Everyone’s doing it. Touting the numbers. Researchers get paid to find the percentages and totals, and writers and analysts get paid to put a spin on them. But I think that research studies and advice about the outsourcing market often miss the boat.
For evidence, look no further than a report yesterday (written by CRM Management editors) about the findings in Op2i’s recent Outsourcing 2010 survey. Here’s their anemic conclusion from their data:
While interest in outsourcing has increased, focus has yet again shifted to cost reduction, with suppliers pressured to deliver more for less – the U turn
Can diversity management in outsourcing make a difference in the potential return on investment (ROI)? I discussed this issue with Joe Santana, Senior Director of Diversity at Siemens USA. He has an extensive background in outsourcing, even prior to his diversity position with Siemens, providing him the opportunity to see from the inside and outside how effective diversity management can be an important factor in outsourcing relationships.
Please explain how diversity arises in outsourcing. Is it something more than having a workforce of multiple races and ethnicities?
JS: Yes. Add to that the recent increase in the number of… Read the rest
Henry Kissinger said that the absence of alternatives clears the mind marvelously. That has been true in outsourcing in recent years. It was marvelously clear that companies could reduce their costs through outsourcing to offshore locations with low-cost labor, especially in India. But now there’s a viable alternative: companies can outsource their work to low-cost nearshore locations.
The cost, time zone, and other advantages from outsourcing to a country that is a “neighbor” and has the same culture are significant. Western European companies have successfully nearshored their work to Eastern European locations for quite a while, and China is a… Read the rest
Morrison & Foerster’s Global Sourcing Group (over 60 outsourcing lawyers located in the U.S., Europe, and Asia) annually publishes a report on the state of the worldwide outsourcing market and the forces likely to shape outsourcing for the coming 12 months. The 2010 edition of Morrison & Foerster’s Global Sourcing Trends includes predictions about several contractual aspects of outsourcing. I interviewed Julian S. Millstein, Senior Counselor at M&F, New York, for further insights about several of those predictions.
Your firm’s Global Sourcing Trends report predicts shorter deal cycles and companies trying to close deals quickly during 2010. Doesn’t this often… Read the rest
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