If your company still holds marketing as sacrosanct and non-outsourceable – even though it has likely embraced outsourcing for other functions – you’re certainly in the majority. Granted, portions of marketing such as creative work, branding and media buying have always been out-tasked to advertising and marketing communications agencies. But with the shift from traditional [...]
When you begin evaluating service providers the basic requirements are straightforward. You want a provider with expertise in your industry, a deep understanding of your processes and a proven track record of superior delivery. The provider should be responsive, communicate clearly and demonstrate that it wants your business. However, because these are table stakes in [...]
A good cultural fit is one of the most important hallmarks between a successful and unsuccessful outsourcing relationship. Cultural fit assessment is far less structured than defined processes that help you quantitatively evaluate the service provider’s solution, capabilities and pricing. To decide whether your company and the service provider will have a comfortable cultural fit, [...]
New delivery models, new pricing models, service providers’ new marketing strategies, moving up the value chain to intellectual arbitrage, new technologies, real-time customer interaction, globalization, and new standards and regulations – these factors set the stage for risks for buyers of outsourcing services in the next two to five years. (Read Forces of Change Shaping [...]
Which industries will experience a surge in outsourcing in the next few years, and what risks will buyers of those services face? Are there business processes or functions that will begin turning to outsourcing in the next two to five years? What value opportunities and risks will they bring? In what geographic regions will companies [...]
How important to the value proposition for an outsourcing initiative is the service provider’s domain knowledge specific to the buyer’s industry? Many buyers report that the provider’s expertise in a particular business process ranks higher in importance than industry expertise when selecting a service provider. But there are situations where industry knowledge is crucial, especially [...]
This article examines three outsourcing relationships and presents the nuts and bolts that enable collaboration. The three relationships share their keys for successful collaboration from the aspects of service provider selection criteria, aligning interests for the long term, and effective communication.
During the transition CSC had to move 55 percent of Sun’s application development offshore, hire 450 employees in India during a national boom, and build two data centers in 60 days. Sun Microsystems expected CSC to produce immediate productivity gains with 42 fewer people, maintain service to 35,000 Sun employees, and support 600 applications. Here’s why it worked.
Our study of the relationships nominated for Outsourcing Excellence Awards in 2008 reveals important findings regarding the impact of service provider selection criteria on the ease and challenges during the transition phase or IT implementation. The study clearly reveals some buyers’ strategies cause the opposite of the intended outcome.
Understanding people’s expectationss and how people think differently from culture to culture will improve the chances for success in an offshore outsourcing relationship. Here’s what you need to know about China, Ukraine, and India, as well as insights into offshore service provider selection criteria and determinants for success.
National Life Group was unhappy with its IT supplier. It did not want to alert this supplier it was shopping, so its new supplier had a difficult time pricing the service since it could do no up-front diligence. Both buyer and supplier were surprised at the magnitude of the surprises. But they worked together through the difficult times, laying the basis for a successful future.
The music industry has changed more in the last two years than the last 20. That made Universal Music question everything about its business, especially since past financial success fostered a culture of focusing on creative flair rather than commercial best practice. Outsourcing its procurement to buyingTeam changed everything…for the better.
This paper addresses the changing attitudes of CIOs with respect to their outsourcing decisions. Cost is still important, but a recent survey finds that CIOs expect business value and quality from trusted outsourcing providers as well.
John McKenna is chief strategy and services officer for CompuCom, a $1.7 billion IT service provider. The company currently manages more than 2.3 million seats; its help desk agents answer almost three million calls a year. McKenna discusses how to select an IT provider and create a successful ITO relationship.
Outsourcing Center’s study of 86 relationships participating in the 2007 Outsourcing Excellence Awards program revealed several significant benchmarks. A major finding: buyers felt cultural fit and a partnering relationship approach were a major key to success; they used them as supplier-selection criteria more than in the past decade of the awards relationships.
Old Mutual had earned the unhappy moniker: the worst in the industry. It outsourced to become competitive. During the first two migrations, events conspired to triple volume. Read how the two partners learned to work together under the crushing volumes.
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