country if we don’t give the US what it wants in trade negotiationscontinue to use precedent to assert legal control over Canada and Canadians and foreign persons who travel to Canada. Three key cases so far:2005: James Sabzali, a Canadian who had been charged with “smuggling” under a 1917 US law designed to target enemies of the US. Sabzali pled guilty to smuggling for his role in supplying Cuba with water purification systems. After dropping some 70-odd charges, the US government got him to plead guilty to one single, precedent-setting charge. The catch is that the actions covered by this charge occurred during the time when Sabzali, a Canadian citizen, lived in Hamilton, Ontario, and was a self-employed businessman doing lawful business with Cuba.2005 again: Mark Emery, a Canadian marijuana activist and well-known Vancouverite, was arrested by Canadian police for extradition to America, where he was to stand trial for drug charges involving the distribution and sale of marijuana seeds. The catch again: the crimes that Emory pleaded guilty to in a US courtroom as part of a plea-deal occurred on Canadian soil. Now, I personally do not care for the entire marijuana industry, or for what Emery was doing, but it’s the principle of the thing that matters to me: a sovereign country arrested its own citizen and deported him to the US to stand trial for a “crime” that occurred while said Canadian citizen was living and working in Canada. If the activities of Emery were violating Canadian laws, he should have been arrested under our laws. And if Emery was not violating Canadian laws, he should not have been arrested at all.2018: the arrest of Meng Wanzhou. Meng is the former CFO of Huawei, the China-based global telecommunications equipment maker. In this case, she is alleged to have lied about her company’s alleged ties to Iran. This alleged lie, by a Chinese citizen who is not subject to US law, occurred in Hong Kong, which is also not subject to US law, and involved a US division of HSBC, a British multinational financial firm. Meng was arrested in Vancouver at the request of the US under the terms of Canada’s extradition treaty with the US. If you look at that treaty, you will see that it is, for the most part, a garden-variety extradition treaty intended to catch murderers, rapists, thieves, swindlers, and so on, who commit crimes in one country (e.g. America) and then flee to the other country (e.g. Canada). Unfortunately, there is a provision in the treaty that allows for the arrest of people regardless of where in the world their alleged crimes occurred. In other words, the US used this treaty to first claim extraterritorial jurisdiction over the entire world, and second, it used it to pursue a geopolitical—rather than legal and justice-based—goal. I have written elsewhere about the Meng incident that you can and should consult for more detail.separate Canada from its strongest global partners. The arrest of Meng was part of this goal, as was the inclusion in the new USMCA tree trade agreement of a clause that specifies that Canada must inform the US of our decision to implement any free trade agreement with any other country. As part of that, Canada would have to, for example, turn over masses of confidential documents to the US. The clause was widely seen as targeting China, and Canada’s relationship with China.continue the cooperation between the Conservative Party of Canada and the US Republican Party, from which the former frequently draws inspiration. An excellent example would be former Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s attacks on environmental science, statistics, Elections Canada, and the ability to Canadians to vote. As PM, Harper actually had the current Conservative MP Pierre Poilievre stand on the floor of the House of Commons and lie to Canadians about voter fraud being rampant. Several academic studies were cited by the government to prove its point, but the academic studies had been completely misrepresented. Of course, “voter fraud” has been a code-word used by Republican administrations at the state and federal levels to suppress the Black and Hispanic votes. This action by the Harper government struck at the very foundations of what it means to have a democracy in Canada, as his bill targeted First Nations, university students studying out of province, and the poor—and of course, none of these groups were known to be Conservative voters!I was going to say to continue to encourage Canada to depend on the US for military purchases, rather than to develop our own military industry. The Avro Arrow project back some decades ago was shelved so that Canadian expertise and excellence could not compete with the military-industrial complex in the US.try to get Canada to sign on to a missile shield umbrella program, ostensibly for Canadian protection, when it is really designed to protect the US (just as with the early warning systems of the Cold War). In other words, trick us into thinking they’re protecting us when in reality, we are being used to protect them.station US Border agents in Canadian airports with the power to confine and strip-search Canadians who are traveling to or through the US—even when Canadian Border Services agents have decided that a strip search is not necessarycontinue allowing Hollywood to create blockbuster productions that spread certain American values around the world, and continue supporting Netflix so that it can spread those values into every Canadian living room and into every Canadian phone.In other words, Canada is already very well along the journey from its status as a sovereign state to that of a client state. This is a long process that does not depend on any one president or administration, but it seems that the Republicans want to push this on us the most.I want a sovereign Canada for Canadians, and by that I mean anyone who is a citizen or a permanent resident, or even a temporary foreign worker here, regardless of ethnicity, language, sexual orientation, or national origin. No member of the Canadian family should be sent to the US for trial for breaking American extraterritorially-applied laws. No Canadian free trade deal with another country should be scuttled just because that country doesn’t want thousands of its confidential documents turned over to the US. No Canadian government should have its hands tied by forbidding it from trading and having normal state-to-state relations with any other country in the world, whether that be Cuba, Iran, China, or any other nation.It’s more than past time for Canadians and our government to stand up and say, “enough!”

Outsourcing occurs when a company purchases products or services from an outside supplier, rather than performing the same work within its own facilities, in order to cut costs. The decision to outsource is a major strategic one for most companies, since it involves weighing the potential cost savings against the consequences of a loss in control over the product or service. Some common examples of outsourcing include manufacturing of components, computer programming services, tax compliance and other accounting functions, training administration, customer service, transportation of products, benefits and compensation planning, payroll, and other human resource functions. A relatively new trend in outsourcing is employee leasing, in which specialized vendors recruit, hire, train, and pay their clients' employees, as well as arrange health care coverage and other benefits.The growth in outsourcing in recent years is partly the result of a general shift in business philosophy. Prior to the mid-1980s, many companies sought to acquire other companies and diversify their business interests in order to reduce risk. As more companies discovered that there were limited advantages to running a large group of unrelated businesses, however, many began to divest subsidiaries and refocus their efforts on one or a few closely related areas of business. Companies tried to identify or develop a "core competence," a unique combination of experience and expertise that would provide a source of competitive advantage in a given industry. All aspects of the company's operations were aligned around the core competence, and any activities or functions that were not considered necessary to preserve it were then outsourced. Today, outsourcing is embraced by companies of all sizes and industry orientations. As analysts Tom Osmond commented in Employee Benefit News, "many companies have decided that transactional and administrative functions are neither core competencies nor value-added activities. In fact, some companies are putting themselves at risk as a result of using outdated technology and not complying with government regulations. Vendors, by focusing on administration as part of their business model, provide better service enforced by contracts and service-level agreements."Successful outsourcing requires a strong understanding of the organization's capabilities and future direction. As William R. King explained in Information Systems Management, "[d]ecisions regarding outsourcing significant functions are among the most strategic that can be made by an organization, because they address the basic organizational choice of the functions for which internal expertise is developed and nurtured and those for which such expertise is purchased. These are basic decisions regarding organizational design." Outsourcing based only upon a comparison of costs can lead companies to miss opportunities to gain knowledge that might lead to the development of new products or technologies.Outsourcing can be undertaken to varying degrees, ranging from total outsourcing to selective outsourcing. Total outsourcing may involve dismantling entire departments or divisions and transferring the employees, facilities, equipment, and complete responsibility for a product or function to an outside vendor. In contrast, selective outsourcing may target a single, time-consuming task within a department, such as preparing the payroll or manufacturing a minor component, that can be handled more efficiently by an outside specialist.Vendors providing outsourcing services are generally grouped into two models: Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) and Application Service Provider (ASP). In the BPO model, major resources and assets are transferred from the company to the vendor. Under the ASP model, on the other hand, vendors concentrate on providing selected services for multiple clients. But as Osmond told Employee Benefit News, many variations exist within these two models. "Each vendor has a particular focus and/or point of entry to the market, particularly in the ASP space," Osmond stated. "There is also a wide range of pricing models and option. The good news is that there is a seemingly endless combination of service, pricing, and delivery, providing a solution for most situations. The bad news is that it can be difficult to compare vendors on an apples-to-apples basis."ADVANTAGES OF OUTSOURCINGCompanies that decide to outsource do so for a number of reasons, all of which are based on realizing gains in business profitability and efficiency. Principal merits of outsourcing include the following:Cost savings. Many businesses embrace outsourcing as a way to realize cost savings or better cost control over the outsourced function. Companies usually outsource to a vendor that specializes in a given function and performs that function more efficiently than the company could, simply by virtue of transaction volume.Staffing levels. Another common reason for outsourcing is to achieve headcount reductions or minimize the fluctuations in staffing that may occur due to changes in demand for a product or service. Companies also outsource in order to reduce the workload on their employees (freeing them to take on additional moneymaking projects for the business), or to provide more development opportunities for their employees by freeing them from tedious tasks.Focus. Some companies outsource in order to eliminate distractions and force themselves to concentrate on their core competencies. This can be a particularly attractive benefit for start-up firms. Outsourcing can free the entrepreneur from tedious and time-consuming tasks, such as payroll, so that he or she can concentrate on the marketing and sales activities that are most essential to the firm's long-term growth and prosperity. "What an outsourcing partner really sells is focus," wrote Adam Katz-Stone in Baltimore Business Journal. "In accounting for instance, that is something that typically is seen as necessary but not essential, not the core of the business. So you bring in an outsourcing partner and then you don't have to think about that any more. You can focus your energies on sales, marketing, all the other things that matter more."Morale. This is an often-overlooked but still notable benefit that can sometimes be gained by initiating an outsourcing relationship. "Often a business's lack of internal expertise or dedication to non-core tasks results in poor attitudes and ultimately poor performance," wrote Kevin Grauman in CPA Journal. "This can lead to overlap and duplication of internal efforts. An effectively designed and ongoing communication process emanating from one or more outsourcers can greatly reduce or eliminate these duplications."Flexibility. Still others outsource to achieve greater financial flexibility, since the sale of assets that formerly supported an outsourced function can improve a company's cash flow. A possible pitfall in this reasoning is that many vendors demand long-term contracts, which may reduce flexibility.Knowledge. Some experts tout outsourcing of computer programming and other information technology functions as a way to gain access to new technology and outside expertise. This may be of particular benefit to small businesses, which may not be able to afford to hire computer experts or develop the in-house expertise to maintain high-level technology. When such tasks are outsourced, the small business gains access to new technology that can help it compete with larger companies.Accountability. Outsourcing is predicated on the understanding—shared by business and vendor alike—that such arrangements require quality service in exchange for payment. "Paying for a business service creates the expectation of performance," stated Grauman. "Outsourcers are well aware that this accountability is both practical and legal, with fiscal implications. The same cannot be said for internally provided functions."DISADVANTAGES OF OUTSOURCINGSome of the major potential disadvantages to outsourcing include poor quality control, decreased company loyalty, a lengthy bid process, and a loss of strategic alignment. All of these concerns can be addressed and minimized, however, by companies who go about the outsourcing process in an informed and deliberate fashion.Info World 's Maggie Biggs counsels businesses to define "exactly what business processes and/or functions it makes sense to maintain via a service relationship. Unless you have a lot of resources to expend, it may make sense to prioritize outsourcing projects based on the number of benefits you expect to gain from the arrangement." There may also be inherent advantages of maintaining certain functions internally. For example, company employees may have a better understanding of the industry, and their vested interests may mean they are more likely to make decisions in accordance with the company's goals. Indeed, most analysts discourage companies from outsourcing core functions that directly affect the products or services that the business offers.STEPS IN SUCCESSFUL OUTSOURCINGOnce a company has made the decision to outsource, there are still a number of factors it must consider in making a successful transition and forming a partner relationship with the vendor. First, the company should determine what sort of outsourcing relationship will best meet its needs. "Decide what's important," urged the Journal of Accountancy. "If a function is not strategic to your business—for instance, payroll services or health insurance needs in a recruiting agency with only ten employees—consider outsourcing it to an expert provider." Some businesses share strategic decision-making with their vendors, while others only outsource on a limited, as needed basis.As Ethel Scully noted in National Underwriter, the company needs to obtain the support of key personnel during this time. Many companies encounter resistance from employees who feel that their jobs are threatened by outsourcing. Scully suggested forming a team consisting of an outsourcing expert, representatives from senior management and human resources, and the managers of all affected areas of the company to help address employee concerns about the decision.Once your business has decided which functions to outsource, it should initiate a search process that utilizes referrals from other companies and service-provider directories. You can then begin contacting potential vendors and ask specific questions about the services they provide and their abilities to meet your company's unique and specific needs. Ideally, the vendor you select will have experience in handling similar business and will be able to give all of its clients' needs the priority they deserve. "Consider the service company's knowledge of the entirety of your business, its willingness to customize service, and its compatibility with your firm's business culture, as well as the long-run cost of its services and its financial strength," said service provider Carl Schwenker in Money. During this period, you should also reexamine your own company culture and business needs to make sure that the outsourcing arrangement under consideration is a good fit. Many outsourcing experts counsel businesses to select vendors that can effectively integrate all their outsourced business functions so that they do not have to find individual vendors for each function.Finally, you should select a vendor you trust in order to develop a mutually beneficial partner relationship. It is important to develop tangible measures of job performance before entering into an agreement, as well as financial incentives to encourage the vendor to meet deadlines and control costs. The contract should clearly define responsibilities and performance criteria, outline confidentiality rules and ownership rights to new ideas or technology. It should also include a means of severing the relationship if the service does not meet your expectations. Since the vendor is likely to have more experience in preparing outsourcing agreements than a small client company, it may also be helpful to consult with an attorney during contract negotiations.