News reports over the past two weeks highlight the movement of midsized Indian service providers, Firstsource Solutions, WNS Global Services, and Intelenet Global Services deeper into North America instead of Europe. Others are moving deeper into Latin America and China. China’s outsourcing providers are taking hold in North America. Over the years I’ve followed and written about outsourcing, I’ve pointed out that competition in the service provider landscape is good for the buyers.
But maybe not. Let’s look at the bigger picture.
When a competing provider enters a market, an incumbent provider’s customers are vulnerable. The “hunters” on the new… Read the rest
Over more than a decade, I’ve asked hundreds of buyers of outsourcing services which means of communication proved more effective in successfully meeting their objectives: ad hoc, informal communications or formal governance meetings.
By far, the majority stated the governance meetings were absolutely essential. However, most also stated that the ad hoc, informal communications were more effective at managing issues more quickly.
When I asked buyers which method of communication was more effective in managing the relationship itself, there was a greater variance in opinion. I was reminded of this recently when I watched a program about hiking the… Read the rest
People often tout Pareto’s Principle – better known as the 80/20 Rule, meaning 20% of something is always responsible for 80% of the results. It’s like a thump to remind us to focus on the 20% that really matters. But what is that 20% when it comes to outsourcing and where in the outsourcing journey does the 20% occur?
What do you think? Before you answer, consider the following.
Every year, many Americans hike the Appalachian Trail, 2,000 miles through 14 states on the US East Coast, from Georgia in the South to Maine at the northern tip. The most… Read the rest
For many fans, the Super Bowl came and went quickly. But for those of us who live in Arlington where the stadium is located, or in the neighboring cities of Dallas and Ft. Worth, the impact has lasted for the past couple of years and isn’t over yet.
The unexpected spirit-sapping ice storm we experienced during Super Bowl week and all the impacts because of it presents what I think is a classic specimen of what often happens in outsourcing relationships. Especially regarding service level agreements and contracts.
Just as in an outsourcing relationship, the parties involved had specific objectives… Read the rest
It’s a well-known fact that when the interests of parties in an outsourcing arrangement are not aligned – either because the original business assumptions changed over time or because they were never truly aligned in the first place – the deal is not mutually beneficial and one party won’t get the anticipated return on investment. However, most companies don’t understand how to structure and sustain a win-win deal.
Kate Vitasek’s book, Vested Outsourcing, describes the kind of relationship where all parties are truly vested in behaving in a manner that ensures they all look out for… Read the rest
If you’ve had the privilege of speaking with Kate Vitasek or listening to one of her presentations on Vested Outsourcing, you’ve heard the excitement in her voice. And rightfully so. Judging by reactions to her book, she’s on the cusp of changing the way outsourcing works.
Vitasek truly believes that “together” is better. Vested Outsourcing describes a win-win partnership – the kind of relationship where all parties are truly vested in behaving in a manner that ensures they all look out for each other’s best interests. It’s something that is rare today. Although many companies claim to… Read the rest
Like all journalists, my inbox fills daily with press releases. Here’s one that caught my eye this week and – believe it or not – it made me think about outsourcing.
Do you love gourmet, country style bacon? Do you love premium roast gourmet coffee? Do you love the semi-sweet, sensuously succulent flavor of maple? Then something tells me that you are going to absolutely love Boss Hog’s Maple Bacon Coffee!
The press release went on to describe the product in these terms: “taken us by surprise,” “totally blown our mind,” “actually a pleasure,” “top notch,” award… Read the rest
“What gets measured gets done.” Outsourcing consultants often tout this well-known maxim from business management guru Tom Peters in relation to measuring an outsourcing service provider’s performance. But there’s an important aspect that many companies don’t measure – the relationship itself.
When I talk with outsourcing customers and ask them how – and how often – they assess their relationship rather than the provider’s performance, some answer that they reviewed its status on a dashboard in a governance meeting at least annually. Many answer that they “just know” how the relationship is doing based on the fact that there are… Read the rest
Win-win approach. Collaborative relationship. These buzz words are tossed out frequently as a hallmark when executives describe their outsourcing relationships. But the terms are apt to be misused. I’ve had some interesting conversations about winning and collaborating in outsourcing relationships. One executive summarized an event in his company’s relationship this way:
“When we identified the root cause of the issue, we collaborated to determine the solution that would meet our needs and be a win-win.”
Despite the fact that a lot of companies use the buzz words and label this kind of situation as a win-win approach and as collaborating,… Read the rest
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