Outsourcing in the Real World: Stories from the Front Line

by Eric Buel, David Herron, Koni Thompson

We recently faced a dilemma while updating our outsourcing training program: how to find out how companies are really doing with outsourcing. There are some potential ways to gain this information, including lunching with a business friend who's recently completed an outsourcing deal, attending a seminar to network during a birds-of-a-feather session, talking to a consultant to hear his/her take, or asking a few outsourcing vendors to share their views. Although these methods are all viable, none of them is likely to provide the type of candid, robust information you'd ideally like to have. The truth is, getting the inside story in a highly competitive field is a dilemma that plagues corporate executives, vendors, and consultants alike.