What is your Sourcing Strategy?

On page 118 of the Service Strategy volume Sourcing is described as follows..

Sourcing is about analysing how to most effectively source and deploy the resources and capabilities required to deliver outcomes to customers.

3.7.1 is about deciding what to source.  Any capabilities and resources that are only peripherally related to the organization’s core strategy and differentiation should be considered for outsourcing.

Table 3.20 Main Sourcing Structures – Insourcing, Outsourcing, Co-Sourcing or multi-sourcing, Partnership, Business Process Outsourcing, Application Service Provision, Knowledge Process Outsourcing, Multi-Vendor and Cloud. 

3.7.4 Service Provider Interfaces – guidelines and reference points are needed between the various service providers.

3.7.5 Sourcing Governance is a complex area,  There is a frequent misundertsanding around sourcing gevernance.  It is often mixed up with vendor management, retained staff, supplier managemnt.  Governance is none of these.

I was part of a team that developed the Big Time Consulting IT Operating Model.  At the highest level there are a set of variable things that a Service Organsiation will do to Change-the-Service and some fixed activities to Run-the-Service.

The Target Operating Model consists of six capability areas, which collectively cover all activities carried out by the Service Provider.

The Service Delivery capability is typically a Multi Tower solution with different best of breed suppliers providing services.  e.g. Vanco – Network, IBM – Hardware, Infy – AM,  In-house – AD.  This multi- vendor model requires a strong Service Integrator capability which effectively becomes the “single throat to choke” for service matters.

A review of a service providers location strategy is required every six months because location of capabilities and resources is a major  success factor.  In a global solution On, Near and Off Shore has been replaced by High or Low cost locations.

 

Mark Kobayashi-Hillary is a British journalist, blogger, and editor based in São Paulo, Brazil – he is the chief executive officer of research company IT Decisions.  He lectures at London South Bank University. He is a director of the UK National Outsourcing Association,  and a founding member of the British Computer Society (BCS) Working group on Offshoring.  He is on the board of the BCS ELITE group.  Tom Hickman has named his blog, one of “20 Blogs About Outsourcing Worth Subscribing To”.

Mark has written three books. “Global Services Moving to a Level Playing Field” should be on your reading list.