Contract Flexibility, Partnerships and People Valued, IAOP Reports

POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y., Feb. 20, 2009 – Despite the economy, the majority of companies still plan to pursue outsourcing but volume and prices will be lower, according to survey results reported by the International Association of Outsourcing Professionals™ (IAOP™) at its recently completed annual conference, The 2009 Outsourcing World Summit®.

With the financial crisis and economic and political uncertainty dominating discussions, some 450 outsourcing leaders from 20 countries came together for the three-day event in Carlsbad, Calif., to learn strategies for success from more than 50 speakers.

Building closer relationships with outsourcing suppliers, negotiating flexibility in contracts and understanding the value that people add will all be important moving forward, keynote speakers stressed.

“Challenges create opportunities,” said IAOP Chairman Michael Corbett, who spoke about the new agenda in a new world. “Outsourcing service providers are very aggressively examining their products and services to create greater value and increase market share in these times. Companies are recognizing they need to use this as an opportunity to strengthen relationships with their partners because each one of those partners will make them a better company.”

Corbett shared results of a membership survey that found nearly 75 percent of organizations will do the same or more outsourcing in response to the financial crisis and that greater contract flexibility is their top need. But 25 percent reported lower volumes and 19 percent said they have renegotiated prices on existing contracts.

Outsourcing users are more concerned about safety and cost savings, the survey results showed, with more than 53 percent saying they are doing more due diligence and also favor working with larger providers.

During the conference, IAOP also announced the companies named to its annual Global Outsourcing 100™ and new World’s Best Outsourcing Advisors lists and inducted three new members into its Outsourcing Hall of Fame.

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