Outsourcing Center, Beth Ellyn Rosenthal, Senior Writer
Talk to most outsourcing buyers at the outset of their engagements and innovation is always on their wish list. Talk to them two or three years later, and the one thing they wish they had gotten is innovation. The lack of innovation in outsourcing seems to be one the few things they are unhappy about. …
Linda Tuck Chapman, President, ONTALA Performance Solutions Ltd.
A good cultural fit is one of the most important hallmarks between a successful and unsuccessful outsourcing relationship. Cultural fit assessment during the RFP process 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 …
Outsourcing Center, Kathleen Goolsby, Senior Writer
Ask 10 buyers of outsourcing services for their keys to success in communicating with their service providers, and you’ll hear 10 different answers because, of course, the effectiveness of outsourcing communication depends on the individuals involved. Some will also say it depends on whether they’re communicating about day-to-day operations, conflicts or opportunities. Others will comment …
Outsourcing Center, Kathleen Goolsby, Senior Writer
At the point where outsourcing service providers or their customers have financial conflicts that will result in a monetary loss to either party, they’re walking a fine line. If they manage to resolve the issue with a mutually beneficial solution, their relationship will be even stronger than before the conflict. If not, the party that …
Outsourcing Center, Kathleen Goolsby, Senior Writer
Organizations that turn to outsourcing to achieve their business objectives first develop a business case that includes such components as cost savings and avoidance objectives, business value benefits, and risk assessment of potential negative impacts. But what happens when the initial business case stops working because of unanticipated impacts? Both a Deloitte Consulting study and …
Outsourcing Center, Kathleen Goolsby, Senior Writer
A service level agreement (SLA) plays two important roles in an outsourcing arrangement. It sets the stage for the service provider’s accountability, and it is the major factor in determining the price of the service. The buyer of outsourced services can achieve a comfort level that it’s getting what it pays for if it regularly …
Outsourcing Center, Kathleen Goolsby, Senior Writer
Industry media, especially over the past two years, often points out that a significantly high number of outsourcing arrangements do not deliver the promised cost savings due to “hidden” costs associated with managing the relationship. This is especially true, the reports state, in outsourcing relationships with an offshore delivery component, where administrative costs increase due …
Outsourcing Center, Beth Ellyn Rosenthal, Senior Writer
Flexibility started early. This was a ground-breaking contract in 1999. With no paradigm, it didn’t take long for the two to realize they made a mistake in scope. Flexibility allowed a 180-degree term. Eleven years later the relationship is going strong, thanks to its flexibility.
Outsourcing Center, Kathleen Goolsby, Senior Writer
Giving up control over the outsourced process is a basic principle in how outsourcing works, but many buyers find it difficult to do this at the outset of a relationship. An Outsourcing Center study looked at the factors that cause initial discomfort and what makes a buyer feel comfortable enough to turn over control to the provider.
Outsourcing Center, Kathleen Goolsby, Senior Writer
Among the various changes that will impact outsourcing over the next five years, Don Schulman, General Manager of Finance and Administration at IBM, says the first will be a focus on outcomes-based pricing models. “Focusing on clients’ end-to-end processes, the discussion moves to outcomes pretty fast when considering the advantage of an outsourcer doing a …
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