The Outsourcing Blog..."Horses for Sources"

Are you a BPO sales professional?

2009-07-09T08:36:54-04:00

My industry chums Larry Janis and Lowell Williams are conducting a survey of BPO sales professionals to get the buzz on the current economy, your views or lawyers and advisors, and how much moolah you currently rake in. They claim you can do this while sipping a venti in Starbucks. They also claim to be giving away a couple of iPod shuffles to random participants (as if you don't already have one...). Please complete the survey by clicking here

Captive sell-offs: good for innovation, good for employment

2009-07-07T20:18:57-04:00

I know I've been depressing everyone with calls for change and for our flagging companies to step up and disrupt their business models. But did I ever say I was here to make you happy? However, one shimmer of light amidst this gloom is the increase in activity of service providers buying up business' captives or shared service operations (often under the guise of a new "client win"). EXL's acquisition of Schenider Logistics' Czech operations is yet another recent example of a service provider making a strategic move to add scale and expertise to its delivery portfolio. In this case,...

Everything you need to know about Supply Management BPO (but never dared to ask)

2009-07-03T12:33:14-04:00

Folks - we're staging a webinar entitled "Supply Management BPO: Why Business and Technology Transformation is Critical for Long-Term Success". Joining me will be Ruby Jivan, BP's Global Procurement Operations Director, who has a lifetime of experience with global procurement delivery and more recently with BPO; Mickey North-Rizza, AMR's supplier relationship management guru (who also has a lifetime's experience in procurement). Date: Wednesday 22nd July Time: 12.00 EST, 5.00 PM GMT, 6.00 PM CET. 1 hour. Speakers: Ruby Jivan, Procurement Operations Director BP; Mickey North-Rizza, Research Director, Supply Chain Management, AMR; Phil Fersht, Research Director, Global Business Services & Outsourcing,...

It’s time for disruption, not stagnation

2009-06-30T16:13:52-04:00

2009 is going to be remembered as the year of cost-containment. Most client discussions are not very sexy – it’s largely about cost, as opposed to innovation or revenue generation. McKinsey recently revealed 70% of its current client engagements are cost-reduction focused, only 30%focused on revenue-generation (the opposite of a year ago). I strongly believe our businesses, while being diligent about cost-containment, must use this opportunity to make fundamental changes to their business operations in order to emerge more profitably in the future. Simply ripping away cost elements and failing to improve access to global corporate data and processes, is...

Outsourcing drivers in today's climate: large companies want to globalize, mid-sized companies seek expertise

2009-06-27T13:13:13-04:00

I wanted to share some recent dynamics from our new survey of outsourcing adoption intentions in mid-2009. While the onus on firms today is to drive out as much cost as they can from their businesses (close to four-fifths view cost-reduction as the primary driver for outsourcing), other factors are becoming crucial for companies’ planning as they evaluating outsourcing business models, notably globalizing their businesses more effectively, re-engineering business processes, and accessing expertise from service partners. If there's one thing this recession taught us, it is how integrated global economies and markets are today, how businesses need to adapt to...

Being Frank about Global Sourcing: An interview with Cognizant's CEO (Part II)

2009-06-24T20:00:39-04:00

Since Part I of the Francisco D'Souza interview, I've been assured Frank has improved his golf handicap. Now he'll discuss his views on how ITO service providers can differentiate themselves, the convergence of IT and BPO solutions... and a few other tidbits... PF: How can ITO providers differentiate themselves in today’s market? Is it by vertical focus, or other elements? FD: Given the extraordinary pressure that clients are under, I think that the key to differentiation is to focus on how to make clients’ businesses stronger. Rather than focusing on technology, process or methodology, I think providers need to really...

Being Frank about Global Sourcing: An interview with Cognizant's CEO (Part I)

2009-06-21T11:12:01-04:00

Observing the rise of the new wave of service providers over the last few years, the one that has scared the living daylights out of all of the incumbents is Cognizant. Now a $3bn company with deep footprints in the world'slargest global financial institutions, consumer businesses, manufacturing and healthcare organizations, Cognizant can no longer be considered an upstart. It's now part of the industry elite; quietly and cleverly aligning its value proposition to the post-recession era. As CEO Francisco D'Souza points out, we're in a time of not only cyclical change, but also secular change. I've had the pleasure of...

Remote Infrastructure Management anyone?

2009-06-18T19:43:37-04:00

Can 6-sigma really help execute an effective sourcing process?

2009-06-15T10:02:29-04:00

One major service provider that has quietly - and very effectively - grown its US presence over the last couple of years is HCL. And behind the scenes is a very classy guy, Debashish Sinha, who pulls the strings across its US sales, marketing and operations units. Anyone dealing with HCL these days is always glad to have Debashish around (despite the fact he organized their last industry event in Orlando). Prior to HCL, Deb has consulted for both Conscient Partners and NeoIT, in addition to being Gartner Group's principle analyst for IT services and sourcing. And when he's not...

Join the Horses on LinkedIn

2009-06-14T19:43:32-04:00

Yes, there is such a thing as a free lunch... Horses For Sources' official LinkedIn Group, the aptly-named "BPO and Offshoring Best Practices Forum" now has 5,700 members. This is a forum for leading sourcing practitioners to share their experiences, views, opinions, best practices and lessons learned in the worlds of IT outsourcing, Business Process Outsourcing, Shared Services and Offshoring. You also get a free subscription to the Horses Digest. And it's FREE FREE FREE. Am I the most charitable person you know? SIGN UP HERE

Hear the great Hags on global finance transformation

2009-06-12T09:54:56-04:00

I never knew that one day I would get to co-host a webcast with the great John Hagerty, but tune in on June 18th at 2.00pm ET to hear about Transforming the Global Finance Function in Today's Economy. Click here for full details, or register directly here. And like everything else here, it's FREE FREE FREE. John is a true legend in the analyst world, where he delivers insights in the world of finance transformation, performance management and corporate governance. He could also convince Newt Gingrich to vote for the communist party in 2012. In addition to the great "Hags"...

Supply Management BPO - short-term body shopping trumps business transformation

2009-06-10T22:14:58-04:00

It's easy to get excited with high-growth markets, but supply management BPO's different. While the market has grown exponentially, and a 30% increased expenditure last year is eye-opening, the nature of these engagements doesn't give me confidence that this market will sustain its growth trajectory unless customers think beyond short-term labor arbitrage, and service providers introduce significant process and technology enhancements to the early adopters to help them optimize their delivery. This "lift and shift" model could well result in customers losing more than they save. Read more at Think Global.

Executive ADD: The disruptive scourge of social networks in the services industry

2009-06-06T15:16:45-04:00

When you try and quantify the impact social media is having on industry, it's actually quite alarming how dangerous this medium can be on our lives and our careers. We discussed the impact of blog culture over a year ago, but the speed by which social media has crept into our daily activities, already dates many of the opinions expressed back then. The information world has altered radically, and this economic environment is accelerating the speed of change. As an analyst in global services industries, my job is to get across insight and opinion to as wide an audience as...

The Campbell chronicles: an exclusive interview

2009-06-02T13:22:57-04:00

If the Queen was handing out honours for outsourcing, then "arise Sir Kevin" would be a likely outcome. However, unless Accenture can grant him a British passport, even their PR heavyweights may struggle to pull that one off. Kevin Campbell is a legend in the outsourcing business (I refrained from saying "the Tiger Woods"...), having begun his career with the old Andersen Consulting business in the 90's before making his name as the COO of Exult, the protagonist of HR BPO, where he because synonymous with many of the early multi-process BPO deals for clients such as BP, Bank of...

Shaping your career in this sourcing industry

2009-06-01T19:31:51-04:00

There's one character in the sourcing business those "in the know" know... Larry Janis. When senior management look to hire or poach key talent, Larry is known as the discreet man with the black book. He's also a great guy, and agreed to post a few suggestions on what sourcing executives should be doing to shape their careers in this environment. No-one in the business knows the hiring dynamics of buyers, consultants and service providers as well as Larry... PF: Larry – you’ve been a lead search consultant in the sourcing industry for many years. In terms of roles and...

Innovation: creativity within financial constraints is the key

2009-05-31T13:39:49-04:00

So with all the talk about falling conference attendances, it's clear that people are still game for good events, but are simply being more selective about which ones they choose to attend this year. After the success of the recent Shared Services & Outsourcing Network show in Budapest, I had the good fortune to be at AMR Research's Supply Chain Conference in Scottsdale AZ this week, which attracted 650 senior-level supply chain, finance, operations and IT executives, many of whom wanted to talk about sourcing issues. The one opportunity I did have to escape the analyst meeting room was to...

The Kraft of Outsourcing: Learnings from Lee Coulter (Part III)

2009-05-28T13:27:47-04:00

And finally… the last tranche of our three-part interview with Kraft’s Lee Coulter. Here’s Lee’s take on attributes service providers need to demonstrate, and some advice for budding sourcing executives today… PF: Lee, when evaluating outsourcing service providers today, what attributes should companies look for? What should they try to avoid? LC: That is a really big question and not one I am sure I can answer in less than ten pages. Every engagement is different, and the basic dimensions of suitability are: service scope, service quality, service cost, cultural match, the leadership teams, partnership capability, and risk. Assuming that...

Talent Management vs. HRO – it’s not an “either or” proposition

2009-05-26T07:07:42-04:00

If you've ever ventured into the brave world of HR Outsourcing (and you need to be brave...) the chances are you'll hear the views of Ceridian's Keith Strodtman. Keith has been a constant at the global $1.6 billion HR services and store-card solutions giant for many years now, and when he's not coaching his twin girls' fastpitch softball team (that's "rounders" for any Brits on here), he's been running Ceridian's global HRO practice. He is also widely recognized as HRO's smoothest man, with a constant smile, never a raised word, and never a hair out of place. Keith has some...

Why the lay-off culture is far more damaging than offshoring

2009-05-25T09:18:52-04:00

Ever since President Obama proposed to change the IRS tax code that regulates how US corporations declare income from international activities, I've been thinking about other measures governments can take to slow the recession and help businesses become less myopic with how they navigate these rough waters. Reading between the lines, he appears to be targeting a revenue grab, while making political overtones against companies which use offshore resources. However, he's simply penalizing firms from being more productive with their exports. Sure, there are issues with tax fraud from havens such as Bermuda or the Caymens, but this is primarily...

Going green with sourcing...

2009-05-22T12:59:40-04:00

Folks - if you happen to be drifting around New York City on 3rd June, swing by the Philippine Cultural Center to hear some interesting discussions, including my friend and colleage Dr Stephen Stokes (pictured), author of the infamous piece "The Green Transformation of Indian Outsourcing: Heading for the Clouds, But Doing So on a Low-Cost and Carbon Budget". The event entitled "Global Sourcing After the Meltdown: In Search of Sustainability" is being organized by my good friends Christine Bullen and Wanda Lopuch at the Global Sorcing Council. For more information click here. You can also contact Wanda directly here....

How to get two whales in a mini...

2009-05-22T06:53:49-04:00

When I got a call from the Shared Services & Outsourcing Network crew back last Fall (Autumn) to run a session at their European Shared Services Week in Budapest this month, my immediate response was "how the expletives are you going to convince operations executives under severe cost restrictions to show up at a 3-day boonie in Budapest in the midst of the worst recession since Harold got clipped by an arrow in Hastings in 1066?" One of my favorite jokes (and I do have a rather strange sense of humor), is "How can you get two whales into a...

The Kraft of Outsourcing: Learnings from Lee Coulter (Part II)

2009-05-20T20:43:26-04:00

During Part I of Lee's interview, he talked about the development of the global sourcing industry and how companies were now approaching sourcing strategy in today's economic climate. In more Blackberry-smashing style, Lee goes on to discuss his theory of "innovation" within outsourcing relationships, and delivers some tips on how operations leaders can improve the performance of their service providers (without resorting to baseball-bats, water-boarding or enforced transition workshops at Epcott). PF: Lee, what is your theory of "innovation" within outsourcing relationships, and are we really seeing it in today’s engagements? LC: I have a pretty simple theory of innovation....

Happy 2nd birthday Horses for Sources...

2009-05-18T06:48:53-04:00

306 posts, 1445 comments, 12,000 subscribers and 30,000 RSS-feeders later, "Horses" today makes it to 2 years' old. There's never been much of a plan, just a platform for good discussion, sharing of ideas, and open debate on tough issues for the global sourcing industry - and all with a hint of cranky sarcasm. And we try to keep it unbiased... Drop me a note if you have any suggestions on what you would like to see more/less of on here - your input is always welcome. And a special thank you to all of you who come here regularly...

Globalizing the business is the key to outsourcing today

2009-05-17T19:49:08-04:00

As we discussed last week, it's clear that many companies will continue to move into outsourced business environments, despite the recession and political pressures to keep work onshore. While some firms find it hard to make radical decisions in a downturn, others are clearly seeing how critical it is to operate as a global business. If there's one thing this recession taught us, it's how integrated global economies and markets are today, how businesses need to adapt to move in and out of diverse regional markets, and how they must make rapid decisions to invest or divest global service /...

The Kraft of Outsourcing: Learnings from Lee Coulter (Part I)

2009-05-14T17:38:09-04:00

There is only one Lee Coulter. Service providers tremble at the very sound of his name, consultants run for the hills... practitioners flock for advice. And when he isn't performing carpentry or attempting cordon bleu, Lee has the small task of being SVP for Kraft's shared services, where he is a key leader of the firm's corporate transformation program "Organize for Growth". He is responsible for Kraft's IT services, global finance and HR shared service centers, in addition to the firm's BPO activities. He even once threatened to smash up my blackberry. On a more serious note, Lee has a...