Almost every business has evolved its business model over the pandemic era as their customers’ needs are changing to remain effective and competitive in this virtual environment. And it’s been no different for analyst firms like HFS, where enterprises demand immediate help and advice to be delivered remotely and rapidly in an intimate, personal environment. Analysts must cut through the 3000-foot view and present practical, hype-free advice to customers is they want to be credible.
When it comes to figuring out rapid changes to business operating models, smart enterprises have been demanding immediate insights, data and advice to make fast decisions on partner selection, which services to insource or outsource, how to stay ahead of their data governance needs, how to re-think their processes to get the data they need in a virtual model, and consider how to approach automation and AI to help their operations function effectively and autonomously.
To address this, we’ve successfully launched our Research-based Sourcing Advisory Services (see link) under the guidance of our President of Research and Advisory, Saurabh Gupta, where we’re helping a number of enterprises with our unique approach to helping enterprise customers in this virtual environment. So what makes us unique and why does our approach to enterprise sourcing support dovetail so effectively with our global analyst business? Here are 10 reasons why…
10 Reasons why we launched HFS Research-based Sourcing Advisory
- The role of analysts and advisors is converging and HFS provides the perfect balance.Our recent research covering the Global 2000 reveals that only 5%* of enterprises are leveraging the Big 4 or Sourcing advisors to handle the entire sourcing process from screening through to implementation and governance. (*Based on HFS Research of 150 C-level executives across G2000 enterprises, 2021). HFS manages the most highly engaged community of enterprise leaders and applies great research and advisory to help them. Sourcing advisory needs a fresh, trusted face, and that is HFS!
- Mature outsourcing enterprise customers do not need babysitters. Second-generation enterprise clients know how to run the sourcing process. They don’t need a team of full-time onsite consultants to rack up the billings. They mainly need data, expertise, and insights in specific areas where they have gaps.
- Welcome to the Virtual Economy, where HFS wins. Covid-19 has proven that sourcing advisory can be done remotely and virtually. HFS has grown 30% during the pandemic and added multiple new research practices in new areas such as banking, healthcare, cloud/SaaS, and cybersecurity. We have many proof points here at HFS that ‘virtual’ works!
- Advisors must deliver outcomes, not simply charge for time. Our sourcing advisory is based on fixed fees for definite milestones and results, not T&M, where the consultants are not incented to speed up the process.
- Real research gets to outcomes much faster. You don’t need an RFI for everything if you already know the market, have exhaustive data on decision dynamics and the supplier landscape. Our existing repository of Top 10 research reports, case studies, Industry Pulse of 800 Global 2000 enterprises, and IP allows enterprise clients to speed up the sourcing advisory process significantly.
- The sourcing advisory market is crying out for some innovation. The incumbents are still running sourcing advisory the same way as 15 years ago… as a procurement process designed to beat down the service providers on price. This cultural mismatch is the #1 issue why outsourcing engagements fail, yet no advisor conducts a psychometric fitment between the client and supplier.
- Where is the real transformation? Is sourcing advisory designed to create outcomes for clients that are slightly better, slightly cheaper, and slightly faster? Is that transformation? HFS Research-based sourcing advisory is driven by the OneOffice mindset of an integrated approach across the front, middle, and back-office to drive employee and customer experience.
- The over-templatized process kills creativity. Yes, sourcing advisory needs a methodology, but it can’t be so rigid that it stymies creativity and out-of-the-box ideas. But few sourcing advisory engagements allow creativity and out-of-the-box thinking.
- Supplier shopping must go beyond cost-gouging. It’s a common (mal)practice to launch RFPs just to find a lower price point without any real intention to change the incumbent. Again research-based and IP-backed advisory services can prevent such wastage of time and effort across all stakeholders. We don’t encourage competitive bidding just for the sake of it!
- We must learn from each other. There is no template for success in today’s world. The best chance of success is to learn from each other and share experiences. Our research deliverables, roundtables, videocasts and events provide an open forum for our enterprise clients to share frustrations and best practices, and we all learn from each other.
Bottom line. The traditional sourcing advisory space is ripe for disruption and HFS is challenging the status quo.
HFS provides the perfect balance between the best research in the industry and experienced practical advice. Our comprehensive repository of Top 10 research reports enables clients to develop supplier shortlists. Each Top 10 report ranks leading service providers across a series of pre-defined criteria across execution, innovation, and voice of the customer. “HFS OneOffice Pulse,” a bi-annual study of 800 global enterprises, is designed to focus on anticipated demand changes for technology and business services. Our diverse suite of data-driven offerings (price benchmarking, contracts database, emerge tech. case study compendiums) give you the tools to predict, respond to, and benefit from changes in the service industry.
Working with us, enterprise leaders will be better-informed, more enabled, and in a much-improved position to anticipate economic, technological, and market challenges.
See how our sourcing advisors can help you. Drop us a line at [email protected]
Posted in : Business Process Outsourcing (BPO), IT Outsourcing / IT Services, Outsourcing Advisors
