Since the initial collaboration in 2000, the Cherry Hill, N.J.-based provider of refrigeration warehousing and logistics has since tapped Cognizant to maintain its IBM AS/400-based warehouse management system. It's also integrating radio frequency identification technology into the company's existing electronic data interchange and warehouse management systems, says director of information systems Tim Brennan.

"We experienced a learning curve and a cultural learning period," says Brennan.

"We were pretty intuitive, and I felt strongly that [Cognizant] had to be part of the IT team," he explains.

So Brennan visited the Cognizant offices in Chennai and Bangalore in January 2000, and he and other executives at U.S. Cold Storage encouraged the Cognizant team members from both the U.S. and India to visit its plants in California, Illinois and Texas to gain a better understanding of its business. "They were an amazingly quick study," says Brennan.

"They were up to speed and coding within a couple of months, which is amazing given the complexities of our business."