We frequently discuss here on the blog the benefits of IT service outsourcing and what precautions to take when choosing suppliers. Outsourcing has been gaining more and more space in the market, just as IT managers increasingly understand the importance of having the internal team focused on the core business, instead of having them busy solving overloads, communication failures, and other common IT infrastructure problems that would be easily avoided if there were a partner constantly monitoring these key points.
However, like any expanding market, IT outsourcing can present risks, and what was meant to be a solution can end up bringing you more problems. With this in mind, today we are going to talk about the relationship between services and suppliers, and what the best ways are to seize partnership opportunities without any risk.
1. Manage the services, not the suppliers
You are responsible for managing your team and your company’s services, but that does not mean you also have to manage the suppliers. Many managers believe that when hiring a service, it is also necessary to manage the suppliers and waste time from their own work doing so. Actually, this is a mistake.
It is essential to ensure management focus and rely on suppliers that can offer services according to your business needs, with simplified processes and that do not need your management. Think about it, after all, if you had to manage them, you would have an internal team and not a service provider, right?
2. Quantity of suppliers does not always mean quality
You must have heard many times that “quantity is not the same as quality,” and when we talk about suppliers, it is no different. For example, does having five suppliers allow you to efficiently control the services performed and truly guarantee long-term cost reduction? You will agree that less is more in this case. Therefore, centralize services in reduced quantities of suppliers, and if possible, even in just one, since the final quality and success of alignment with your business depend directly on this.
3. Commitment to services and not just supply
When you think about your suppliers, do you believe they are fully committed to what they deliver or do they just supply and care about selling their solutions? This is a question every manager needs to reflect on.
It is worth remembering that everyone is tired of knowing that any company or service provider wants to sell, but a supplier needs to think of your company as a partner and understand that the services they deliver are as important as the results they expect from their own business.
Suppliers can also be engaged and committed, and that will be the difference between managing bad suppliers or simply managing services from engaged and partner suppliers.
