During the FEM London Roadshow, Ellen Jansma, Head of International Mobility at Philips, shared her knowledge on outsourcing and vendor selection, based on her experiences at IBM, HEINEKEN and Philips.
Best practices, key steps
Ellen discussed the scope of outsourcing as well as the roles of vendors and internal stakeholders (Global Mobility, HR, Procurement and international assignees). She explained why outsourcing is a ‘balancing act’, mapped the changing supplier landscape and highlighted best practices. She also shared her key steps for deciding what to outsource, and why.
Key steps for outsourcing:
- Define what you want to do in-house
- Define what you expect from a vendor
- Spend enough time to prepare the RfP
- Bad vendors don’t exist, only bad partnerships
- Execution is mainly about communication
Suppliers are needed
Ellen underlined that it’s impossible to do everything in house. Suppliers are needed for technical knowledge, for operational tasks, for coordination, and last but not least, for specialism, such as expat partner support.
Hardware versus services
Among other topics, Ellen discussed the setting of strategic goals (when preparing the Request for Proposal), the difference between hardware and services, and the importance of cooperation between Procurement and Global Mobility.
A people-oriented business
She concluded by stressing that although decisions concerning outsourcing depend on, for example, the company’s culture and vision on mobility, one should never forget that, ultimately, it’s all about moving families abroad.
You can see Ellen’s full presentation here
