The increasing trend to outsourcing activities entails a number of important decisions and requires  good management of a large variety of issues. Such matters include which activities to outsource, the selection of a service provider and finding the most appropriate way to manage an outsourcing contract. Active risk management can substantially reduce organisational and market performance risk exposure while allowing the organisation to obtain its main benefits from outsourcing initiatives.

Deloitte is uniquely positioned to assist your organisation in mitigating and managing these risks throughout the entire outsourcing lifecycle. Our Outsourcing Risk Advisory Service offers a phased methodology in which separate workstreams provide a structured approach, thus ensuring end-to-end outsourcing control.

 Phase I - Outsourcing Strategy
The increased need for regulatory compliance and the growing demand for effective risk management have driven the outsourcing strategy to become closely aligned with the business strategy.

 Phase II - Outsourcing Diagnosis
The success of many projects often depends on two early critical success factors. On the one hand the initial requirements should be well documented and communicated to all stakeholders, while on the other hand these requirements should be well understood by the receiving parties in order to be translated into an effective proposal. The success of a common outsourcing trajectory is very similar as it is the basis for future trust.

 Phase III - Outsourcing Contract
An outsourcing contract should not only unambiguously reflect the intent of all parties involved, it should also be used as an important working document during the outsourcing execution phase. The contract should hence be developed in such a way that all associated outsourcing risks and modalities are contractually well translated, based on objective data. Hence, a well-structured outsourcing contract should reinforce trust.

 Phase IV - Outsourcing Transition
Transferring organisational assets from one organisation to another is not an everyday activity. All involved organisations should first of all, be ready to transfer the contractually agreed services or activities and secondly, plan the transition lifecycle and process well in advance.

 Phase V - Outsourcing Executio
The executing or running phase is crucial in any project. This phase does not only imply that all involved parties must be ready to run the project, it also implies that continuous changes and improvements will indeed take place throughout the project. Where outsourcing is concerned, being fully ready to execute is key to a successful trust relationship.

 Phase VI - Outsourcing Exit
All contracts come to an end, be it on a planned or an unanticipated date. Having a clear (contractually agreed) exit strategy guarantees customers flexibility towards vendors and/or service providers and indicates a mutual level of trust.