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Primary Purpose
The purpose of the Washington, DC Chapter of IAOP is to give Mid Atlantic area professionals involved in outsourcing - both customers and providers - the opportunity to meet with their peers and exchange ideas. It is also intended to give advisors, especially from the legal profession, the opportunity to gain experience from and exchange knowledge with customers and providers. Educational experiences will be provided by quarterly meetings focusing on a current topic. n
Executive Committee
Yes. A key professional from the IAOP corporate membership a representative of a provider, customer and advisor. N
Meeting Frequency
Quarterly
Meeting Type
Face-to-face (office, meeting room)
Guest Speakers
Industry leaders, thought leaders, key professionals from IAOP membership. n
Non-Solicitation Policy
All IAOP Chapters adhere to the non-solicitation policy. Click here to view the policy. N
| IAOP Chapter: Washington, D.C.
The Washington DC Chapter is reorganizing for 2009 – stay tuned for details!
Meeting held - May 22, 2008
Chairman’s Summary
China’s Rise on the Value Chain: What Outsourcing Means to China Today was the topic of the IAOP’s Washington, D.C.’s Chapter meeting on May 22nd, 2008.
Held at the Washington, D.C. offices of Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman, LLC, the meeting featured four speakers: Eddie Liu,President of Hundsun Technologies Corporation and CEO of Hundsun Global; Luis Fiallo, Managing Director, China Telecom Americas;Tien Wong,Chairman & CEO, Opus8; and, Andy Dubosky, Chairman and President, Maryland-China Business Council. Jeff Swartz, President of Hundsun Global’s North American operations and Chapter Chairman, moderated the meeting.
Highlights of the presentations and discussion:
Scale and Skill. As a global outsourcing destination, China’s differentiation is notable because of the enormous labor pool of professionals available at low costs. In addition, in certain sectors, such as information technology, China should be evaluated a source for domain expertise. China’s rapid domestic growth is creating outsourcing providers with expert level technology and business domain knowledge. As Eddie Liu noted, 80% of the revenue produced in China’s IT outsourcing industry comes from developing infrastructure and applications for domestic Chinese markets. In comparison, only 20% of IT outsourcing revenue in India comes from India’s domestic markets.The rapid growth of China’s domestic industries and markets is building a resource base of talent that will make Chinese outsourcing providers increasingly competitive outside of China over the next decade.
Entrepreneurial Culture … and Talent. Speakers noted the pervasive entrepreneurial business culture in China. Tien Wong of Opus 8 highlighted China’s unparalleled drive he sees on each of his frequent business trips. Tien pointed out that the “getting the job done and go home” attitude is rare in China; instead, the work ethic is one of devotion to work – people see the success of their company, and of their clients as a reflection of their own success. Furthermore, the growing talent pool in China is highly educated. Luis Fiallo of China Telecom Americas shared insight on the benefits of having such a young, talented, educated, and motivated talent pool. China has some of the world’s best R&D centers because of the thought leadership available in China
Working with China. Andy Dubosky, Chairman and President of the Maryland China Business Council, shared his perspective and experiences of negotiating and working with Chinese companies and updated the group on progress in intellectual property protection. Andy stressed the importance of 1) paying attention to the factors that go into deciding what to outsource,how to outsource and where to outsource; 2) being aware of the differences between US and Chinese companies; and 3) the importance of conducting the necessary due diligence. Eddie Liu observed that many Western companies interested distributing products to China may offer attractive revenue sharing deals, but expect providers to invest upfront in localization services at greatly discounted rates. These types of arrangements are generally not attractive to Chinese companies, unless the partner is also bringing special domain expertise as part of the partnership. “Bring your expertise and experience to China, not your products,” said Mr. Liu.
Earthquake Relief. Finally, Andy helped to raise awareness of ways in which IAOP members and guests could contribute to earthquake relief in western China. Please visit www.mcbc.net for more information on ways to contribute to earthquake relief.
The D.C. chapter sincerely thanks its sponsors and the 50+ attendees for this successful meeting!
Jeff Swartz, Chairman
IAOP members wishing to attend the upcoming meeting please email the chapter coordinator at amanda.corbett@outsourcingprofessional.org
If you are not as yet a member of IAOP and would like a guest pass for the meeting, please request a Guest Pass.
IAOP Members: Click here and login to download past meeting presentations for all IAOP chapters.
Meeting Held: February 13, 2008
The most recent meeting of the IAOP Washington D.C. Chapter, chaired by Jeffrey L Swartz with Hundsun Global, was held on Wednesday, February 13, 2008.
The theme of the meeting was the Impact of Possible Recession in the U.S. on the Outsourcing Industry. Five speakers were invited to share their perspectives: Erran Carmel, Associate Professor, Kogod School of Business, American University; Elizabeth Halaki, Chief Marketing Officer, Océ Business Services; Robert Sherretta, CEO, International Investors, LLC; Greg Retzer, Director, Outsource Partners International; and Patrick Dine, CEO, PSD Global Inc. Jeff Swartz, President of Hundsun Global Services, Inc. and Chairman of the Chapter, moderated the meeting.
Highlights from the presentations and discussion:
· The speakers agreed that we will have a mild recession rather than a major currency crisis, but pain in the U.S. credit markets will impact prices, employment, and general business confidence. This certainly will impact business decisions to outsource, making the market more challenging that it has been of late.
· The macro trends that continue to support outsourcing and offshoring are the weakened dollar versus the Indian Rupee, increasing wages in India, and softening wages in the U.S. The speakers agreed that the value proposition associated with outsourcing should resonate during tough times. This was the case after the post 9/11 downturn, when offshoring and outsourcing companies thrived.
· However, over the next 2-3 years overall industry growth will slow from the torrid pace of the past five years. And, at the micro level, there will be an increase of “back-shoring” to farm, rural, and local home sourcing providers.
· Companies that are already outsourcing will continue to do so, and in fact may look to increase their reliance on partners as a way to cut costs and drive efficiency and effectiveness. However, companies that are considering new projects and vendors may delay decisions or put them off indefintely. Middle market companies will still be ripe prospects for BPO business where the customer can realize a rapid economic benefit.
· Outsourcing vendors with a strong U.S. presence should look to find customers who may have an interest in expanding to overseas markets. A Chinese-based outsourcing provider, for example, could help U.S. clients access the China market. Service providers should also consider Western Europe and Canada for opportunities.
· Four of the five of the panelists believe outsourcing of U.S. jobs overseas WILL NOT be a significant political issue in the upcoming presidential election.
IAOP members wishing to attend the upcoming meeting please email the chapter coordinator at amanda.corbett@outsourcingprofessional.org
If you are not as yet a member of IAOP and would like a guest pass for the meeting, please Request a Guest Pass.
IAOP Members: Click Here and login to download past meeting presentations for all IAOP chapters
Inaugural Meeting Held: November 8, 2007
The inaugural meeting of the IAOP Washington DC Chapter took place on Thursday, November 8th, and was sponsored by Hundsun Global Services, Inc. & Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP.
Users, advisors and providers are well aware of the promises, benefits and opportunities of outsourcing. We also share formidable challenges. The primary objective of our first meeting was to get your feedback about the challenges you face – and how the D.C Chapter can best help you manage and overcome them over the next year. The forum was highly interactive and we sought topics and issues you’d like to explore during future Chapter meetings.
Michael Corbett, Chairman of IAOP, reviewed the state of the outsourcing industry, the emerging role of outsourcing professionals as leaders of organizational transformation, and share ways that IAOP is helping outsourcing professionals deliver better, more consistent outcomes for their companies.
In addition, Jim Alberg, Partner and Chair of Pillsbury Global Sourcing, provided an update to us on best practices, potential risks and pitfalls of multi-sourcing relationships.
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