Customer Reviews

Essentials of Business Process Outsourcing (Essentials Series)

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Globalization and the greater need for cross-cultural reliance have transformed what was once a cornered marketplace for a few into an open playing field for many. In effect a measurable business discipline has evolved complete with acronyms, models and methods. The Essentials of Business Process Outsourcing by Thomas N. Duening and Rick L. Click is a valuable must-read for corporate decision makers considering the transition into an outsourcing business model. In seven chapters the book outlines a comprehensive roadmap of external business operations in the 21st century.

The Essentials of Business Process Outsourcing is especially helpful in acquainting novices with the concept of outsourcing and its origins. A brief historical segment highlights the evolution of Western business from the Agrarian Age to that of industrialization and now information technology (Duening and Click 7).

Three aspects of the book that are particularly noteworthy are valuation of risk and reward, the vendor selection process and effective project management. Forecasting risk and reward through the creation of a TCM (total cost management model) "helps identify both obvious and hidden costs" (67) that can affect a BPO strategy.

Authors Duening and Click champion the importance of systematic organization in the establishment and maintenance of a BPO. While many companies enter the process outsourcing market many don't survive due to lack of structure, knowledge and unrealistic expectations. The "Essentials of Business Process Outsourcing" provides strategic methods, case examples, tips and techniques that are invaluable to the everyday sourcing business environment. It is a handy desktop reference that may very well be integral to sparking the next big idea in the discipline.

I am using this book to teach a topics class in Information Technology. It is very well structured with direct attention to major issues relative to outsourcing from different perspectives: buyer and vendor. Authors, however, continuously use complicated terms in places where it could have been much easier to say the same thing.
This could be a book for managers, senior officials or lawyers who are very well aware of various industry-specific words but not for those are novices in the area. I wonder why the authors choose 'Essentials' in their title.