How Do You Manage Your Time?

August 30, 2010 by 3 Comments

Unmana suggested I write a blog post on time management because I have to wear multiple hats in my role at Affinity Express and she says I get through “an obscene amount of work” every day.  I’m not sure if this is a compliment or a subtle way of saying she is being barraged by my requests and constant communication!  Anyway, here goes:

I never seem to have enough time to do everything I want.  Between my job, children and my husband, and my love for reading, baking and other hobbies, I often feel stretched to the limit.  So I take care to follow some practices that help make my life easier and allow me do a lot of what I want!

  • Organize.  My co-workers and family will say I’m a bit extreme in my office and home, but I’ve learned it takes far less time to put things into a system and maintain it than it does to constantly look for what you need or, even worse, recreate something you’ve misplaced.  I can easily access critical documents because my computer has logical files (and I’m often the one colleagues call when they can’t find something!).  I even keep my personal receipts at home in envelopes for different categories.  You wouldn’t believe how often this has saved me money when something has to be returned or when a problem arises.  Although I wouldn’t recommend trying this, I was actually able to return a pair of shoes that fell apart six months after I bought them (only wore them twice) because I had the receipt! Read more of this post

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Affinity Express on the Inside Business TV Show

August 25, 2010 by 3 Comments

Affinity Express was featured on the Inside Business TV show on Fox Business on June 26. You can watch the video here, or read the transcript below the fold.

Read more of this post

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Celebrating Summer

August 23, 2010 by 1 Comment

What’s your favorite thing to do when the temperature shoots up?

Get in a cool pool? Read more of this post

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Affinity Express Recognized as One of 2010 Global Services 100

August 20, 2010 by 4 Comments

Global Services 100I am extremely proud to share with you that Affinity Express has been included in the 2010 Global Services 100. Go on, click on that link, we’re the fifth name on that list. (Then come back here.)

The Global Services 100 is compiled through an online survey using a scientific research methodology based on over 200 data points and several qualitative parameters. Rather than a list of the 100 largest outsourcing vendors, this list reflects the diversity and overall landscape of the service provider community in terms of company sizes, countries of origin and countries of delivery. The list includes organizations from 18 countries with operations in 30 countries. It’s extremely gratifying that Affinity Express, an 800-people company in a niche of the BPO industry, is  included along with large providers in established outsourcing segments such as Infosys Technologies Limited, HCL Technologies Limited and Tata Consultancy Services Limited. Read more of this post

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Working with a Leading Promotional Products Supplier

August 18, 2010 by Leave a comment

Kelly wanted me to write about our experience in working with some of the leading suppliers in the industry. We have many customers in the Graphic Production and Support Services division of Affinity Express.  They range from big to small and the revenue we get from each ranges from a few hundred dollars per month to many thousand dollars per month.

One big client markets a wide range of promotional products and business accessories. Here’s the story of how we provide them high-quality designs at quick turn times, handle their volume spikes and help them reduce operational costs.

Getting Started

This company uses our services for creation of artwork for screen printing, etching, embossing, engraving, etc. The client has a diverse range of products, each with different specifications. We started working with them in early 2009.

To understand the client’s needs, our team started with a thorough study of the client’s processes and procedures. We customized our processes based on the requirements and put steps in place to enable the client to successfully outsource the artwork process to our facility in India.

Now the client receives orders for artwork from its customers through various channels such as the company website, email, telephone and fax; which are submitted to its centralized system. We have integrated the client’s system with our own, so the orders get automatically routed to our production team. The finished jobs are uploaded back into the client’’s system. Read more of this post

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A Truck, A House, Some Flowers, A Vineyard and Elmo

August 16, 2010 by 1 Comment

No, I’m not telling you a story. Even better: I’m sharing some of our best recent embroidery digitizing designs.  Tell me which you like best and why.

(But yeah, that would make a good story, wouldn’t it?)

Embroidery Design Sample: Truck

Embroidery Design Sample: ElmoEmbroidery Design Sample: HouseEmbroidery Design Sample: FlowersEmbroidery Design Sample: Vineyard

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15 Tips on Building an Effective Team

August 13, 2010 by 1 Comment

Affinity Express has around 800 employees in three countries: the US, India and the Philippines. Our employees range in experience from graphic designers fresh out of school to designers with many years of experience to managers and vice presidents with experience across industries and functions. Teams are often spread across all three countries and yet manage to work and communicate as seamlessly as if they were in the same room.

It’s not easy, but over the years I have picked up a few tips that I highly recommend, especially to new managers and leaders who find themselves in charge of or mentoring a team on site or virtually.

First, it helps to think of what your objectives are.  Having camaraderie among  team members is great, but it’s not always possible.  The goal is to get team members who might not have a lot in common personally to work together. Keep the bigger goal in mind: achieving specific business objectives. You need to motivate team members to work together effectively. For this, you need to build some level of teamwork, and have effective communication between you (the manager) and the team as well as between team members. You need to know your team members’ strengths and weaknesses in order to learn when, how and what to delegate.  As a manager, you need to know how best to maximize the diversity of thought, talents and experience of your  team.  High performing teams are a key to business success. Read more of this post

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Meet VP of Graphic Services, Rajendra Magadum

August 10, 2010 by 1 Comment

Rajendraprasad Magadum (better known around here as Rajendra) joined Affinity Express as vice president of Graphic Production and Support Services in April 2010.

Rajendra has a tough job, responsible as he is for overseeing both operational and financial performance for  Graphic Services. But he derives pleasure out of finding new ways in which the team can improve efficiency and deliver better satisfaction to clients.

He brings more than 14 years of experience to the job, and his extensive background in program management, and driving quality and productivity improvements, is already showing results.

Here is what Rajendra has to say about his experience at Affinity Express so far: Read more of this post

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Business Processing Association Philippines Networking Event

August 4, 2010 by 1 Comment

I was recently privileged to be invited to a networking dinner hosted by the Business Processing Association of the Philippines (BPA/P). This Global Sourcing Meeting held on July 29 in New York was part of a larger event, the World BPO Forum.

Affinity Express has a close relationship with the Philippines, not only because we have one of our large offshore production centers located in Manila, but also because our parent company, Ayala Corporation, is one of the oldest and largest conglomerates in the Philippines. I was excited that this event would allow me to network with other people who have business interests—or are interested in doing business—in the Philippines.

The event started with a welcome address by the Consul General of the Philippines. We then had a presentation by the CEO of the BPA/P on “Why the Philippines?” Of course, I’m already sold on this topic, but I attended with interest nonetheless.

Later on, I was invited to address the gathering. It was exciting to stand in front of a hundred or so senior business executives and talk about Affinity Express and our presence in the Philippines, hoping that our experience would be of some use to others.  Read more of this post

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New Client Implementation Success Story

August 2, 2010 by 2 Comments

New Client Implementation SuccessWe work with clients in media and publishing, but I want to share with you today our success story with one specific newspaper client. I manage new client implementations at Affinity Express, and this is one I’m particularly proud of.

The best thing about this client was that they have been extremely understanding of and smart about the outsourcing process from the beginning. The start date was in April but, with their help, we actually began capturing requirements several weeks early, as the client was so prepared. Their IT department were extremely savvy: they knew exactly what to do and when, with the result that it was easier for us to stay on schedule.

In fact, one group was so anxious to start using the system that they began before the ramp-up week itself and started sending live ads to the Affinity Express team! Read more of this post

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