In July 1989, Eastman Kodak Co. reached “an unusual agreement” for IBM Corp. to build and run a computer facility for Kodak.
As outsourcing ”“ the term subsequently attached to the concept ”“ nears its 20th year, few people recall that IBM itself would outsource its mailroom operations that same year to Pitney Bowes Inc.
That ranks the Stamford company among the longest tenured providers of such services, and the company continues to rank among the most influential according to the International Association of Outsourcing Services, which last month included Pitney Bowes on its annual Global Outsourcing 100 list.
In many critics”™ minds, the terms “global” and “outsourcing” are inextricably linked ”“ for instance, Pfizer Inc. is ending pharmaceutical manufacturing in Groton this winter in favor of moving the work to countries with lower costs.
The term “offshoring” more accurately describes such job exports ”“ the nature of many of Pitney Bowes outsourcing functions and those of other companies requires them to maintain a presence at the corporate site.
“If you think about the (U.S. Postal Service), they deliver to your door ”“ we deliver to the desk,” said Greg Van den Heuvel, president of Pitney Bowes”™ sales, solutions and marketing unit.
With five locally based companies on the list ”“ tied with New York County (Manhattan) for the most in the United States ”“ Fairfield County wields clout in the industry. Besides Pitney Bowes, local outsource providers on the IOAP list include:
Ӣ Cambridge Solutions Ltd. of Greenwich;
Ӣ Cartus Corp. of Danbury;
Ӣ Emcor Group Inc. of Norwalk; and
Ӣ Xerox Corp. of Norwalk.
What”™s more, in 1997 Fairfield-based General Electric Co. spun out its GE Capital International Services as an independent outsourcing services provider called Genpact International, which today is based in India.
Cambridge Solutions is the only other company in the group to have significant operations in India for offshore services, in its case claims processing duties for insurance companies and other financial transaction services.
Cartus handles employee relocations for companies, and Emcor manages corporate facilities.
