What’s ahead for Outsourcing? 

Savvy companies will openly begin to embrace the reality that outsourcing has changed the way business does business. Outsourcing has come of age.

Savvy company managers will have to accept the reality that by outsourcing, they get to leverage the capabilities and investments of others to increase their own profits, which in turn will ultimately increase shareholder value.

However, for businesses to tap into these benefits, CFOs charged with managing their companies financial performance must do the math so as not to disadvantage their company by hanging on to the internal management of business services that can be done cheaper by an outsource service provider.

Corporate managers have been struggling with the issue of giving up their high cost power base, made up of internal departments and staff, fearing that by doing so jeopardizes their longevity.

However, the opportunity to outsourcing, both near-shore (Canada) and near-offshore (Caribbean) is here and offers corporations significant cost and productivity benefit that can no longer be ignored.

To remain competitive, businesses must unshackle themselves of the routine business process tasks so they can focus staff and resources on service, growth, profits and business opportunities.

One of the outsourcing observations of 2004 was the way company executives made the service provider decision. Most executives made the outsource service provider decisions based on company size and/or if they are located far-offshore, overlooking the obvious. Near-shore-Canada and near-offshore -Countries.

Are these executives missing the boat? Big is no longer what dictates the best outsource business partner. Outsourcing managers should begin to recognize that technology has given smaller Business Process Outsourcing providers the service delivery scope, equal to the large deep-pocket companies. 

Small BPO service providers are usually run by the founders and/or hands-on presidents or CEO's which results in these companies providing better and more personalized, professional and dependable service than is possible by larger BPO companies. 

Next is the location selection by outsourcing managers. Outsourcing managers are stuck with an old formula, that reads; "Outsourcing = Far-Offshore". That formula has long been rewritten. 

Today, successful Outsourcing can be achieved via near-shore and/or near-offshore without having to cross the ocean. 

However, if direct offshore outsourcing is the hot button, company outsourcing executives should look near-offshore to the Caribbean, which is the most convenient location for help desk support, Order-to-Cash support management, Bookkeeping and Tax Data Processing support. 

Yet, corporate outsourcing decision makers have overlooked this convenient near-offshore location, with its well educated English-speaking pool of people resources and available well developed infrastructure, when making the outsourcing decision.

This is a mistake. The irony is that many of the people resources in the Caribbean attended college/universities in Canada and the U.S.A. Many have also worked in related business process industries and services that form some of the "what to outsource business process mix" 

Most already have the hands-on training from corporations in Canada and the United States. Many have worked in various business process management service industries; this ranges from call centers, to credit/collections departments and agencies, accounting industry, trucking and other related fields, making them tremendously capable with the added benefit of the 3 Cs (Capacity + Condition + Commitment) for delivering a high level of professionalism, consistent results and effectiveness equal to and greater than is possible, from similar employees in Canada or the United States. 

Corporate executives charged with the responsibility for outsourcing should stop seeing the Caribbean as a vacation destination only and recognize it for what it has become - "A dynamic growing business community" loaded with trained professionals in all areas of business discipline, with available technology and infrastructure, easily customized to consistently achieve and exceed all the required business process and communication needs and goals. 

Another factor is that the Caribbean pool of Canada/U.S.A. potential employees are growing, through the process of reverse migration. This is a rich pool made up of people of Caribbean origin, answering the call to return; “To the Land of their Birth". 

Just imagine the benefit to corporate bottom-line if companies with Caribbean back-offices were to begin advertising in the United States/Canada for employees to fill back-office business process positions in the Caribbean. They would easily attract the best and the brightest from Canada/U.S. to return to live and work in the Caribbean . 

As outsourcing managers look to making outsourcing decisions for 2005, they should start by "thinking outside the box". Dare to be different. 

There is gold in near-shore and/or near-offshore outsourcing and the opportunity to drive more profits to the business bottom-line and significantly increase shareholder value.

BPM Outsourcing
December 21, 2004