A lot of American citizens have been screaming blue murder whenever they here the term “outsourcing”. Outsourcing is of course not a new occurrence – although a lot of citizens have been made to believe that outsourcing is the “new” thing that is taking away their jobs. A lot of service companies began creating jobs overseas in order to gain access to foreign markets. These companies audit, repair and consult where their customers or clients are located. To put it in a way that you’d understand, oversees clients or customers do not have to come all the way here. In addition, a lot of foreign markets are really growing rapidly as lots of domestics companies become saturated. About 60 percent of the revenue of American IT companies is estimated to be created overseas. In a variety of industries which range from consumer products to banking to work placement to even aerospace – this leads companies to report that their overseas revenue totally exceeds their domestic sales.

Basically, a lot of companies are taking time to focus more on their core competence. They simply subcontract a lot of their activities to domestic suppliers. When viewed from that perspective, offshore sourcing is really a minor part of the trend to decentralize business processes. Moreover, these companies have also learned that in a lot of cases, the higher productivity of United States workers offset the wage differential and all the other costs of operating out of the country.

The cost reductions gotten from outsourcing helps to open up new market opportunities for companies in the United States companies, and this also help to generate additional work here in America. In a general way, the company end up with a lot more resources in order to improve its performance. You need to understand that outsourcing and the savings that it generates are really the beginning and most definitely not the end of the adjustment process. The company that outsources can now afford to buy new equipment and then expand training programs. Thus, its higher domestic labor costs can be easily offset by much higher worker productivity.

Over a period of time, there is a real positive feedback concerning the effect of outsourcing. As developing nations develop their own economies, new markets will also be created for the United States made goods and or services (wink) – this is simply a win-win situation.

Daven Michaels Author of the book Outsource This!

People are using local searches now more than ever. When you think of searching the Internet you think of utilizing big sites such as eBay and Amazon. People do use these big ecommerce sites to purchase from time to time, especially for music downloads and physical mail order items. But a recent survey of a typical consumer’s search habits reveals that they search online for local information 3 to 1 over worldwide searching. They look to the Internet to find hours of operation, directions, specials, coupons and menus and other information.

Is your business in a place to be easily found online? How much business are you missing out on because your Internet presence is weak? This is not the time to be lacking in this new form of advertising, specially when you weigh the cost effectiveness against print ads and TV commercials. I know how busy you are running your business and how confusing maintaining a website can be. That is why outsourcing is the perfect solution to today’s busy business owners.

For under $6.00 an hour you can have your own dedicated Internet trained virtual assistant to help you with all the tasks that will not only save your business a ton in labor costs, but also help grow your business. You overseas rep can create and maintain your social networking, manage your call center activity and help with billing and inventory control and much more. Imagine the freedom you’ll have when a professional rep takes control of these tasks so you can concentrate on the important business decisions!

No matter what knd of business you have or large or small it is, you can benefit by outsourcing. Your presence on the Internet is more important than ever now that the way people find local businesses are changing. The Internet Yellow pages are faster, cheaper and more info comprehensive than the big, bulky Yellow pages of the past. Offer your customers the experience of knowing about your business and keeping it fresh in their minds all the time. Find out how outsourcing can take your company to the next level of marketing.

Daven Michaels Author of the book Outsource This!

Daven Michaels Author of the book Outsource This!

In the past couple of years, China is a country that is quickly becoming one of the world’s top suppliers of offshore software outsourcing providers which is due to its totally incredible developmental rate. Though India is right now the world’s top leader in software outsourcing provider; well, China is really aiming to outpace India so that they will become the next leading competitor in software outsourcing. It has been predicted that China someday will become one of the top 3 nations for offshore software outsourcing between the year 2007 and 2010.

A lot of companies are even starting to plan their offshore outsourcing strategies in order to take advantage of this country’s emerging strength as an outsourcing destination. This also includes searching for ways so as to take advantage of China’s present software strengths. There are some estimates that state that China’s outsourcing could even rival India as the top offshore Information Technology (IT) services market.

Actually the recent flood of activities that helped put this country on the world’s outsourcing map came about partially due to the government’s support and promotion and partially because Japan decided to move a lot of its software development work to china and also partially because a couple of very large foreign companies started up R&D centers in this country.

3. India

There is absolutely no doubt that India is among the key players in the offshore outsourcing business. India is a country that boasts of a work force with the following attributes:

• Well educated
• Low cost
• Highly talented
• English speaking

India also boats of excellent Information Technology (IT) and networking infrastructures, friendly laws, a fairly stable political environment, well paid taxes and top notch certified software companies. The offshore outsourcing industry in India is a rapidly growing one and has produced a lot of success stories that really makes India a really popular offshore outsourcing destination for Information Technology related and other Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) services as well.

Offshore assignments have really moved on up the value chain; it has moved from data entry to very large and rather complex turnkey projects of up to 200 to 300 people within just a couple of years! These days, you will discover that almost any kind of service can be outsourced to this country; it could be healthcare, engineering or even KPO.

To be continued……

Daven Michaels Author of the book Outsource This!

Offshore outsourcing is simply the practice of employing an external company to perform a couple of business tasks in a country other than the country where the goods or service will be consumed or sold. Outsourcing has really increased at a fast pace due to the improvement in modern satellite and internet technology, a much better connectivity and a steady search for very affordable labor in order to cut costs and achieve competitive advantage.

When a company outsources its back office business functions to less expensive nations such as India, China, Malaysia, Philippines, the company can really cut down on their labor costs and concentrate on their core competencies and make sure that they provide a much better customer satisfaction. Well, according to a recent report, United States firms have saved nearly 8 billion United States dollars through outsourcing to developing countries such as the Philippines. There are a lot of developing countries that act as offshore outsourcing destinations to nations that are already developed.

Some of the top four (4) nations that can be considered as the best offshore outsourcing destinations are:

1. Philippines

One of the great things about the Philippines is its people. Yup! Philippines sure has a well educated English speaking labor force and really stands out as on of the world’s largest English speaking country. The commitment, attitude, education and community constitute the major competitive advantage particularly in the front office operations such as customer service and of course sales.

The Philippines is a country that boasts of a huge pool of really productive, multi-skilled and trainable work force. Most Filipino outsourcing companies only employ workers that are highly qualified for different outsourcing tasks. The Government support and Information Technology is a given. There are a lot of major companies that already carry out operations in the Philippines.

If you are searching for an offshore outsourcing firm that that will provide you with employees for work functions such as telemarketing which will be targeted at United States clients, you will of course require employees who speak not just basic English language but an impeccable one. Reputable outsourcing firms are known to hire only workers who will meet all your requirements for your telemarketing department. It is very important that people should be able to hear a telemarketer clearly so that they can fully understand a lot more about the type of product and or services offered by your company.

To be continued…

Daven Michaels Author of the book Outsource This!

1 ) Does your outsourcing company know it’s way around the web? In today’s business environment, a web presence is important to doing a global business. Internet savvy reps are a must!

2 ) Having your reps “Americanized” is very important to your clients. How heavy an accent does yourcurrent rep have? And do they clearly understand what expected from a Western style business?

3) Is your rep familiar with the way your company does business? A good outsourcing firm will take the time to get to know their client and their business style intimately.

4 ) Does your current outsourcing firm have Western style management? A reliable firm will have an American on staff to help with communication issues and problems as they arise.

5) Is there a way to keep track of your reps on the job? A reputable firm will have live cameras, recorded phone calls and reports that will keep track of their employees efficiency.

6 ) A proper infrastructure such as power, water and phone lines are something we take for granted in the West. A reliable outsourcing firm should be located in a country where this won’t be an issue.

7 ) Is your outsourced rep familiar with popular computer programs such as Word, Excel and other desktop publishing programs and communication systems? This is important in today’s business world.

8 ) Does your current outsourcing firm give you flexibility in payments and packages? You may need only part time help right now, but you’ll need to upgrade quickly and easily as your business grows without a hassle and extra penalty fees.

9 ) Does your outsourcing company keep up to date with their reps training? The Internet changes quickly. How do you know that your rep will have the cutting edge technology to stay on top?

10 ) Some outsourcing firms may only specialize in a couple of things such as call centers or billing services. But this is a small part of what you need to be successful. A good outsourcing firm will have available all the resources to grow your business at every level.

When searching for an outsourcing firm, all of these things should be addressed. Your firm should be a one stop shop of reliable help, technical know how, courteous employees and simple and easy payment plans that do what there are supposed to do…make your life easier.

Daven Michaels Author of the book Outsource This!

1. c. RFP & RFQ

Now that the business requirements have been defined and you also have the short listed vendors that you want to evaluate, this is the time to write an RFP (request for proposal) or RFQ (request for quotation). Whichever format that you decide to choose, just make sure that your RFQ or RFP should have the following sections:

1. Submission information
2. Introduction & executive summary
3. The business background and overview
4. Well detailed specifications
5. Assumptions and constraints
6. Terms and conditions

vii.  Selection criteria

1. d. Proposal Evaluation & Outsourcing Vendor Selection

The major goal of this part is to effectively minimize human emotion and political influence so as to arrive at a decision that is certainly in the very best interest of the company. Make sure that you are very thorough in your investigation, ensure that you also seek input from all the stakeholders and utilize the following method in order to direct the team to a unified outsourcing vendor selection process:

1. Initial review of all the vendor proposals
2. Record company requirements and vendor requirements
3. Allocate importance value for every requirement
4. Calculate an overall performance score
5. Finally, pick a winning vendor

1. e. Agreement Negotiation Strategies

The last stage in the outsourcing vendor selection process is developing an agreement negotiation strategy. You need to understand that you want to partner with your outsourcing vendor and not take ‘em to the cleaners. Ensure that you review your goal for your agreement contract negotiation and effectively plan for the negotiations, make sure that you cover the following items:

1. Make sure you list rank your main concerns (or priorities) along with options
2. Make sure that you know the clear difference between what you need and what you want
3. Make sure that you know your bottom line so that you will know exactly when to walk away.
4. Clearly define any benchmarks or time constraints
5. Make sure you assess prospective risks and liabilities
6. Dispute resolution, confidentiality, changes in requirements, non-compete.

vii.  You should do the same for your outsourcing vendor

When you choose the right vendor to handle all your outsourcing needs, this will surely give you some peace of mind knowing that your outsourced tasks are in good capable hands. Never allow your emotions get the better of you, make sure you stick to what is best for your business.

Daven Michaels Author of the book Outsource This!

Experts will tell you that the outsourcing vendor selection processes can be pretty complicated and also an emotional undertaking – that is, if you do not know how to approach it from the very beginning. Here are steps to help you select the right outsourcing vendor for your business. This guide will help you analyze your business needs, search for prospective vendors, pilot the team in choosing the winning vendor(s) and provide you with the knowledge on contract negotiations and effectively avoiding negotiation errors.

1. a. Examine the Business Requirements

Before you start the whole process of gathering data or performing interviews, you should first assemble a team of individuals who sure have a vested interest in this kind of vendor selection process. The very first task that the outsourcing vendor selection team will need to carry out is to clearly define (in written form) the material, service or product that you are looking for in an outsourcing vendor. Then, define the technical and the business needs as well. Also, you need to clearly define the vendor requirements. Lastly, you will also need to take time to publish your document to the aspects that are relevant to this outsourcing vendor selection process and also seek the team’s input. You should have the team evaluate the comments and create a final document.

Quick Summary:

1. Put together an evaluation team
2. Define the material, service or product
3. Define the business and technical needs
4. Define the vendor needs
5. Finally, publish a “requirements” document for the team for approval.

1. b. Outsourcing Vendor Search

Now that you and the team have an agreement on the business and outsourcing vendor requirements, the team must now begin to search for prospective vendors that will be able to deliver the product, service or material. The bigger the scope of the vendor selection process then the more vendors you should consider putting on the table. You need to understand that not all vendors will even meet the minimum requirements and the team will have to come to a decision of which vendors you will seek more information from. Then write a RFI (request for information) and immediately send it to the chosen vendors. Lastly, carefully evaluate their responses and pick a small number of promising outsourcing vendors that will be short listed and move on to the next step.

Quick Summary:

1. Put together a list of promising vendors
2. Pick vendors that you will request more information from
3. Write an RFI
4. Evaluate the responses of prospective vendors and create a short list of promising vendors

Daven Michaels Author of the book Outsource This!

These days, a lot of businesses have figured out the advantages of outsourcing their administrative support projects. Here are just a couple of the benefits one will get if one’s projects are effectively planned:

• Reduces expenditure on wages, office equipment, and employee benefits.
• Saves precious time and money on training.
• Get assistance precisely when you need it.
• Existing employees will spend less time on dealing with mundane tasks, so they can all apply their individual expertise to boosting the business.

But you need to understand that in order to take great advantage of these outsourcing advantages, you will need to first spend some time planning out precisely what you intend to achieve.

How to Effectively Outsource an Administrative Support Work – The Basics

One needs to know that a complete project planning exercise will need to be completed before they even think about their administrative work. First, take a pretty good look around your office ask yourself these two important questions:

1. What are the tasks that need to be done pronto?
2. Can these tasks be done remotely, thus freeing up some members of your staff so that they can concentrate on other important tasks?

As soon as you have identified the work that does not need to be done in-house, you will then write out the clear description of every task, what tasks need to be done, when the work should be completed, and how the completed work will be delivered. When you are done drawing up your project planning guide, you will then need to take the initial step in learning the process of how to outsource to providers that are known to specialise in administrative support.

Effective Project Management

The truth is that Asian countries such as Philippines and India may be able to provide you with top quality administrative support, but you need to understand that although the standard of spoken and written English is quite high, it is really not the native language. So, it is very important that you provide work instructions in a clear and very precise manner.

When you are learning how to outsource, you will find out that very good communication skills are in fact, necessary to the effectiveness of project management. You will need to agree upon schedules and communication channels. Also keep in mind that the provider that you have chosen may be in a time zone that is totally different to yours, so ensure that you take that into consideration as well.