Smartsourcing: Driving Innovation and Growth Through Outsourcing (Hardcover)

~ Thomas M. Koulopoulos (Author), Tom Roloff (Author) "Picture a map of the world..." (more)
Key Phrases: digital value chain, rightmost segments, process orchestration, United States, World War, Air Force (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"... a must-read for any executive tasked with leading his or her organization into the Innovation Age economy." -- Patricia Brown, senior executive editor, Optimize Magazine

Product Description

Management guru and bestselling business author, Tom Peters, has called Thomas Koulopoulos' writing, "a brilliant vision of where we must take our enterprises to survive and thrive."
Outsourcing is the most popular movement of the new global business economy. In fact, the typical executive will soon spend one-third of his or her budget on outsourcing. But the smart ones will spend it on smartsourcing.
Smartsourcing goes a step further by showing companies how to partner with service providers strategically-to not only cut costs but increase innovation as well. Rather than moving the work to where the least expensive workers are, Smartsourcing shows you how to abandon the status quo-and make outsourcing an opportunity to improve operations across the full spectrum of your business. The first book to be ahead of the curve, Smartsourcing is the hands-on guide every manager needs to capitalize on one of the most important shifts in business today.
Not since the industrial revolution has there been such a dramatic change in how-and where-work is performed. In today's marketplace, a company's products and services must be positioned and sold against global competitors with larger, cheaper, and highly skilled workforces. Organizations today are faced with significant quandaries, including how to:

Cut costs while increasing innovation

Grow the business-and maintain accountability-while moving operations offsite

Increase productivity and efficiency
By embracing the next evolution of outsourcing. Smartsourcing enables an organization to focus on what it does best while the outsourcing partner takes responsibility for innovating change and cost-control in non-core operations. The result is a strategic and synergistic relationship that enables each organization to benefit from the other's expertise and ultimately increase productivity and profitability. Smartsourcing provides a roadmap for navigating today's shifting marketplace, and shows how outsourcing can add value to your business, your products and your customers.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 274 pages
• Publisher: Platinum Press (April 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 159337514X
• ISBN-13: 978-1593375140
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6.3 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #257,079 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent view on outsourcing, January 26, 2007

By	James Taylor "Enterprise Decision Management ... (Palo Alto, CA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The book takes a slightly different tack on how outsourcing should be viewed and how companies should use it. The overall effect is a little like that described by Hagel and Seely-Brown in The Only Sustainable Edge, but Tom writes a very readable book covering three key trends, all described cogently and without too much MBA-speak. In particular he does a good job contrasting outsourcing and smartsourcing - there is a focus on differentiation over commoditization and on strategic excellence combined with agility (one of my favorite topics). Anyway, the book outlines three themes:

Movement to external economies of scale
Shift from ownership to strategy
The evolution of the placeless job

The overall approach can best be summarized by one quote from the book where he says that an "organization's intellectual resources are maximized because they are not distracted by nonessential work".

A highly recommended book.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A "must" read for all 21st century business decision makers, April 18, 2006

By	Richard Litman (Arlington, VA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I was looking for a book about "outsourcing" and came across this title. "Smartsourcing" I said. What's that? Intrigued, I bought the book. I'm glad I did. It opened my eyes to a new dimension in business thinking. If you are planning to outsource or want to be an outsourcer, this will change your perspective of this evolving industry. If you have said "no" to outsourcing and want everything done internally at your company, this book will change the "no" to "yes" for some aspects of your business. Reading this book may mean the difference between success and failure in the 21st century.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars SUPERB!, November 3, 2006

By	Mirsini Errikou - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The book exceeded my expectations as I thought it to be the University material I didn't have available during my studies. I would very much like to see it hitting the Greek market as well. Very competent writing and numerous opportunities for creative thinking. A very useful tool for people involved in the process of successful business strategy formulation and implementation.