Outsource Magazine Issue 28 - (Page 100)

playing ball Having “one throat to choke” used to be seen as preferable to dealing with multiple suppliers – but buyers are increasingly turning to multi-sourcing arrangements. However, approaching these in the same way as traditional single-source models is a recipe for disaster, says Rob Sumroy… Rob Sumroy, Slaughter And May Rob Sumroy is a partner at leading international law firm Slaughter And May, advising on all aspects of IT and data protection. He is a member of the PLC, IPIT, and the Outsource Editorial Board. T 100 ●● he inevitable firm, but fair, deadline reminder from the editor has given me welcome respite from a complex and gruelling multi-sourcing negotiation for a large enterprise client. Multisourcing. It’s all the rage at the moment; at least within the small sourcing/ procurement circles I mix in. Chances are that somewhere in your procurement team, as you are reading this Legal View, there are people planning, designing or implementing multi-sourcing strategies for your organisation. So what actually is ‘multisourcing’? Like most sourcing labels, ‘multisourcing’ is highly descriptive and, at its most simple, describes a sourcing process engaging multiple suppliers; in effect the opposite of a single source arrangement. Done well and with some sophistication, multi-sourcing can deliver significant benefits to procuring entities (and, many would argue, for the participating suppliers). Done badly, the associated risks will far outweigh any potential benefits, and can lead to disruption, disappointment and chaos. This all brings to mind a Budweiser advert, broadcast on UK television at the time of the 2010 FIFA World Cup. It’s worth a look on YouTube (I could only find the shortened version: http://www. youtube.com/watch?v=wH_ihfDnohI) but the essence is that the US Budweiser guys find the UK Premier League just a little too dull, and come up with a number of ploys to jazz it up; the ultimate being an overtime period of ‘multi-ball’ where multiple footballs are cannoned onto the pitch. The theory I suppose is: more balls, more actions, more goals. Why then the current trend away from single-source, prime contract arrangements towards multi-supplier procurement strategies? As with multi-ball, the multisourcing strategy has developed from perceived problems and disaffection with the prevailing prime-contract model. The essence of a prime contract is that the customer has one (main) supplier who has prime responsibility for providing all “Individual and national rights to wealth rest on the basis of civil and international law, or at least of custom that has the force of law.” – Alfred Marshall ● www.outsourcemagazine.co.uk http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wH_ihfDnohI http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wH_ihfDnohI http://www.outsourcemagazine.co.uk

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Outsource Magazine Issue 28

News
Deep Thought
John Seddon
At Your Service?
Plenty To Chew On
The Power of Two
Big Data
Invested Outsourcing
Tim Cummins
NOA Round-Up
LPO
Managing Knowledge in a Partnership
A Long Way Still To Go
Recruitment Process Technology
Let’s Talk About Our Relationships
Welcome
Great Expectations
Transformative Technology
The Future of Rightshoring
Top Ten
The Legal View
HfS Round-Up
Offshoring
Online Round-Up
Inside Source
The Last Word

Outsource Magazine Issue 28