Identification and Selection of BPO

Identification and Selection of BPO

                I have learned that identification and selecting a BPO has a risk to handle. Finding the right BPO vendor is a critical step in an organization's outsourcing initiative and one of the most difficult to manage.  When an organization enters into a BPO relationship, it is assigning a third party the responsibility of managing part of its business. When such a a decision is made, the organization is assuming additional risk. 

I have also learned that there is actually an eight-step process for properly selecting the right outsourcing partner. Here are the steps:

- Appoint a vendor selection team (VST)
- Establish qualifications
- Develop a long list
- Distribute the request for information (RFI)
- Distribute the request for proposals (RFP)
- Evaluate proposals
- Select a short list
- Select a vendor

This is the systematic process for identifying a BPO vendor. I learned that BPO vendor relationship can be strategically important to the BPO buyer over the long term. Getting the right vendor from the start can accelerate the realization of strategic benefits associated with an effective BPO relationship. For example, the decision about which vendor to select will ultimately be based in part on how well the buyer and vendor firms relate to one another. It would be unwise to select a BPO vendor that is offensive or whose organizational culture is a clear mismatch with the BPO buyer's culture.