What is the biggest change in outsourcing over the past decade? Probably the level to which it has become an established part of the executive toolkit – no longer an exotic strategy adopted by the manager as he returns from a career-break spent completing an MBA at Harvard.

Outsourcing has become a normal and accepted business strategy for different types of company and business functions. But there is a world of difference between procuring a service and working with a partner. Despite the way most suppliers toss around 'partnership' during the sales process.

As outsourcing has matured though, it has become clear that it works best when there is a genuine sense of partnership and collaboration. This is hard to create, and even harder to sell, but it is possible.

What is needed though, is for the buyer of a service to appreciate that they are buying from an expert, not trying to find the cheapest possible deal from a company they don't care about at all. The service provider has to understand that they are not going to just deliver a service at the lowest possible cost, but they are going to become an integral part of the client's supply chain.

Traditionally the power has always been with the client. They are buying the service and they call the shots. But as it becomes clearer that many client firms are really just brands with a controlled network of suppliers, who has the power?

It is not that suppliers have suddenly achieved the upper hand, but their importance in making a business relationship work is acknowledged far more today, and that opens the door to a genuine partnership where doing well together works for both client and supplier.

The contents of this brochure are intended as guidelines for clients and other readers. It is not a substitute for considered advice on specific issues. Consequently, we cannot accept any responsibility for this information or for any errors or omissions.

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