Niyamath Parveez

Whatever major players in an industry do, it is inevitable that the smaller firms in the same competing field will look to do also. It is not merely a copycat exercise aimed to emulate the big firms but quite often, there can be very logical reasons for doing so. Firstly, if the major firms take to a style and it becomes a success, it has proven to be a winner in their field. With any advantage or success being pored over in great detail these days, anything which looks like working will be analyzed to death and this enables firms to see the exact details and how to copy the success stories.

This is very true for outsourcing and many small firms have been able to copy the procedures and methods utilized by big players in their field. It also means that there may be ready made suppliers desperate for work and they will be keen to work with the smaller firms in the industry. If two outsourcing firms are competing for a contract with a major player in an industry, only one is going to be successful. This means that the losing firm will have went to a lot of time and effort, including possible set-up costs for no benefit. One way to recoup these sunken costs is to target similar firms who may also be able to benefit from outsourcing. The size of contract may not be the level of the original one on offer but sometimes any return on investment is better than nothing and this will see firms getting a good level of benefit.

Sometimes, the economic pressures of trying to stay in contention with other firms can lead to firms adopting similar procedures and a very clear example of this is happening right now. Bharat Sanchar Nigam (or BSNL) has recently come to the decision that they are looking to find an outsourcing solution to their management structure problems and issues. They are also looking for external assistance in maintaining their towers and their large amount of cable networks. Although firms should always be looking to better and develop themselves these decisions have clearly been impacted upon by other players in their industry. Private companies such as Bharti Airtel or Reliance Communications, two huge firms in their industry have achieved a great deal of success with outsourcing moves and this has led many similar firms to re-evaluate their own processes.

To outsiders, this may seem like a move that is just following the line from bigger firms but when you consider that industry experts believe this decision will save around $1m for BSNL, it is very apparent why the firm is deciding to act in this manner. In these harsh economic times, this sort of money has to be pursued strongly and any firm in a similar position would be doing the same. There can be a lot of discussion about the benefits of outsourcing but when the bottom line is so obvious, it is hardly meriting a lengthy debate.