Business Process Outsourcing (BPO), a contemporary common solution to enable labor-intensive, administrative business processes (finance, procurement, HR and eCommerce) to be carried out more efficiently and cheaply by an external service provider. This, so that the company itself can focus on the core business and no more valuable time is spent on things that are not part of their core tasks. This seems like a simple step, but in practice there seem to be some points for attention.
In this blog 5 wisdoms in a row.
1. Think before you start.
Carefully check in advance what the added value should be of outsourcing. BPO is not the solution to all problems. With outsourcing to countries such as China, India, and Poland (offshoring), the main aim is generally to reduce costs in the short term, but in practice, the total costs turn out to be much higher than estimated in advance. This is because they still had to use many resources to streamline processes – with retroactive effect. The phasing out of these processes under their roof will also have consequences for their workforce. BPO is unfortunately in many cases inextricably linked to internal reorganization.
2. Even though a monkey wears a gold ring, it is and remains an ugly thing.
Anyone who thinks that they can outsource their processes without process optimization commits a major mistake. It is therefore advisable (if desired with the help of the external service provider) to pull a broom through your business processes before they are made “BPO-proof”. To illustrate: Are purchasing orders going to be sent by e-mail with a digital signature, or is the process being maintained whereby the paper document must be provided with a “wet signature” and sent by post? Another example is the reduction of the number of invoices that reaches the creditor administration via departments. As a result, in some cases, the invoice is only delivered to the creditors after the due date and therefore it is not possible to pay on time.
Outsourcing a business process means that it must first be very clear which tasks are involved and what objectives the company has in mind. And although the external service provider is most likely an experienced party with knowledge of the processes, it remains up to the outsourcer to take the underlying policy.
3. A good start is half the battle.
Unfortunately, there is no checklist available that can provide insight into whether an organization is ready for outsourcing. There are, however, several guidelines for this and this is based on the preparation phase. In the preparation phase, the organization focuses on adapting existing processes to outsourcing and (possibly) working with a Shared Service Center. Based on the transition plan, in which timing, control, management, and communication are named, further interpretation is given to the actual implementation of the outsourcing. A common mistake is to think that something “can be adjusted later”.
Also Read: Partnership with BPO: First Step on Success Ladder
4. “Getting together is a start, staying together is progress, working together is a success.” (Henry Ford)
At BPO, long-term collaboration is usually chosen, for example in terms of 3 to 7 years. Mutual agreements and mutual trust are essential when entering such sustainable cooperation. To what extent does the service provider have experience with outsourcing and is he willing to share this knowledge and expertise with you? Are you being dragged or kept on the line? How do you get the external service provider to work proactively and how do you create a mature relationship with your BPO supplier, bridging conflicting interests?
5. The keeper wins!
Let it be clear that outsourcing is not a step that “just” takes; the concluding “optimization phase” is infinite. Active monitoring and management remain essential in all cases. The effort that both parties must put into cooperation and outsourced processes, including about future changes, must not be underestimated. Flexibility, communication and good mutual coordination are the keys to success.
With this in mind
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