b. EVENTS/SEMINARS: Most seminars/events/trade shows are now advertised on web. If your competition is speaking at an event or attending a trade show, this will most definitely show up in this list.

c. PRESS/ARTICLES: Almost all published articles are online. You will now have an up-to-date list of next big thing your competitor is getting involved in.

d. SPONSORSHIP: Find out what sponsorships your competitor is involved in.

e. CLIENTS: Most companies keep an up-to-date client list, and sometimes even trade reciprocal link on their site (designed/developed by company xyz).

In conclusion, analysis of all of this information will provide you with key information into marketing activities of your competition. By collecting this information, you will be able to make internal adjustments in your marketing and sales initiatives and ultimately eat your competition for lunch!

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (c) Todd Jamieson 2004 ----- Todd Jamieson, EnvisionOnline.ca (www.envisiononline.ca)

HRD policies, data security and physical security. (If you would like to save extended time and specialised labor

involved in compiling such a questionnaire, you can buy a bank of 200+ carefully formulated questions from The Magnum Group

at http://themagnumgroup.net/cadques1.htm for under $15.) Get in touch with some of their references and ask them whether they had a good experience with concerned OSP. ---> Criterion: The OSP Should Know Their CAD Now it’s time to ask them for a small paid sample, preferably a minor portion of a project you plan to outsource. Check if

their output is satisfactory (you would know best about this). Evaluate whether they asked you all questions they should

have before they started drawing, which is a sign of good planning practice. ---> Criterion: The OSP Should Know Their Commercial Paperwork Send them a detailed specification of CAD work you want done and ask for a quotation. Evaluate their quotation based on

whether it clearly describes technical scope, cost, delivery time, non-disclosure, modification costs, payment terms,

guarantee and mode of payment. If all these topics are covered, you are probably talking to someone with commercial

competence --- good! ---> Criterion: Be Satisfied with Contact Person

Phone this person and chat briefly with him/her. Decide whether you feel he/she is competent and easy to deal with.

~~~ The Evaluation's Over: Now What? ~~~

By now you have an idea of how good OSP is. Start by sending them a modest assignment. Don't be worried if there are many

technical questions: these should decrease as OSP does more assignments for you. But that's not all.

Careful selection of offshore CAD service providers is not only factor involved in successful offshore CAD outsourcing. A

major cause of outsourcing breakdown is client's failure to manage ongoing process. There is a lot to be said here;

it will all emerge in my next article --- stay tuned!