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Outsourcing Off-shore: Getting Your Ducks
in a Row Before You Send Them Overseas
Off-shore outsourcing has become a powerful business tool
for maximizing profitability and creating opportunities for
continued growth. Moving an operation off-shore, however,
can be intimidating - particularly if you've never done it
before. Or worse, if you've had a less than successful experience
in the past.
Where do you begin? Do you go to the Internet, run a search,
and hope to find some answers that might point you in the
right direction? If you do, you'll most likely come across
a list of consulting firms that offer to place you with a
call center agency in the country you've selected for outsourcing.
These consultancies usually maintain some type of relationship
with a number of agencies in the most popular outsourcing
destinations. But wait, what exactly is the call center agency's
role in this to begin with? And, let's get back to that country
you are considering. How can you be certain it's the best
location for your particular off-shore operation? There's
a lot more you need to know and understand - a lot more expert
information to develop - before you can take that first step
outside of the country. For instance, let's start with a fundamental
yet critical question. Is outsourcing your operation off-shore
a solid business decision for your organization in the first
place?
As in any major business decision, you've got to do your
homework. It will help to have someone in your corner who
has the track record and expertise to say, "Been there,
done that - and I have the savvy and the connections to help
you to get there with a minimum amount of risk." Find
a consultant with credentials like these; one that can take
you intelligently through the entire process, and you'll be
in a position to proceed with an elevated degree of confidence
and success.
The Off-Shoring Process
Before you go forward, it's essential to have an overview
of all that's involved in the decision to take an operation
off-shore.
The process includes:
1) Cost/Benefit Analysis - This brings us back to
that all important, fundamental question. Is outsourcing the
operation off-shore the best choice? A detailed, cost/benefit
analysis will give you the information you need to answer
that question. It will also alert you to issues you need to
consider, as well as arm you with the facts when you have
to sell your decision to stakeholders.
2) Selection of Vendor - If the cost/benefit analysis
supports a decision to off-shore, the next step is choosing
one or more qualified vendor(s).
- Developing the RFP for an outsourcing vendor requires specific
knowledge of outsourcing, and off-shoring in particular. It
should include:
- § Performance Criteria - stated in terms that allow
tracking and measurement
- § Performance Assessment - a functional tool to assure
the vendor is meeting expectations
- § Management Outline - defining management requirements
for a business relationship between you and the vendor
- Evaluation and selection of a vendor based on the response
to the RFP can be a science in itself. Starting with a well-written
RFP is crucial. Taking the information provided in the response
and evaluating it in the context of the off-shore environment
requires real expertise. The success, or failure, of your
off-shoring operation might well rest on how well you are
able to interpret the information you receive. And, on your
ability to understand the impact of that information on your
operation overall.
3) Site Selection - Determining the best location
for the particular operation to be off-shored begins another
process requiring detailed understanding of variables such
as technical capabilities, and the availability and qualification
of the labor pool.
4) Transition Requirements/Planning - Finally making
it all happen requires an accurate roadmap, complete with
specific milestones marking all the many elements critical
to successfully moving or starting a business off-shore.
Conclusion
The decision to outsource off-shore clearly involves a number
of challenges. If you did that Internet search we talked about
at the beginning of this article, you would have run across
this concept in one form or another: The question no longer
is, "Can I really afford to outsource off-shore?"
but "Can I afford NOT to!"
But is jumping on the off-shoring bandwagon, just because
there is one, really your best move? Maybe the better question
is, "Can I really afford to outsource off-shore without
beginning with a detailed cost/benefit analysis and moving
step-by step through the process with a proven, qualified
consultant?" Better to get those ducks in a row first.
It beats trying to track them down once they've paddled off
in every direction but the right one.
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