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Saturday, June 27, 2009

How to Get the Best Out of Your Outsourcing Experience

Posted by Jenny-Lyne Cagadas on April 30, 2009

“The offshore outsourcing market will continue to grow nearly 20% annually through 2008…” -META Group October 2004

As predicted, the times have changed favorably for the field of outsourcing since the turn of the millennium. Amidst the rise and fall of the economy, outsourcing firms have managed to grow into profit-making and profit-giving empires. From a dark corner, it has broken out into the limelight, gaining an incredible amount of popularity in the business sector due to the fact that it promises commercial development for its clients, with minimal amount of stress. Outsourcing basically works with the concept, “service at your fingertips, delivered how you want it, where you want it, any time you want it.”

Indeed, there are many advantages in subscribing to outsourcing firms. For one, they allow global companies to avail of low-cost labor in other countries that only demand cheap tax payments. These countries are filled with personnel, gifted with the required skills, background and know-how in building and handling business processes. With them, clients have the advantage of saving on time and costs for hiring, training, and providing the necessary tools and work space for their employees, with the possibility of doubling their investment and gaining momentum in competing with rivaling businesses. A statistic has confirmed that companies get an average saving of 40% due to outsourcing. In addition to this, outsourcing allows clients to specialize on certain services to fit their business requirements. And in as much, with the use of a contract, customers can demand outputs that satisfy their standards, thereby, ensuring quality. Companies also gain the privilege of accessing avenues for innovation when there is limited supplementation in their own business backyard.

Sadly, there has been a lot of bad publicity lately. The risks in dealing with outsourcing, such as that opportunism, information asymmetry, language barriers, and lack of supplier expertise/resources/ability, have driven investors out the door. There are plenty of relatively negative feedbacks on outsourcing and they unfairly taint the whole industry. It must be understood that these risks are preventable through choosing the correct lines to tap. It’s easy to get excited over the idea, but interested parties should consciously scrutinize the characteristics of the helping hand they take into service.

With numerous outsourcing firms out there, it is difficult to distinguish which one is the best. So at the very least, choose an outsourcing firm that has an exceptional work history and pool of professionals. As business partners, ensure that the outsourcing firm you get operates in a mutually beneficial way and has your best interest at heart. That’s how you will get the best out of your outsourcing experience.

Outsourcing Criteria Upgrade

Posted by Jessica Madrazo on September 4, 2007

Green Policies

The already complex outsourcing standards have gone from difficult, to convoluted. Originally, companies intending to outsource their products and services would look at a wide range of factors affecting the possible output, such as the infrastructure, and stability of the outsourcing firm, the Quality and Cost of the product, and the speed in which they can deliver.

This already bore a burden for many companies, specifically, when there are factors that lie outside their circle of influence, such as the lack of available infrastructure, or the stability of the entire country’s government. Recently, there is another addition to this criterion, the green policies.

Studies show that twenty-one percent (21%) of US and European companies have now considered green policies along with their performance indicators in choosing their outsourcing companies. Almost ninety-four percent (94%) are planning to add green clauses in their contracts, although only thirty-six percent (36%) are planning to move to greener contracts in the following year.

Many outsourcing countries are already making moves to meet to these standards. It is inevitable it will become a staple element in the choice of outsourcing firms.