{"id":2125,"date":"2017-04-25T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2017-04-25T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost\/projects\/horsesforsources\/bbc-interview_042517\/"},"modified":"2017-04-25T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2017-04-25T00:00:00","slug":"bbc-interview_042517","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.horsesforsources.com\/bbc-interview_042517\/","title":{"rendered":"Why even the Beeb needs sourcing standards"},"content":{"rendered":"
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When you’re one of the last vestiges of commercial-free television trying to compete in a media world gone mad on digital and traditional advertising, you need to be pretty savvy when it comes to managing the coffers when you’re still reliant on public TV license frees each year to maintain your program quality. So who better to talk with than the Beeb’s Jim Hemmington, who sits on the corporation’s external expenditure on goods and services, which includes several key outsourcing relationships. We also invited Chris Halward of the Global Sourcing Association (which engages with HfS as its preferred research partner), who leads the GSA’s global standards accreditation program<\/a> to the conversation…<\/em><\/p>\n Phil Fersht, Chief Analyst and CEO, HfS Research: <\/strong>Good morning gentelmen. Let’s get started with the introductions, shall we? <\/span> <\/p>\n Jim Hemmington, Director of Procurement, BBC:<\/strong> Yes, of course, Phil. I’m Jim Hemmington, Director of Procurement at the BBC. I am responsible for external spending on goods and services. That’s about 1.4 billion pounds a year. It’s about 19% of the BBC ‘s licensing. I look after general procurement as well as outsourcing activity. And just for a bit of context, of the 1.4 billion pounds spent, about half of it is in regular goods and services with about 11,000 suppliers. The other half, or just under 700 million, is with 12 suppliers that are providing a range of outsource services for the BBC. That’s been a big area for outsourcing over the last ten years.<\/p>\n Phil<\/strong>: Thank you, Jim, for joining us. We also have Chris Halward, who’s at the newly rebranded Global Sourcing Association<\/a> (formerly the National Outsourcing Association). Welcome, Chris…<\/span><\/p>\n Chris Halward, Global Standards Director, Global Sourcing Association:<\/strong> Thanks, Phil. I’m the Global Standards Director at the Global Sourcing Association. I’ve been with the GSA for about eight years, focusing particularly on training and development initiatives. This includes the development of various standards and the qualifications that we have<\/p>\n Phil:<\/strong> So, let’s get started with the conversation, and I think maybe Chris, we can start with you. People often talk about outsourcing as something you learn on the job. So, why have standards in global sourcing today? What is the real benefit clients receive from them, in your experience?<\/span><\/p>\n Chris<\/strong>: I suppose the first thing to say is that outsourcing can be a complicated activity. There’s more than one party involved, which means there are a lot of different views going around as to how something can best be achieved. With that complexity comes challenges, because it’s often done on an international stage where you’ve got jurisdictions involved and so on. What you need is something which helps people work through that complexity in a structured, organized, and efficient way.<\/p>\n One more thought is that regulators around the world have been particularly interested in outsourcing for all sorts of reasons, not all of them good. They’re very keen to see standards being applied, being adopted as a way of developing people’s confidence in the system. I’m sure Jim has some further views on all of that. <\/p>\n Jim<\/strong>: I think that’s right, Chris. I am looking at it purely from a buying perspective, for the moment. I’ve been working on outsource deals since the mid- to late-80s. And still, at the BBC, we have an occasional problem with an outsource arrangement. What you find is that it’s still the sort of problems you had years ago. Relationships break down because expectations are different, or there are surprises on either side. That might have a commercial or quality impact, with misunderstanding about things like risk transfer and transparency.<\/p>\n Standards align expectations, take out surprises. Having standards allows you to have more transparent and meaningful conversations, and ensures that you’re both acting professionally and in a way that suits each party’s interest. So, if you can get that alignment, you should neutralize, really, all disputes, and you should see much more success in those relationships going forward.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n