Estuur van strategiese uitkontraktering

Abstract

Managing Outsourcing. The global marketplace is booming, and companies are responding to the lure of worlds to be conquered. Firms that transact business around the world are striving to reach new and emerging markets domestically and internationally and to operate more efficiently on a global basis. For some of the firms, their efforts to extend their marketing and operational reach beyond their traditional boundaries create the need for assistance with their infrastructures. Many of them are turning to outsourcing as the bridge to reach their international growth strategies and customer base. An understanding of outsourcing starts with a reexamination of the traditional view of a company, which is rooted in the post-industrial-revolution model. On the basis of this model, a company is generally thought of as a large, integrated organisation, that is , as an organisation that directly owns and manages most, if not all, of its required resources. Business success was seen as synonymous with acquiring these factors of production. Over the years, as organisations became more complex, their resources likewise became further specialized and directed toward various pieces of the company' s operations - product design. engineering, manufacturing, human resources, information technology, distribution, and sales. The traditional integrated firm is not the only, nor necessarily the best way to create value - especially in the new global economy. Today, almost any organisation can gain access to resources. What differentiates companies now is their intellectual capital, their knowledge, and their expertise - not the size and scope of the resources they own and manage. As a result, outsourcing is being adopted by firms from across the corporate spectrum and it is rapidly becoming an accepted management tool for redefining and reengineering the corporation. Outsourcing is being applied to every facet of the company, and no firm is too large or too small to consider outsourcing. Outsourcing fundamentally challenges today' s executives to rethink the traditional vertically integrated firm in favor of a much more flexible organisation based on core competencies and mutually beneficial longer-term outside relationships. Organisations which traditionally would judge their competitive advantage in terms of their size are beginning to judge their competitive advantage in terms of their expertise. Outsourcing was once viewed almost exclusively as a way to cut costs. Not any longer. Outsourcing is now recognized as a powerful tool for business growth. The business growth companies experience as a result of outsourcing is growth based not on investing in everything but on investing in the right things. It is growth based on specialisation, on expertise, and on excellence. It is growth based on focusing on those areas that most directly contribute to a company' s success, to distinguish itself in its marketplace, and to excelling in the eyes of its customers. As more and more companies of all sizes "downsize", " rightsize" and "re- prioritize", they can profit from identifying and building on their strengths while outsourcing non-essential functions For quite a few years now managers have been describing their outsourcing initiatives as "strategic". But in most organisations outsourcing has not yet made the transition from a tactical tool - a way to cut current costs - to a strategic initiative - a way to grow the business and increase shareholder value. The objective should not be just to save money, but to save money to spend money, spend money to make money, make money to build the future of the company. Outsourcing is a management tool for the changing face of business. It is a strategic relationship between an organisation and an outside company which takes responsibility for performing necessary but non-core functions of the organisation. Choosing which functions of the organisation to outsource, and knowing what kind of outside specialists will best perform these functions, must be tied to the ultimate goal: bringing the greatest value to the customer and obtaining the greatest productivity in the organisation. Outsourcing lets the organisation direct its energy on the "what" and "who" of their business, while the "how" is handled by outside experts. For outsourcing to be successful, management must have a clear set of goals and objectives in mind from the start. Outsourcing may entail significant organisational upheaval, transfer of important assets, dislocation of people and long-term contractual relationships with an outside partner. None of these make sense unless the benefits to be gained and the risks involved are clearly understood and managed from the outset. One of the most important factors in outsourcing is to keep in mind that it is a management tool. It is nothing more and nothing less than a management tool. It is the ability of managers to apply this tool in a way which is unique and appropriate for the situation, that really will make the difference. There are tactical and there are strategic reasons for companies to approach outsourcing. The tactical reasons are the short term benefits that organisations are looking for when they approach outsourcing as a direction that they are going to move in. More and more companies are looking at the strategic reasons for outsourcing: improving business focus , gaining access to world class capabilities through the outside relationship, and in some cases accelerating the benefits of re-engineering, sharing risk and freeing resources for other purposes. The history of long-term outsourcing has not always been glorious. Unfortunately, too many outsourced customers experience problems over the life of the outsourced relationship such as data control issues, inflexibility with changing business needs, deflating components that don't equal lower cost, poor communication, over dependence on the outsourcer, internal resistance, and competition between outsourcers and others. There are basically five general steps in the process of outsourcing. It starts with strategic analysis, defining the organisation' s requirements, selecting the providers, transitioning the operations and ends with the managing of the relationship. Managing outsourced operations is by no means the same as managing internal resources; the focus of attention is different and the two call for different managerial skills. Outsource management involves monitoring contract terms and relationships rather than dealing with subordinate staff and systems; it means monitoring performance and results, with an emphasis on outcome. The dilemma for the organisation is , "How do I turn my outsourcing relationship into an ongoing asset?" This paper describes a new structure based on a win-win model where the company comes to the outsourcer as an equal partner. The outsourcer is a key component of the company's delivery structure, and they must evolve to meet the company's needs. So, rather than getting the company out of a difficult situation, the outsourcer is an integral part of an ongoing business strategy. The result? Outsourcers must add value, and customers and outsourcers must develop a more equal relationship.