Offshore Today

Speed Sourcing: new outsourcing trend - slow down!

CIO Online discussed a new concept called Speed Sourcing. This is a methodology where a company locates an outsource partner based on rough scope and guidelines - relying more on trust and pre-existing credibility with the vendor.

"In outsourcing, the contract process is like taking a piece of granite and carving a horse," EquaTerra explains on its web site. "But in speed sourcing, you're just going to carve out some big chunks to form the semblance of an animal; the actual horse will shape up later."

The question however - when you sign on, will you get a horse or will it become a broken piece of granite. Cross Sea believed that it takes time and due diligence to find a strong and worthy partner. The more risk and expense, the longer the process should be. Not long for long sake - but just enough time so that both parties fully and completely understand the scope, risks, contingencies, costs and so on. Speed Sourcing? Slow down.

Advice: Selecting an Outsourced Service Partner

Selecting an outsourced service partner, especially one that is offshore, requires more than just sending out an RFQ. Some tips and suggestions from our own experience the three "C's for selection:

Cost: The cost of the offshore service provider should not be the number one factor. You get what you pay for can really hit you hard if you consider the lowest dollar-per-hour rate as your principle driver.

Communications: Does the offshore outsource provider have a good command of English? Most will say they do - we suggest trying them out. In our role selling offshore technology services, we often pro-actively suggested that a prospect engage us in a conference call. Hearing is believing.

Contact: Can you reach an offshore's representative at YOUR timezone convenience? We recommend considering an offshore partner that maintains a North American representative to handle client service issues. At the least, does the offshore provider have personnel available at their location - during your business hours?

And once you select an outsource vendor (on or offshore), be very detailed and specific to the scope of their responsibilities and maintain a high level of frequent communications on status and results. Outsourcing can enable your business, so select wisely.

Humor: Employee's Outsourcing their own Jobs

Got to hand it to The Onion for their high quality presentation of the...  news. In this story, we learn how employees are outsourcing their own jobs offshore. And how some of the more creative offshore resources - are re-outsourcing. Everyone wins, including the poorest man in the world, who is projected to be doing 83% of all the world's work.

Enjoy....  

Spotlight: Outsource destination - Philippines

Language and similar cultural values are criteria that can be included in your evaluation for offshore outsourcing partners. The Philippines offers a unique advantage, as this was once an American Colony, and English is a major part of their lives.

From a recent ezine article (the full story):

"Studies from Gartner Research have shown that the Philippines is the most Westernized of any Asian countries that provide offshore outsourcing. A former US colony the political and educational systems are modeled after those in the United States."

"Recent studies by Kelly Services study in partnership with Singapore-based ACA Research, Inc. show that Filipinos are healthier, more loyal to their employers, and have better language skills than all other offshore outsourcing countries..."

Language is only one criteria that should be researched in making an offshore partner decision. However their command of the English language and cultural advantages may provide benefits for offshore telemarketing and other customer facing interactions. Other country spotlights will be in this blog... fair & balanced.

#Offshore Development Teams: Technology and Communication Keys to Success

Offshore development teams can be highly effective and an important asset to your organization. However, like so many team structures - lack of strong over-sight and communications can cause harm to the relationship, giving outsourcing a bad name.

The critical element of success is to establish a strong open communication between the on and offshore teams. Set expectations early and monitor progress on a very frequent basis. Leverage  technology - other than email - to create a well documented environment.

Employing enterprise/social technology tools such as Twiki.net collaboration tools, or Jive Software's enterprise social business tools may help bridge both timezone and language issues - while maintaining a unified playbook.

In a blog article found on trybpo.com - we think that their oversight strategy is somewhat heavy handed, with agent screen monitors. With screen monitoring and video cameras in the agents offshore office, we feel there is an established lack of trust... from the get go. For work that may be highly sensitive or require high levels of security, perhaps these steps should be considered.

The bottom line from our experience with offshore IT development is that team members have a strong desire to be highly productive and produce high-end quality work. And like any team, they want to feel part of the organization, trusted and ... counted on.

Use communications and technology to ensure that your offshore team is in the game and playing on your side - for your win!

#Outsourcing 2009 Predictions: Strategic and Strong will Prevail

A December article on the International Association of Outsourcing Professionals (IAOP) made five predictions for outsourcing in 2009. (Top Five Outsourcing Trends for 2009 Predicted by International Association of Outsourcing Professionals) 

One in particular caught our attention, and is one of the tenents of Cross Sea Strategy Advisors - that is: "Strategic companies will prosper"

The economic meltdown could create opportunities for strong, well-positioned companies, according to observations by consultants Booz & Co, a founding member of the outsourcing association.

“While the economic climate will not immediately improve, companies involved in outsourcing that act strategically and decisively for the long term will be increasingly valued and sought,” said IAOP board member SvenGovaars, senior vice president, Colliers Strategic Resources Group.

We believe now is a great time for offshore companies to begin establishing their credibility and brand in North America. Begin to create a network of partners and potential clients - and get their cadence and pitch all set... for the eventual financial recovery. And this does not mean there will be no revenue to achieve - quite the opposite. We believe that offshore oursourcing can help companies to remain competitive while maintaining a tighter budget.

Those companies that are positioning themselves now - will reap tremendous potential rewards in the future.

Outsourcing: Global Competition - Harmful?

Full disclaimer: Offshore Today is a blog written by Cross Sea Strategy Advisors, a company that helps offshore companies to market and sell their services in the US & Canada. We have been marketing offshore services (primarily in the Rich Internet Application product development space) for the past two years.

We competed based on availability of a highly demanded skill (Adobe Flex), strong IT methodology and process - and costs. We also promoted "best-shoring", which is where we can place developers (or architects, project managers and/or designers) in the client's North American office or in the offshore development center... or a hybrid of both.

Offshore outsourcing can provide real benefits to a company that needs to be cost-conscious - to remain competitive, or to quickly leverage new skills and technology. In many cases we observed, without the option to outsource offshore, the company would not have undertaken the venture.

Another thought: we are truly a global society and need to compete globally. American companies need to adapt and identify where our true competitive strengths and opportunities exist. And project these strengths globally. American workers and know-how/knowledge is one of the best in the world.

We recall reading how many of the displaced workers from AT&T started their own companies and achieved great things. With this in mind, American' should not fear offshore outsourcing, but should look to achieve a true greatness, that the world will require and buy...from us.

Think global.

Small and Mid Size Businesses - Think Big by Outsourcing

At ADP, the payroll company, one of our advertisements said "You Make Pizza, We Do Payroll". In other-words, focus on what you do great - let others handle the other stuff. This same thinking will  help small and mid-size businesses (SMB) to be successful - and be big in their marketplace. The business owner focuses their time and energy on the core of the business, letting others handle the non-core tasks.

"Small business owners need to "think big." Just like Fortune 50 companies, the small business owner needs to identify strengths and then find a solution for someone else to do everything else - outsource it." and "By outsourcing the finance and accounting functions, a small business owner can focus on growing the company." A Small Business Competitive Advantage: Outsourced Finance and Accounting Solution By Kathleen Goolsby,

There are many non-core tasks that can be outsourced effectively, from administrative functions, travel services, payroll on through technology development and financial and accounting services. And many of these are available offshore through high quality service providers - that will enhance an SMB's margins and profitability.

KPO: The value proposition for knowledge process outsourcing

Knowledge Process Outsourcing (KPO) provides companies with access to higher-level resources for tasks that range from content writing to search engine optimization (SEO).  Unlike Business Process Outsourcing (BPO), KPO employs higher educated people that have the ability to perform research, write strongly worded documents and make low level decisions on behalf of your company.

KPO's principal benefit is the ability to add a higher level of resource to the company, enhancing the  companies competitive and promotional position (thru writing, SEO, research and similar). Cost savings is not the primary benefit - which is more akin to BPO.

KPO includes many skills, so for this blog entry,  Offshore Today, we'll address web site Content Writing.

Scenario: Travel related Web Site & Social Network:
You own a travel related social network website that provides a forum and blog to your visitors. The objective is to promote news, information and present advertising to a sustained traffic base. We know that most web site owners do not have the time, energy and (perhaps) the creativity to maintain an effective blog - nor monitor an open forum. This is where the KPO outsourced professional becomes an important asset to your travel social network website.

The KPO professional is tasked with researching new and exciting travel destinations and providing well written content to your blog. A blog, as we know, is effective only when it is maintained (updated) frequently with fresh new exciting content. This draws reader (aka traffic),  but can greatly enhance the search engine ranking (SEO) of your website. The more frequent the relevant content is updated - the higher the potential ranking. The higher the ranking - with fresh exciting and well written content, the more traffic... and revenue.

Secondly,  a forum where there are no responses to questions is like one hand clapping? If visitors to your site are asking for ideas or assistance on travel destinations, and no one is listening - it's a very quiet social conversation. The readers will go elsewhere. The KPO professional can step in - researching the questions being asked, and provide meaningful responses. The knowledge professional keeps the conversation moving.

This is just one example of the power of KPO for business.

Outsourcing Study: Interesting Data on Competitiveness

From Outsourcing Journal, a recent article entitled "Trends in Factors Surrounding Achieving Cost Reduction by Outsourcing" By Kathleen Goolsby, revealed interesting information that may be helpful in deciding how your company can leverage and succeed through outsourcing non-core tasks.

We believe that outsourcing can help a company achieve competitive advantages - more now than ever giving this challenging economy. This article supports this and provide data on how companies are using the savings achieved.

The competitive advantage comes from the lower price of the company's products through savings achieved from outsourcing. The article states that prior studies showed savings went to cash-flow and bottom line results - thus an economic and competitive shift.

Read the rest of this study, which reveals information on outsource cost savings objectives and more detailed information on outsource vendor selection processes.