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Pillsbury's experienced attorneys and consultants have been at the forefront of global sourcing since 1988, when Shaw Pittman designed the first-ever large scale IT outsourcing agreement. No other law firm has a longer or more extensive track record in IT outsourcing, business process outsourcing, business transformation outsourcing, technology transformation, off shore services or strategic services.
At an escalating rate, companies and organizations of every stripe are coming to rely on information technology (IT) and technology-enabled services to drive their businesses and deliver their products and services to the customer. For many enterprises today, IT systems and services are the “factory” in which their products and services are manufactured. Most recently, service providers have been offering business transformation outsourcing (BTO) and business process outsourcing (BPO) services, in which they bundle a range of business functions with the underlying IT services.
Our merger in 2005, between Shaw Pittman and its Global Sourcing practice and Pillsbury Winthrop with its significant experience in information technology, cross-border transactions, and intellectual property, created a professional services firm with unmatched experience across an incredibly wide range of business functions, legal issues and geographies. By bringing all these capabilities within one organization, we have created a single source for our clients when their business needs demand the very best. On a going forward basis, we intend to refer to this combination of industry-unique resources as Pillsbury Global Sourcing (PGS).
Shaw Pittman literally invented the model for IT outsourcing transactions and, now, Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman through the Pillsbury Global Sourcing practice has a depth of experience unrivalled by any measure, whether by number, size, or complexity of project. During the last 17 years, Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman has worked on many of the largest and most complicated sourcing transactions in both the public and commercial sectors. All told, the firm has handled more than 500 sourcing transactions valued in excess of $400 billion and has become the world’s preeminent sourcing architect. The list below highlights some of the major milestones we have achieved.
The mission of the Pillsbury Global Sourcing practice is to assist clients worldwide with the planning, execution, and management of complex sourcing arrangements. We deliver these services using integrated teams of lawyers and consultants, who cover the full lifecycle of sourcing activities with the necessary business, technical, financial, and legal skills.
Pillsbury Global Sourcing has in-depth experience in outsourcing (onshore, near-shore and offshore); systems integration; software licensing; technology transfers and distribution; joint ventures; strategic alliances; and co-marketing arrangements. Our lawyers and consultants represent our clients in these relationships through any manner of process, whether it be a competitive procurement or sole-source award, and whether it is a domestic transaction in the U.S. or UK, or a transatlantic, pan-European, or global arrangement. Our experience spans:
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A wide range of industries (e.g., financial services, health care and life sciences, manufacturing, travel and hospitality, retail, telecommunications, and utilities).
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A complete set of functions (e.g. information technology, human resources, finance and accounting, procurement, call centers, and supply chain).
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A diverse group of transactions (e.g., credit card and check processing, claims administration, airline reservation, and billing and customer-care systems).
Unlike most other sourcing advisers, we use seamless teams of lawyers and consultants who work side-by-side with each other and our client on the planning, negotiation, execution, and management of sourcing initiatives. We structure each project team with the right mix of industry-savvy professionals – be they lawyers or consultants – to address the strategic, financial, and legal aspects of the transaction at hand. Skill sets, not job titles, are the key. Our multi-disciplinary approach allows us to address sourcing issues and solutions from all angles, streamlining each project and adding value in a way other firms cannot match.
Acquiring technology-enabled products and services is a complex, time-consuming, and risk-intensive process, which is further complicated by the need to anticipate and accommodate future events. We developed our innovative MOSAIC framework to guide our clients through the intricacies of the process and inform them of the tasks and issues they need to address as part of the sourcing process. Because we are not committed to any specific solution, we can recommend the sourcing arrangement that best suits our client’s needs.
Outsourcing
Outsourcing is the delegation of responsibility for performing a significant business function to a third party. It has become a well-accepted mechanism for adding business value and meeting the challenges of our global economy. Long before outsourcing became widespread, Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman was assisting clients with complex outsourcing arrangements. Because of our experience, we are able to help our clients shorten the sourcing cycle, speed the realization of benefits, and design lasting solutions that effectively support their strategic and operational objectives. Pillsbury professionals have an unsurpassed depth of onshore, offshore, domestic and global experience and have negotiated the full range of strategic outsourcing transactions, including:
Information Technology Outsourcing (ITO), including infrastructure management, applications development and maintenance, data center and desktop outsourcing, and managed network services. We invented the contract model for ITO and have led the industry in evolving that model to meet current needs. Our ValueChain method and the use of "Visual Sourcing" and "Visual Contracting" paradigms are redefining the outsourcing model. From the first large-scale ITO transaction ever with First City Bank in Houston, to recent high-profile transactions for American Express, J.P. Morgan Chase, and the UK Inland Revenue, the firm has been both a thought-leader and driving force for structuring and delivering high-value, strategic outsourcing relationships.
Business Transformation Outsourcing (BTO) and Business Process Outsourcing (BPO), including human resources, finance and accounting, facilities management, procurement, and supply chain functions. We have worked on a number of landmark transactions that have helped shape and define this emerging market. These include transactions for American Express (human resources); Cable & Wireless (supply chain outsourcing); ANZ Bank (procurement); D&B (inbound and outbound call center, back office financial processing, data acquisition and entry, and transaction processing); and the Exult relationship with BP Amoco, which was the first full-scope, global human resource outsourcing deal.
Offshore Outsourcing of applications development and maintenance (AD/M), call center functions, and various back office activities to India, Eastern Europe, and the Caribbean for clients such as Kodak, Bear Stearns, Equifax, and Providian Financial. Our work in this area involves helping our clients assess and evaluate the risks associated with offshore sourcing and balance them against the economic and delivery benefits these relationships provide. We have structured offshore relationships for our clients with most of the major Indian suppliers (e.g., Tata, Infosys, Satyam, Wipro, and Cognizant), as well as with the major multi-national suppliers (e.g., Accenture, IBM, EDS, CSC, ACS, and HP).
Telecommunications Transactions, including voice and data communication links, the acquisition of wide-area network bandwidth (so-called transport services), and the development of full-featured managed network services relationships. Telecommunications is a significant component of most of our major outsourcing transactions; consequently, our experience in this area is broad. We have also worked on major transactions for which the specific focus was telecommunications. Most recently we have developed substantial experience with multi-label protocol switching (MLPS) and Voice-over-Internet Protocol (VoIP) transactions. Examples of transactions with a telecommunications focus include our work for Toronto-Dominion Bank (where IBM is the supplier/integrator) and for Solectron Corporation (where Sprint is the lead supplier).
Other Specialized Transactions, including credit card and check processing, brokerage systems, airline reservations, and claims processing. We have significant experience in structuring and negotiating these kinds of transactions and are very familiar with the various specialty vendors in this market space. We believe we have more in-depth and broader range of experience in these areas than other firms. Our experience helps our clients produce a much more level playing field in structuring these relationships. Among others, we have dealt with First Data and Total Systems in the credit card field; Bloomberg, ADP, Thomson and Reuters in the brokerage systems field; and Sabre, Galileo, and Amadeus in the airlines reservations field.
Most outsourcing transactions require some human resources counseling. In order to meet this need, we rely on the extensive experience of the firm's Employment practice as well as the focused skills residing in our London office relating to the Acquired Rights Directive and TUPE. Similarly, most outsourcing transactions also implicate privacy and data protection laws in the U.S. and other countries. Our representation of customers in outsourcing transactions includes providing advice and counsel with respect to applicable privacy and data protection laws.
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