Outsourcing is not for wimps<\/strong><\/p>\nI spend a lot of time talking about why outsourcing is a smart idea \u2013 I talk to clients, at public forums, in meetings, to my staff, heck I\u2019ve even bent the ear of my dog on occasion. So, when Phil asked for volunteers to contribute to this blog, I naturally jumped on the soapbox. I couldn\u2019t resist another chance to make my case, which is this: When the going gets tough, the tough outsource. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
\nSome people think outsourcing is a sign of weakness, but actually just the opposite is true. It takes a strong organization to admit that someone else can do a process or function better, faster, and cheaper.<\/p>\n
There\u2019s a good reason the word \u201coutsourcing\u201d has \u201csource\u201d at its heart: sources are good things.<\/p>\n
For example if you\u2019re a cop or a journalist, a \u201csource\u201d has \u201cinsider\u201d information; the value of the source depends on credibility, reliability, and trust. Same goes in business, where sources are fundamental to success. Where do you get your raw materials? Your talent? Your information? Without good sources, your business would go bust.<\/p>\n
When the idea of outsourcing started to gain traction in the 1980s, it seemed like a brand new idea. Companies could off-load non-core processes to a \u201csource\u201d that could do them more efficiently and effectively. But in many ways, outsourcing was ? and is ? just plain sourcing on steroids: a ratcheted-up version of finding the best resources (people, processes, knowledge, and technology) for the job.<\/p>\n
And that\u2019s exactly why outsourcing continues to be a great business strategy, not despite tough times but because of tough times. What could make more and better sense in today\u2019s troubled, global economy?<\/p>\n
At its most basic, outsourcing is a perfect choice today: it\u2019s still the best way to perform back-office processes more efficiently. Since most businesses do not gain an advantage with administrative activities, why waste any time and money trying to make them unique? An outsourcer can establish a standardized process; the best ones do this quickly with a \u201cspeed to value\u201d model that delivers savings faster.<\/p>\n
While cost cutting alone justifies outsourcing, that\u2019s not the whole picture.<\/p>\n
The real test of outsourcing is the value delivered. Today, many (maybe most) companies are thinking only of reducing expenditures. But a few are actually looking for ways to innovate, and they\u2019re the ones likely to come out of these doldrums with a real, meaningful advantage.<\/p>\n
What can be done with the savings that come from outsourcing? How should savings be invested back into the business to support growth? Where are opportunities for continuous improvement? When an outsourcer provides business intelligence to answer questions like those, it becomes a true, collaborative partnership. A good outsourcing partner has ambition to explore, special knowledge to apply, a technological edge to exploit, and unbending ethics to guide its behavior in relationships and in the world.<\/p>\n
I\u2019ve been working in business process outsourcing for 15 years and, in that time, I\u2019ve seen outsourcing help companies reach the top of their game, even when the economy was unsteady.<\/p>\n
Here are some truths about outsourcing that I\u2019m glad to share.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Outsourcing can make a company better at what it does.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Outsourcing can be self-funding.<\/p>\n
\u2022 The faster a company gets to the benefits of outsourcing, the better.<\/p>\n
\u2022 The best outsourcers deliver measurable \u201cvalue\u201d beyond cost reduction.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Outsourcing is a bold strategy for growth.<\/p>\n
The world\u2019s political and business leaders are trying to tackle some tough, global economic problems. I like to think that outsourcing is part of a smart solution \u2013 one way for a company to get stronger. The right outsourcing relationship can provide the momentum needed for positive change.<\/p>\n
And isn\u2019t that exactly what everyone\u2019s looking for right now? <\/p>\n <\/p>\n
David Poole (pictured) is CEO of Americas Business Process Outsourcing for Capgemini<\/p>\n
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Many Americans in the global sourcing industry will attest that they never did quite separate themselves from their old colonial masters…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[48,835,88],"tags":[],"organization":[],"ppma_author":[19],"class_list":["post-4695","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-business-process-outsourcing-bpo","category-f-a","category-outsourcing-heros"],"yoast_head":"\n
Outsourcing is not for wimps - Horses for Sources | No Boundaries<\/title>\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n