Outsourcing Works!

The National Outsourcing Association (NOA) celebrated its 25th Anniversary last week and launched an initiative to raise awareness of an industry that delivers significant business benefit to UK Plc and now employs 3m (10% of all UK workforce).

The ‘Outsourcing Works’ campaign will build and run over the next 18 months. Set in the historical council chamber at County Hall, London and surrounded by iconic images from the National Film Museum housed there, we heard key note addresses on both trends in outsourcing, best practice in delivery and a lot of debate about building and sustaining more collaborative and deeper relationships between outsource providers and their clients, in order to meet the challenges faced in an evolving economic landscape. 

Case studies from the National Census, HMRC, Centrica as well as from smaller clients such as Davenport-Lyons all served to illustrate the importance of this approach to outsourcing for success. The afternoon was spent discussing the NOA’s Outsourcing Lifecycle model which helps deliver outsourcing projects, a methodology that Qcom utilises in its Relationship Management Plans. 

I would be glad to outline this in more detail to any client/potential client that might be interested. An informative and stimulating day was rounded off with a museum tour of the British film industry, (Ealing, Pinewood et al) and a birthday party to toast an outsourcing industry alive and well. 

Apparently the Romans got us all started, outsourcing all their Britannia army’s pottery needs to a small pottery in Dorset. 2000 years on we continue the journey with a new rallying cry all set to help clients even further and more strategically in the years ahead. Remember – Outsourcing Works! More info on the NOA website  www.sourcingfocus.com