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Keys to Competitive Outsourcing Strategy: Take Action!
By Frank Usher, Managing Consultant, Alsbridge, Inc.

All of the really important books you've read on how to create a competitive outsourcing strategy teach you one thing: knowing your enemies from the inside-out is the key to making them less relevant. Studying the long-term business strategies of your competitors and getting to the marketplace first with something of greater value to your customers gives your company the edge when the urge to buy arises.

Strategy is a well used term and most companies profess to live and operate according to the strategies they set, yet the concept is poorly understood and not as well executed. From our own personal and business vision to global political maneuverings, the process for creating and executing a competitive outsourcing strategy is misunderstood. Have you ever considered a strategy exercise just completed to be a waste of time? The honeymoon we enjoyed during the good economic times may have made us complacent when the slide began. Those who flourish in the future will likely be executers of a well thought out outsourcing strategy.

Setting a strategic purpose defines an action that establishes new or leverages existing competitive advantage. The keys to achievement are action and leverage, not merely a vision or objective but taking specific action to achieve strategic purpose, and then having the ability to initiate significant change with a focused and coordinated action. For example, if the objective is to gain access to industry leading tools and practices, the strategy must open the door to a specific set of actions to make it happen. You then need a change agent to communicate the desired actions, form a team, enlist the support of stakeholders, spread the word that the initiative is moving forward and then lead the effort to turn the competitive outsourcing strategy into a detailed action plan with muscle behind it.

In times of war or intense competition of any sort, the inclination is to keep strategy close to the vest and choose the right time to spring related actions on the enemy or competitive marketplace. Once the secret is out, one must move quickly or lose the advantage. The quicker one becomes an obstacle to the competition or gets out in front with barriers that will take time to overcome, the more likely they are to move in another direction. Consider the suggestions included in the article for strategic action with a purpose.

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