It is crucial to choose the right Business Process Outsource (BPO) partner because it is critical to your business’ success. However, finding the right BPO partner would require research to ensure the quality of service to expect from this potential partner, financial standing, and how much value would be added to your business. Multiple sourcing of BPO partner comes with significant advantages like;
- Flexibility.
- Shorter contracts compared to single sourcing.
- Allows you to tender competitive offers from different suppliers.
- Assigning operations to a specific specialization.
It is also associated with risks that might not make it the outsourcing choice for some businesses. Single-sourcing a BPO partner is choosing a single vendor to provide all the services needed. Every operation is the responsibility of this single-vendor and compensates the company that hired them entirely for going through the risks of outsourcing. The single vendor can, however, use subcontractors when;
- They do not have the resources to supply all the services and might need to use third-parties to offer these services.
- The vendor has been directed to use third-parties based on directives from the company that hired them.
Even with subcontractors’ use, the single vendor is expected to do the bulk of the work and takes full responsibilities of any issues like contract breaching and related problems. The company that hires this vendor usually pays a management fee because the vendor is serving as a system integrator to ensure all the services needed are provided.
A Single-Source BPO Partner Agreement Is Traditionally Associated With The Following:
Responsibility
One significant difference between multi-sourcing and single-sourcing, the single-source vendor, is solely responsible for the turn of events. It is easy to point out where there is a lag in operations. Even with the use of subcontractors, the vendor is responsible for the subcontractors’ performance and services.them.
Long-term Contract
Contract agreement in a single-source BPO partner is long-term most times and can be for as long as 10-15 years. However, the contract’s duration can start to be short and then with a renewal option, which allows the company that hired the vendor to extend the contract based on their discretion. Long-term contracts can turn out to be of significant disadvantages when the services expected to be rendered are not delivered, the poor performance of the vendor or subcontractors, or the relationship between both parties has hit the rocks.
When selecting a single-source vendor, business enterprises must carefully make the selection and make sure the vendor would meet the objectives and expectations, also competitively render services, be innovative, and create cost savings.
There Are Various Benefits Associated With Choosing The Single-Source BPO Partner Model. The Following Are Benefits Of Single-Source BPO Partner:
Efficiency
Higher levels of efficiency is associated with single-source BPO, since using a single-source BPO partner means only one BPO company would be given the responsibility to handle all outsourced projects, it makes coordination easier than having multiple service providers. Also, it aids effective communication and makes communication within the network less complicated. Ultimately, this gives room for higher productivity and efficiency.
Cost-Effective
Cost-effectiveness is also benefited from hiring a single vendor. Using the single-source outsourcing model makes it possible to negotiate at a lower price. You are giving just a single provider so many responsibilities, unlike having to delegate these responsibilities to multiple providers. Transferring these services to numerous services providers costs more because they are assigned based on specialization and area of expertise. However, outsourcing a single vendor helps cut additional costs associated with multiple vendors, and this allows you to divert these funds to other areas.
Simpler and Better
Getting a single-source BPO partner is less complicated and involves simpler terms and involvements than a multi-source BPO partner. Multiple service providers promise less guarantee that the services to be provided would be top-level. Generally, the simpler model of outsourcing is usually better for business enterprises, but then again, this is subjective.
Stronger and Better Relationship
Stronger and better relationship is aided by effective and constant communication because it is an integral part of BPO partnerships, and this would improve the quality f service delivered to customers as there is smooth and clear communication between your company and BPO partner. However, it is more comfortable to have a healthy relationship with a single vendor than to stretch yourself to have a healthy relationship with multiple providers.
Visibility
Having only one vendor allows you to keep track of operations and performance levels concerning the services delegated to the outsourced vendor. It also makes it easier for you to detect problems and keep tabs on the necessary information needed to make excellent business decisions.
Consistency
Ensuring consistency in the quality of services rendered and the execution of processes is easier because the whole thing comes from just a single vendor. Because this vendor takes full responsibility for the results of their performance, it gives room for easy accountability
Training
The training involved when hiring multiple vendors as a BPO partner is usually a lot, which incurs costs. However, single-source vendors have numerous resources experts in their field and are very well trained; this would help save precious time and expenses that would have been spent on training.
Other merits associated with the single-source model of outsourcing are as follows:
- The company only has an agreement with one vendor and one line of contact.
- The vendor is solely responsible for outsourcing other services in third-party cases throughout the contract.
In Business Outsourcing Processes (BPO), to aid the BPO partnership, you must invest the right amount of time and resources into planning the outsourcing vendor. Part of planning in outsourcing is looking out for the right vendors with the plan to recruit these service providers to maintain the model of operation. It is easier to do in a single-source BPO partner because you have just a single vendor, and recruiting this vendor is cost-effective than multiple service providers.