Strategic BPO

For other companies, their primary motivation in utilizing Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) is to attain quick access to specific expertise and use the experiences and strengths of the company that is providing the outsourced projects and services. This permits each company involved in a large-scale outsourcing project to focus on their own strengths and capabilities. Many times, unique business alliances form using this BPO strategy and sometimes a pair of companies will outsource various services to one another.

There is no lack of examples of the ways in which companies have made use of BPO over the years. A vary common example is corporations making use of travel agencies to take care of all the details of company business travel needs. Relying on travel agencies not only puts the burden of the the agency, but often results in savings because of the expertise and connections that these travel agencies have in procuring the best prices on business travel.

Another common example is the outsourced handling of personnel benefits and payroll services, and is also very common when it comes to accounting functions. In the midst of the internet boom, many such BPO service providers developed packages specifically designed to meet the needs of the start-up internet companies.

Strategic sourcing, procurement, ITs, inventory management, marketing and advertising, logistics, distribution, customer service through outsourcing, and subcontracted manufacturing functions are just a few of the additional BPO that are outsourced on a regular basis by many organizations. Often corporate companies will start by outsourcing just one function, but find the practice to be so beneficial that they increase to outsource additional functions as they experience growth.

When arranging for strategic BPO, finding the right outsourcing partners is of paramount importance. The companies that provide various great outsourcing services must be able to effectively demonstrate that they have the required expertise and methodology. They should also have a strong positive reputation.

Another important aspect that should be remembered is that an organization cannot improve what is not measured. In order for BPO to be viable, strict guidelines must be put into place in the outsourcing contract, in terms of expected service delivery and performance levels.