SOURCING INSIGHT. Sourcing - Staff Augmentation And Managed Services

Transcription

1 SOURCING INSIGHT Sourcing - Staff Augmentation And Managed Services There is much interest to evaluate converting staff augmentation engagements to Managed Services. Generally defined as a third party running a service for a company with agreed measurable outcomes, Managed Services promises to deliver greater cost savings and efficiencies by allowing the supplier more ownership of a process. Utilization of staff on the other hand augmentation delivers benefits as well including a flexible workforce and allows more control and access to expertise for short engagements. Trestle Group advocates that staff augmentation and Managed Service models are not mutually exclusive. Staff augmentation will always be necessary in a dynamic environment. Organizations that find the right balance between staff augmentation and Managed Services will benefit by being to meet the requirements of a specific situation. A Trestle Group Research Publication NEW YORK LONDON FRANKFURT ZURICH DUBAI BANGALORE

2 Table of Contents Introduction 3 Staff Augmentation 3 Managed Services 4 Managed Services Reporting and SLAs 6 Agree on Service Levels 8 Example of a Managed Service Engagement 9 The Move to Commercialization of Services 11 Change & Risk Management 12 Conclusion 14 About The Authors 15 SOURCING INSIGHT Sourcing - Staff Augmentation And Managed Services 2

3 Introduction There is much interest to evaluate converting staff augmentation engagements to Managed Services. Generally defined as a third party running a service for a company with agreed measurable outcomes, Managed Services promises to deliver greater cost savings and efficiencies by allowing the supplier more ownership of a process. Utilization of staff augmentation delivers benefits as well including a flexible workforce and access to expertise for short engagements. Should organizations completely move away from staff augmentation, the practice of augmenting resource gaps with external resources? What are the advantages and disadvantages of either model? What are the risks inherent in these approaches? Trestle Group advocates that staff augmentation and Managed Service models are not mutually exclusive. Staff augmentation will always be necessary in a dynamic environment. Organizations that find the right balance between staff augmentation and Managed Services will benefit by being able to focus on their core competencies. Staff Augmentation Staff augmentation evolved from a necessity to address short-term resource constraints, budgetary pressures and headcount limits. This practice served the organization best when skills were required for immediate and short-term engagements. IT and operation managers utilized external resources to fill internal resource gaps while avoiding hiring people into fixed positions. When the project was complete, the external resource would no longer be on the manager s budget. This model worked well until staff augmentation started to be viewed as a long-term solution. Projects were completed, however, the external resource s contract was not terminated. As the external resource gained knowledge of internal systems, processes and people, he or she became valuable, if not indispensable. When one project ended, he or she was redeployed to the next project and continued as a contractor with the company for any number of years, despite, in many cases, corporate HR policies to the contrary. The continued growth in staff augmentation (tens of billions of dollars, globally) is due to a number of market factors, including the profusion of professionals preferring to work as independents, steadily declining rates, seemingly never-ending margin pressure facing most companies and corporate policies restricting hiring. Nevertheless, staff augmentation, from a budgetary perspective, only works when an external resource s contract runs for a short period. Unfortunately, a number of companies have created rules to by-pass headcount controls. Often, staff augmentation is not seen as headcount relevant. Where a manager would benefit from hiring a permanent resource, utilization of staff augmentation is often a back door option when headcount is frozen. Often these contracts are structured as projects or engagements when in actuality; the services performed are contracting or staff augmentation. In some countries, this creates regulatory risks. SOURCING INSIGHT Sourcing - Staff Augmentation And Managed Services 3

4 Below is a table outlining the high-level advantages and disadvantages of staff augmentation: Advantages Avoidance of recruitment costs Reduces cost when used for short term engagements as resource stops charging Efficient option to bring in new skills and experiences into project team Provides ability to ramp-up and ramp down quickly to meet changed conditions Transparent cost model Scalable cost model Retention of controls in-house No requirement to redesign and approve operating model Collaboration can reap rewards Company benefits Disadvantages Costs increase when staff augmentation is used as a long term solution When project is over, skills and knowledge disappear if contract is not prolonged Ineffective resource planning i.e. can always engage a contractor if resource constraints develop Potential loss of IP Long term contractors become risk when fulfilling critical roles Short term contractors become single point of failure in fulfilling critical roles Increased overhead managing contractors No service levels defined or agreed Division of labor issues Not a real partnership supplier has no skin in the game Managed Services A traditional Managed Services model allows an organization to outsource the management, operations and delivery of processes effectively to lower a business s total cost. This makes the model an attractive long-term strategy. The pricing structure, based on regular monthly billing around service levels and volumes, rather than per diem fees associated with staff augmentation, ensures that costs to the business remain within forecast. The reduced volatility in costs supports accurate and predictable budgeting. Staff Augmentation Managed Service (modular) Full Outsourcing (commercialization) COST SCOPE Managed Service versus Staff Augmentation - Cost versus Scope SOURCING INSIGHT Sourcing - Staff Augmentation And Managed Services 4

5 Managed Services deliver more in the way of cost savings on the basis that the relative increase in costs as the business requirements grows and the service expands are significantly lower than the costs involved in further augmenting staff numbers and skills due to economies of scale, labor cost arbitrage and flexibility with staffing. Typical Managed Services savings levers: Pay only for the actual use of the service Increased performance Optimized value-add use of internal resources Continuous Service Improvement (CSI) and efficiency gains over time built in Reduced risk due to business volatility directly driving service demand Supplier has flexibility with staffing engagements and with utilization and management of resources There are other reasons why a Managed Services model is advantageous in current market conditions. Perhaps the most attractive for the company is that the supplier assumes the risk of transition and future operations based on an agreed, committed scope and tenure. This is contrasted by the loss of control, possible security issues (affecting the supplier but impacting the company) and the potential for misalignment between the service and the company s (often changing) requirements. Below is a table outlining the high-level advantages and disadvantages of Managed Services: Advantages Stability of cost Limited staff attrition issues for the company Preventive approach to problems No single points of failure Decreased overhead managing contractors Scale up - scale down (demand volatility) Results/service oriented Productivity and innovation SLA & KPI protection driving process improvements Improved stakeholder management Transfer of major accountabilities for design, build, test, implement, operate, improve Disadvantages Lack of cost transparency Governance Security e.g. potential loss of IP Loss of control Demanding commercial and contractual requirements Loss of in-house capability Supplier drives operating model change Misalignment between supplier and company objectives Supplier reluctance to increase scope of services Multi/supplier accountability Exit risks (especially due to non-conformance) In summary, defining an appropriate TOM (Target Operating Model, based on cost, benefit and control considerations) and shoring model covering Service Management, Service Level framework, Service Performance Monitoring (SPIs) and the Continuous Service Improvement process (CSI) are essential to ensuring the success of Managed Service engagements. SOURCING INSIGHT Sourcing - Staff Augmentation And Managed Services 5

6 In Managed Services there is an inherent alignment of business incentives between the company and the supplier, which over time further drives cost reduction by incentivizing process optimization while encouraging and guaranteeing Continuous Service Improvement (CSI). Managed Service Asset Transfer Risk Intelligent CONTROL Premium Skills Module Delivery Governance & Control Hybrid Model Vendor Management Experience Project Outsourcing & SLA/KPI Based Premium Out-Tasking Staff Augmentation Body Shopping BUSINESS BENEFIT Headcount Freeze In-House Resourcing Skills Gap COST Target Operating Model Continuum Trestle Group also supports the view that, based on the risk appetite and operational maturity of the organization, in many cases a hybrid model or mix of approaches could be the best answer. For smaller, short-term engagements, staff augmentation is a viable solution. For longer term, fully outsourced processes utilizing a Managed Service can deliver significant results. Managed Services Reporting and SLAs Any service should be continuously measured and reported, whether in a staff augmentation environment or a Managed Service. Managed Services reporting offers advantages by enabling a relevant and transparent end-to-end view for the end customer with a built-in focus on service performance improvement. Key Issues with Staff Augmentation Measurement Very limited and incomplete reporting is provided to the company s users in general (mostly only upon special request or escalations from the business side) Users are unable to associate their experience of the E2E (end-to-end) service with the service reporting provided (which is usually simply passed on in form of KPIs provided by the external supplier) Business impacts are not accurately reflected in the current reporting Reporting provides limited value in driving the right service debates and stimulating Continuous Service Improvement (CSI) Reporting tends to be IT-centric and component-based (not business service focused) SOURCING INSIGHT Sourcing - Staff Augmentation And Managed Services 6

7 Service Performance Indicator Model There is a rapidly growing trend towards a more mature and relevant reporting paradigm one that no longer focuses only on KPIs that are not measurable or relatable by the end customer. Based on the inherent alignment of business incentives in a Managed Service, service reporting becomes more focused and provides greater value to all parties involved. For Managed Services, the approach of the Service Performance Indicator Model is driven by what the internal customers expect (requirements), which shapes a common and shared understanding of the outcomes that all parties (supplier, IT and the internal business customer) want to achieve. The company (buyer of the Managed Services) and the supplier (provider of the Managed Services) describe the scope of work, the pricing model and the KPIs for control in their Service Level Agreement. The SLAs also describe in detail, which KPIs underlie and drive a specific SPI (Service Performance Indicator). The SPI is the relevant indicator the customer can understand and relate to for the experienced quality of the service provided. It is also the only performance indicator the customer will receive in the agreed upon reporting intervals. SPI trend +/- prob. SLA status risk of breach 98% Internal Customer Service Dashboard 84% Business Service order between IT and Internal Customer BS SPI 97% IT 93% SPI Data Collection & Report Generation IT SPI Contractual engagement between IT and Service Providers SPI 94% SPI 98% SPI 99% Performance Reporting Service Provider Report Delivery Report Generation Supplier1 KPI 1 KPI KPI 2 3 Supplier 2 Supplier 3 KPI 4 KPI KPI 5 6 KPI xkpi 1 xk 2 x 3 Data Population Data Sheets Sample SPI Operating Model & Reporting Process Overview Utilizing an SPI model for performance measurement provides a distinct Business Continuity focus for better control (agreed KPIs will be used by the supplier only to factor the relevant SPIs). It is imperative for all suppliers to buy into this concept and be held accountable to contribute to transparent Service Reporting: High-level requirements Service measures and reporting that capture and convey all business impacts Reflect the E2E service experience with common understanding between IT and the business Service Reporting that easily identifies emerging hotspots to drive CSI SOURCING INSIGHT Sourcing - Staff Augmentation And Managed Services 7

8 Desired outcomes The provision of a scorecard-style single-page service summary report for each SLA period consisting of: A single measure SPI that accurately reflects the E2E service performance for a given service (supporting i.e. multiple applications) for the period A simple indication of the days when the E2E service has been impacted High-level commentary on (IT) incidents impacting the business operation High-level trending for a 12-month view of the E2E service. Agree on Service Levels Effective Service Reporting is driven by what the company s internal customers expect from the service, and hence it is critical for future service reporting to be a strategic topic in the negotiations of the Service Level Agreements not an afterthought once the service has already been established. SLAs are an agreement on expected future service levels and not simply a contractual document. It is therefore imperative for the internal client (recipient of the service) to be included in the SLA negotiations in addition to procurement, IT or Operations and the supplier. This ensures service expectations are properly communicated early on, all stakeholders share a common understanding of the reporting process and framework being established, and a successful, sustainable and - thanks to the alignment of business incentives - mutually rewarding E2E service can be built from the outset. In a Master Service Agreement, SLAs focus primarily on the Run state of a service. The following diagram depicts a sample framework on how to distinguish projects from Managed Services and structure the respective contractual documents. Plan Build Run Master Service Agreement Planning & Consulting Project Contract Application Development Project Contract Infrastructure Development Project Contract Application Service Providing * (SLA) Application Management* Maintenance & Support Contract (SLA) Infrastructure Management* Maintenance & Support Contract (SLA) Project Contracts Service Level Agreements** * Main focus is on Build and Run ** Service Level Agreements are used to describe maintenance & support services for customized and for standard services (e.g. service catalogue) SOURCING INSIGHT Sourcing - Staff Augmentation And Managed Services 8

9 Example of a Managed Service Engagement Transition to BPO Managed Service A large industrial manufacturing company decided to move parts of their Finance & Accounting services from a staff augmentation model to a BPO Managed Service model. Specifically, the company sought to increase their Accounts Receivables performance by outsourcing Cash Application and Collection. The company s targets for the move to Managed Services were: Cost reduction Increased flexibility Managed quality In a first step, Trestle Group evaluated the feasibility of a Transaction-Based Rate Model (TMO), which is rapidly becoming a standard for BPO engagements. A TMO is favorable when: Criteria 1: A TMO can be implemented if the transaction: is repetitive, is standardized, has a significant IT/automated component embedded, has a clearly defined beginning and end, is easy to monitor/track/measure, and is of a short duration (minutes, hours or days). Criteria 2: A TMO should be implemented if, in addition to Criteria 1, there is: Variability in demand that is significant. In other words, if the volatility cannot be handled by the FTEs in a staff augmentation model Criteria 3: If a process qualifies in Criteria One and Two, a TMO can be implemented. The driving principle is compatibility of incentives to ensure that all parties are aligned. Based on the assessment, Trestle Group recommended the implementation of a transactional model, as the TMO inherently incorporates and guarantees Continuous Service Improvement (CSI) and resilience, whereas the conflict of interest inherent to the FTE-based model leads to lack of transparency, missed business opportunities and service quality erosion: Staff Augmentation Pro Exclusive and dedicated team Lower rates at equal volume Good for non-volatile and un-repetitive work Con Headcount driven model Misaligned business incentive Does not follow the business cycle Managed Services Pro Service-and results driven model, measurable output At lower capacity, TMO achieves savings Guarantees service levels and quality at any volume Aligned business incentives Con Higher risk for the vendor, due to volume assumptions on which the pricing is based Lack of transparency on how the work is being performed SOURCING INSIGHT Sourcing - Staff Augmentation And Managed Services 9

10 The following diagram highlights the benefits of the TMO model: Lost Opportunities: Risk of increased volume and driving further aging of AR Staffing Level Only pay for the service you actually need Wastage No Waste Transactionbased Rate Model offers greater flexibility and maximized value creation. work volume work volume Agreed Base Volume (Fixed Cost) Operational Tasks FTE based model time time Transaction-based Rate Model (TMO) The benefits for moving to the TMO model can be summarized as: Flexibility and variable cost structure. The company is able to use capacity as and when needed without incurring high fixed costs. The supplier is able to spread its resources to multiple clients that need the same kind of service. Incentive compatibility. The TMO helps in designing the outsourcing model in such a way that the incentives can be aligned between the supplier and company. This leads to value maximizing for both parties by achieving better utilization of resources and economies of scale. Lower costs per transaction, better economies of scale and improved efficiencies. If the supplier has scaled by adding multiple clients and therefore has a larger volume of transactions than any single client, technology, people and processing capacities are utilized to a greater extent decreasing dormant or wasted resources. This results in decreased pertransaction costs and better economies of scale. There is also compatibility of incentives: company and supplier have the same interest in increasing the number of transactions, reducing Accounts Receivable, and successfully completing each transaction as quickly and as accurately as possible. A better basis for comparison among competitors. An hourly price is a misleading basis for comparing different suppliers as it does not take into account efficiency, process maturity, skill-level and ability to deliver real business value to the company. On the other hand, processing an invoice, kicking-off a dispute or creating a promise-to-pay provides a sound basis for comparing different suppliers, as is the cost per standardized transaction. This also leads to an increase in productivity. SOURCING INSIGHT Sourcing - Staff Augmentation And Managed Services 10

11 The Move to Commercialization of Services An interesting evolution is the new paradigm of commercialization being applied to Managed Services whereby organizations are increasingly seeking financial packages that result in transition costs being absorbed by the supplier together with the transfer and ownership of assets. The goal of any outsourcing or offshoring arrangement (including to internal captives) has always been to maximize returns while minimizing the risk. Old, new and emerging risks pertain to both models the solution is to understand the risk-reward equation: For example, the use of a Managed Service could result in a loss of control and visibility over data and processes but this must be balanced with the risk of missing out on innovative ideas and access to emerging technologies if only the staff augmentation model is considered. Companies now expect forward thinking, agility and increasing organizational capability from their suppliers, throughout the lifecycle of the arrangement. This is difficult to achieve (though not impossible) from augmented staff. This model where organizations want to invest and grow internal capabilities into a larger Corporate Shared Services organization in concert with a supplier, provides for increased leverage from standardization and consolidation, but with one eye ultimately on divestment. Capital Funding Divestment ASSET VALUE Joint Venture Full Asset Transfer REWARD Cost Nearshore Outsourcing In-House Processing Onshore Outsourcing Part Asset Transfer Captive Model RISK New Model - the move to commercialization Operational leverage is key but the focus on synergies, shared services and joint ventures has been the catalyst for commercialization outlined above, whereby firms negotiate deals that result in transition costs being absorbed by the outsourcing firm, including the outsourcer's management costs to ensure a cost-neutral lift or transition. This new approach, where the deal provides for amortization of the costs through the lifecycle of the arrangement, is changing the sourcing risk landscape, not least because the number of firms that can handle this type of operation for a company is limited. Risk is certainly going to become more SOURCING INSIGHT Sourcing - Staff Augmentation And Managed Services 11

12 concentrated through this model. Indeed, it is not beyond the bounds of possibility that a situation will arise in the future where suppliers in the financial services sector supply so much in the way of back (and increasingly middle) office services that they will be subject to banking regulations themselves. Change & Risk Management The major decision-making criteria for moving from a staff augmentation model to a Managed Service engagement should be around program management expertise, functional/process maturity, supplier management experience and crucially, governance. Deficiencies in any of these areas indicate that a move to a Managed Service may not be a timely strategy. Change Management is key to ensuring the transition is smooth and that changes are easily integrated. Transition/transformation is a complex process and has its own set of inherent risks across six broad areas: 1. Communication building support, controlling the message 2. Human Capital - reaction/resistance, relationships, transfer, retrenchment/ redeployment, industrial relations 3. Working Practices - changes in language, culture, locations, regulation, working hours, time zones 4. Expertise - requires proven methodologies 5. Convergence - alignment of organizational goals and objectives 6. Impetus - maintaining momentum and buy-in and establishing a high performance quality environment Operating in a Managed Service model is a cultural change for many. Instead of knowing who is performing the work, services are provided on an output basis. This change in working is often underestimated and in cases, a tendency to return to former staff augmentation operating mode begins to develop. If not managed carefully, this can cause significant disruptions to the Managed Service engagement. Choosing Managed Services over a strategy of staff augmentation (headcount and skills) carries the additional burden of balancing the risks of an organization s outsourced portfolio. This is one of the most challenging and often overlooked aspects - the step-change to the risk profile of an organization resulting from the aggregation of engagements. Organizational policies may dictate that there should be an assessment of portfolio risk but many risk management functions fail to rule on how this should be carried out (and how often surely every time a new arrangement is proposed?) and by what parameters the assessment should be adjusted. It is certainly not merely an analysis of concentration, location, cluster or value at risk. It goes much wider and includes technical, market, supplier, project, political and country risks, all wrapped up together and measured against business criteria such as complexity, criticality and materiality (i.e. strategic importance). In many organizations, it is accepted practice first to select processes (BPO, KPO or IT) and then to decide if and to what extent a project can be outsourced and this has without doubt influenced the content of SOURCING INSIGHT Sourcing - Staff Augmentation And Managed Services 12

13 functional/departmental/divisional/regional Pitch Books, to the extent that computational analysis, accretion/dilution, discounted cash-flows, net savings etc. often come second to margin pressure in the decision to outsource. Unfortunately, there is no standard or algorithm to apply that will allow us to understand fully the outcome of a Portfolio Risk Assessment, therefore the number of organizations that are successfully calculating their exposure and mitigating this risk through the deployment of suitable counter-measures is largely unknown. Additionally, where a Managed Service is selected, there needs to be an evaluation as to the systemic consequences of failure and countermeasures available (resilience of supplier and company) while taking into account changes to costs, regulation, taxation, international accounting standards and exit strategy (costs again ), together with a myriad of other contributing factors. A logical starting point would be to map each proposal to those functions and processes identified by the organization as material. For many, especially financial institutions, a great deal of this identification and assessment work has already been completed during too big to fail and other similar initiatives and the results can therefore be leveraged. Portfolio and systemic risk management cannot be points in time exercises but need to be constant and iterative. In terms of Operational Performance, it is important for organizations to decide where to focus their attention and on the combination of focus areas (individual risk types) that are most important for the organization at the relevant time, i.e. those that will garner the greatest cost/benefits, generate the most innovation and therefore speed the transformation of the company, without undue exposure. Clearly, focusing merely on capacity and flexibility may not realize the same benefits as majoring on organizational capability and service levels, however each of these areas needs to be weighted in any assessment. A properly risk-weighted assessment, for instance, may indicate that staff augmentation is not going to derive the same benefits as offshoring to a captive with higher set-up costs and longer leadin times, or outsourcing to an external company. With respect to the more typical risks there are standard devices, methodologies and frameworks (amongst many others; the International Standard on Assurance Engagements (ISAE) No. 3402, Assurance Reports on Controls at a Service Organization; Statement on Standards for Attestation Engagements (SSAE) No. 16, Reporting on Controls at a Service Organization) employed in addition to ensuring that (imposing contractually) organizations deploy ISO, ITIL, ISF and other such controls, in order that the risk of compliance failures is appropriately addressed (just as they can be using the same frameworks inhouse and in a staff augmentation scenario). The move from staff augmentation to Managed Services should therefore be undertaken using a phased approach that mitigates some of these risks. Based on the portfolio of processes to be outsourced valuable experience can be gained en route: SOURCING INSIGHT Sourcing - Staff Augmentation And Managed Services 13

14 Integrated Solution Managed Service Organizational Maturity Vendor Assumption of Business Risks Transfer of Governance Asset Transfer Leverage of Provider s Suite of Capabilities Specific Module Delivery Close Operational Control Relinquished Hybrid Model Project Outsourcing SLA/KPI Based Contractually Agreed Metrics Shared Risks & Rewards Premium Out-Tasking Control Retained In-House Limited Vendor Responsibility Leverage Best Practice Ease of Deliverable Integration Body Shopping No Vendor Accountability Staff Augmentation Staff Augmentation - moving to a Managed Service Conclusion If staff augmentation has become the accepted practice for all the wrong reasons, it will not yield an efficient and cost-effective long-term solution. The Managed Services model carries a greater degree of risk (especially those that follow the new commercial paradigm) while providing commensurate increases in rewards. This is a logical progression for most organizations, irrespective of the exact design offshoring, captive, joint venture or hybrid cost model. A full and rigorous assessment of all the risks, weighed against the potential business benefits is of paramount importance. Significantly, although now commonplace, managing and delivering a move to a Managed Service is a complex process, far removed from the expected experience or core competence of many business and IT managers. Indeed, for some it might be a once in a career event. The risks of misalignment between the business and IT are therefore, greatly increased. Based on this potential for misalignment and the need for elevated levels of stewardship, Trestle Group advocates that staff augmentation and Managed Service models are not mutually exclusive. Staff augmentation will always be necessary in a dynamic environment. We believe that as the Managed Services model continues to evolve, augmenting existing in-house staff with premium resources while managing the transition to a fully Managed Service will allow organizations to achieve optimal outcomes. SOURCING INSIGHT Sourcing - Staff Augmentation And Managed Services 14

15 About The Authors Steve O Reilly Steve has extensive international corporate experience drawn from a variety of roles in different sectors. During his career he has held senior roles in IT Risk and Governance, Data Privacy, HR and Outsourcing/ Offshoring, with three of the World s largest, most complex and distributed corporations: BHP Billiton (Melbourne), UBS AG (Zürich) and Siemens (London). He has also consulted widely, including projects for the European Commission, the UK Government and Health Service and in the Retail and Financial Services sectors. Steve has been published on the subject of Information Systems Governance, supplier management and business resilience and other related subjects. He holds a Masters Degree (MSc) in Risk Management and is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute for IT and the British Computer Society. Jan Uetz Ayacaba Ondo 20 years of global professional exposure to diverse fields ranging from Business Administration and Management to IT Services have made Jan a well-rounded individual with strong business acumen. He has drawn on his experience in the ICT Industry to help businesses solve strategic, operational and technical challenges. Jan is particularly skilled at spearheading complex, transformational global sourcing and large-scale IT projects for global Fortune 500 companies, driving sustainable operational development and advancement, process optimization leadership and right-sourcing topics. His focus areas include Lean, IT & Cloud/Digital strategy, management and right-sourcing of software development and IT service teams, Managed Services & Transaction Service Models, Managed Service Platforms, and Service Live-Cycle Management. Jan holds an M.B.A. degree from Business School Lausanne and has a strong multicultural background. SOURCING INSIGHT Data Risk - Managing Compliance 15

16 Organizations are under constant pressure to increase revenues and optimize costs while responding to a rapidly changing world. Through a combination of shared services, vendors and a global workforce, significant opportunities exist to manage these challenges. Trestle Group is an international advisory firm focused on helping companies design and implement strategies that maximize their potential. Our areas of support include: Opportunity Assessments Organizational Design Governance Process Design Process Optimization Vendor Selection Vendor Management Service Level Agreements Consolidation / Centralization Project Implementation Change Management Procurement Support Risk Assessments Performance Audits Framework Activities 1 Identifying potential 2 Analyzing status quo 3 Planning target state 4 Transformation to target state 5 Continuous optimization Confirmation of objectives, benefits and risks. Assessment of options using proven methodologies. Current state analysis and benchmark of existing sourcing landscape. Business case/ risk evaluation of potential versus current state. Establishment of requirements for selecting vendor/ model. Vendor and location selection process. Planning and implementing transformation phase. Support in business continuity management and go-live. Ongoing optimization of business model. Vendor sustainability and risk / compliance audits. Contact Trestle Group For more information about the services Trestle Group provides, please contact one of our offices or visit our website. New York City, USA 245 Park Avenue New York Tel: Fax: Zurich, Switzerland Limmatquai Zurich Tel: Fax: London, United Kingdom 1 Ropemaker Street EC2Y 9HT London Tel: Fax: Dubai, United Arab Emirates Dubai Internet City. Building 11, Office 107 PO Box: Dubai Tel: Frankfurt, Germany Friedrich-Ebert-Anlage Frankfurt am Main Tel: Fax: Bangalore, India Bangalore Raheja Towers Mahatma Gandhi Road Bangalore Tel: Fax: SOURCING INSIGHT LPO European Market Developments 16