It occurred to me the other day there was a time when outsourcing providers would cringe when they heard a sourcing advisor had been retained by a client or prospect.  But I don’t think that is the case any longer, nor should it be.  In fact, I believe that the news should be met with optimism, and not just because the buyer is sending clearer signals regarding making a sourcing decision.

Companies looking to begin a sourcing journey, whether outsourcing their IT infrastructure or applications or sourcing a mix of business processes, desire a well-crafted deal that will optimize their goals.  Providers used to think that an advisor in the mix would lengthen the time until a deal is struck.  I offer the opposite is true.  Advisors bring to the table structure and project management acumen that will assist their clients by quickly determining key sourcing decisions and an overall streamlining of the project.

I contend providers will benefit the same as buyers do when an advisor has been engaged.  

For the most part this is true because there should be expectations of a sustainable deal that align the interests of all the parties while allowing the best value to be obtained.  Let me break this down into three points:

1.    Deal Alignment – Advisors have a structured process that will define all the critical elements of a potential sourcing award.  Careful analysis of operations or process is explored to determine their source-ability against client specific criteria.  This allows a potential RFP to be focused only on towers or services the client will consider sourcing and not flood the market with unnecessary RFI requests.
2.    Achieving Desired Value – Potential value leakage is always a concern after a deal is struck.  Without properly operationalizing the agreement, potential for the achievement of desired value decreases while the opportunity for a deal to derail increases.  This is likely the beginning of every failed sourcing agreement that we read about.  In other words, the foundation of successful governance is critical.
3.    Sustainable Deal – I contend that with advisor-led sourcing agreements, deals are more likely to withstand market and business pressures over the term of the agreement.  Clients that are not well-versed with crafting sourcing agreements and providers that are may not always yield balanced or sustainable deals.

I think it is pretty safe to say that all parties evaluating a sourcing decision do not want to protract this process.  Rather they desire a deal that is successful for all the participants.   A deal that is crafted with an advisor is a win for the buyer, the provider and the advisor - one deal, three wins.