Multisourcing

The importance of outsourcing for establishing a competitive advantage seems to be a byword in business today. But is it always the best course of action? Many executives seem to pursue it almost compulsively, putting everything in the outsourcing

Multisourcing: Moving beyond outsourcing to achieve growth and agility attempts to return some reason to this fray. According to this book, research shows that 50% of outsourcing contracts signed during the past three years will fail to meet expectations. The authors of Multisourcing encourage a new approach that involves seamlessly blending internally and externally delivered services, governing the process closely, and continuously evaluating sourdng arrangements for effectiveness and efficiency.

The authors stress the need to look beyond the quick-fix cost-cutting concept of outsourcing to a more strategically astute approach to sourcing in general.

By Linda Cohen and Allie Young. Published by Harvard Business School Press. For more information visit www.HBSPress.org.