In September 2011, Reuters reported that stocks in the United States were pounded due to rising fears of another recession. This was fueled by new worries on the health of European banks and a rather dismal report on regional manufacturing in the United States. The same report stated that the NASDAQ ended more than five percent lower, the Standard & Poor’s 500 more than four percent, and the blue-chip Dow was off more than three percent. Losses were spread throughout the market and companies seemed to have resigned themselves to the downward market trend. Economists at Morgan Stanley have lowered the outlook for global growth and have said that the United States and the Euro Zone are ‘dangerously close to recession’.
For companies the world over, it means resumption of efforts to optimize business processes. The moot question, therefore, is: Is my business doing all that it can to stay ahead of competition? The problem lies more in the fact that most organizations are faced with challenges that they do not understand themselves, either because:
- Employees are too busy meeting their day-to-day targets, thus lacking the focus and drive required to identify these problem areas
- There is insufficient top-level support for business intelligence diagnosis
However, given the competitive nature of the business environment that companies currently operate in, time is of the essence. Business consultancy services can come to the rescue at this stage and help build an intelligent organization. In order to achieve high performance, companies need to analyze data and insights that will allow them to make better decisions and also fortify customer relationships. For instance, diagnostics tools can measure whether:
- A company employs lean manufacturing techniques effectively
- There is scope for improvement in a company’s purchasing and supply chain management
- The company’s project management is up to speed
- The company’s market mapping is accurate
Business diagnostic tools today can analyze the overall business health of an organization and even conduct a detailed study of its business processes or financial state. There are significant advantages in utilizing the services of an experienced Research and Analytics player for business diagnosis, in that it
- Allows companies to keep pace with change – The business environment that companies operate in is in a state of constant flux. It is essential that organizations build on a response system that enables managers to track these changes and chalk out business strategies accordingly. Companies should ideally conduct an independent review of the dynamically altering business environment and evaluate its strengths and weaknesses against this backdrop.
- Ensures business improvement – There is a need for continuous business improvement in organizations and they must look towards remaining competitive through regular reviews of their key processes. Business improvement projects should be undertaken in a systematic and planned manner at regular intervals by experts.
- Provides opportunities to duplicate wins realized by other organizations – Best management practices that have been successfully put into practice by other organizations could be implemented to overcome similar challenges in one's own organization. Working with an expert in business diagnosis will enable companies to have access to these insights so that they avoid failures and inaccurate decisions.
- Identifies potential risks and opportunities – For organizations to stay ahead, they must identify and mitigate risks and also spot opportunities and use them to their advantage. Since the management in most organizations is under pressure to meet their day-to-day pressures, an expert can provide all the required analytical information regarding risks and opportunities management. These experts will then be able to guide the organization to create strategies that can effectively respond to the risks and opportunities that have been identified.
- Offers an objective viewpoint – Companies are accustomed to utilizing their own management practices and thus could have become ineffective in taking optimized decisions involving an objective viewpoint with regard to their own businesses. Employing the services of an expert will allow companies to get an objective point of view that can be critical to business success.
Outsourcing Expert’s Prescription for Business Diagnostics
While many organizations seek the expertise of top-of-the-line consultants, often the solution recommended to companies is that of outsourcing. Thus, for companies to utilize the services of an organization such as WNS to conduct a detailed business diagnostic report is a logical move and becomes an automatic appropriate choice. WNS partners with clients from analysis to strategy and right through to execution in an effort to help them outperform.
The benefits of utilizing the services of an experienced outsourcing player like WNS for Business Diagnosis enable a client to:
- Arrive at a realistic solution with a proper implementation framework – Business consultants, by the very nature and scope of their structure and consulting engagement, will imply many suggestions for operational efficiency, performance improvement and profitability, but do not have the capacity to execute the recommendations they make. They will have to look at various most-appropriate vendors to provide the necessary solutions to the organization. By opting to work with an experienced outsourcing firm such as WNS to conduct the business diagnosis, the organization has the advantage of arriving at a roadmap.
- A step-by-step proposal that takes into consideration the needs of the organization — that can be implemented and set in place by the same outsourcing partner.
- Realize significant economic value – An organization partnering with WNS is offered business diagnosis as a part of a larger bouquet of outsourcing offerings. WNS will not obligate the organization to utilize its services for implementation, instead will give a neutral third-party perspective, with the opportunity of using WNS wherever possible. This will also ensure substantial savings and clearly improve profits for an organization that will 'go the whole hog'.
- Take advantage of a framework that is structured and yet flexible – During the course of a business diagnosis assessment with WNS, the organization has the advantage of flexibility. If for instance, during the course of implementation, it is noticed that an item is irrelevant, it can be done away with. Similarly, relevant emerging issues can be factored in and will not be overlooked just because they are not featured on the diagnostic paperwork.
Diagnostic Framework
The Analytics Maturity Curve
A mature outsourcing player such as WNS works in a partnership role, and is more an extension of the client’s enterprise. WNS firmly believes that a business diagnostic must be conducted by an organization that has domain expertise to interpret correctly what the diagnostic actually reveals about the business and prescribe cost-effective and implementable remedies. Once the client is convinced of the value of analytics and outsourcing and its potential, WNS can assess the current state and deliver the optimum target-operating model. WNS has deep functional and industry expertise and wide geographical reach to meet the needs of its business partners. WNS also has the scale, knowledge and scope to provide organizations with best-practice recommendations that can be put to immediate use.