Multi-Sourcing? 7 Steps to Success & How to Avoid Contractual Pitfalls

Multi-sourcing White Paper

Anyone with experience of outsourcing will know that you can outsource a function, but cannot outsource the ‘problem’. And when multiple ‘best of breed’ service vendors are in the ‘mix’, this brings a new level of complexity and misunderstandings over responsibilities. This can result in contractual arguments and, in turn, greater cost and delays for you. Two inter-related issues that may be causing you concern are:

  1. How to ensure you avoid misunderstandings over requirements & responsibilities between the different vendors. 
  2. How you contract for & drive collaboration between your different vendors. 

The key to successful multi-sourcing is to follow a step-by-step approach. Download our free guide for advice on:

  • Ensuring ‘best of breed’ service providers can work together to lower your costs & improve service delivery
  • Potential pitfalls of multi-sourcing & how you can avoid them
  • Ways in which your behaviours can in effect re-write your contract terms & put you in a worse position
  • Methods to encourage vendors to innovate
  • Skills needed by your in-house client management team to drive maximum value from multiple relationships.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR, ALLAN WATTON

Chief Executive of Best Practice Group.

Allan has worked on 500+ strategic partnerships that have required re-alignment and re-shaping. Of these, many have been ‘problematic’ IT projects. With so much at stake, and with so much potential for things to go wrong, It’s unsurprising that many IT projects run into trouble as they change hands internally.

Allan’s worked in the Strategic Service Commissioning, Business Process Outsourcing and Technology fields for nearly 30 years. He is regarded as one of the UK’s foremost authorities on strategic service provider relationships and developing practical contract structures for complex projects and programmes that involve multi-vendor, multi-source relationships.

He has recently advised on a public sector £5.4bn strategic service commissioning arrangement covering over 200 business process services that delivered £15m direct cash savings in its first 12 weeks, and a Section 75 agreement for a £3.5bn local authority/NHS Trust adult social care integration shared service that is anticipated to save £20m per annum.

An experienced service owner and practitioner who has also read contract law, Allan’s experience in understanding how client side delivery behaviours in complex vendor relationships undermine vendor contractual responsibilities, makes him a recognised specialist in advising on the implied (undocumented) contractual obligations of expert vendors.

Chief Executive and Co-Founder, Allan