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OUTSOURCING TO INDIA-CURRENT AND EMERGING TRENDS: IMPLICATIONS FOR GLOBAL MANAGERS Suresh Gopalan, Columbus State University Olice Embry, Columbus State University
This paper discussed specific country factors that have led to India’s global emergence in the knowledge-intensive outsourcing service industry. Also discussed are current and emerging souring trends with respect to India. The paper also offers a comprehensive discussion on managerial implications that is targeted towards both Indian and US managers.
Introduction
Today‟s global environment has placed increased pressure on firms to become more competitive and profitable. Global sourcing activities have increased in importance and have increasingly emerged as a key strategic tool in achieving “cost reduction, quality and delivery improvement, cycle time reduction, and improved responsiveness to customer, competitive, and financial market demands” (Trent and Monczka, 2001, p. 66). It is estimated that a well planned and executed global sourcing strategy can result in a cost savings differential of 15 to 25 percent when compared to sourcing from local sources. While cost savings has been the predominant motive for global outsourcing efforts, there are other strategic drivers as well (Jennings, 2002; Quinn and Hilmer, 1994; Currie and Willcocks, 1997). These include access to superior quality of goods, services, and labor; improved flexibility with respect to „lean‟ production cycles; quickness in response times; and the ability to focus on a core set of activities and increased responsiveness to market changes. Theoretically, any part of a firm‟s value chain can be outsourced (see Table 1). With respect to outsourcing, organizations face two critical decisions: what type of activities should be outsourced? where (geographic location) should they be outsourced? Table 1 Range of Activities that Comprise a Value Chain In bound logistics Marketing & Sales Operations Service Outbound logistics Procurement * adopted from Jennings, 2002, p. 32. Technology Development Human Resource Management Firm infrastructure
It is beyond the scope of this paper to get into an extensive discussion of the advantages and disadvantages of a global strategic outsourcing process. The primary objectives of this paper are to: discuss specific country factors that have led to India‟s global emergence in the knowledgeintensive outsourcing service industry, and to identify and discuss current and emerging sourcing trends with respect to India with a discussion on managerial implications.
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A growing number of articles have highlighted India‟s importance as an emerging center for outsourcing service type activities with a special emphasis on IT and back-office functions (Overby, 2003; Greenemeier, 2002; World IT Report, 2003). A joint study conducted by McKinsey & Co. and Nasscom, an Indian software association, predict that by 2008, India will generate $57 billion in revenues from IT work and other service related exports. The rapidly growing part of India‟s service economy is also expected to employ 4 million people and account for 7 percent of the country‟s GDP (Engardio, Bernstein, Kripalani, Balfour, Grow, and Greene, 2003). Several US and UK based companies have chosen India as their preferred location for a variety of outsourcing activities ranging from call centers, software development and application, medical diagnostics, and for auditing/financial analysis activities (see Table 2). Outsourcing activities to India initially focused on low-end software services and office support functions. However, current trends indicate a transition to higher-end services and diversification to other knowledge occupations such as healthcare, pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, financial and accounting services, media and entertainment, etc. (Kapur and Ramamurti, 2001) Table 2 A Sample of US and UK firms that have outsourced activities to India Name of Firm United Technologies Bank of America Microsoft Hewlett-Packard Lehman Brothers Inc. Bear Sterns, Inc. Hong Kong Shanghai Bank Corp. Fluor Corporation Intel Texas Instruments Conseco Delta Airlines General Electric Oracle MasterCard International Inc. EDS J.P. Morgan Chase Prudential Type for work outsourced Software application and development T applications/Engineering Software development, IT support Software engineering Audits and financial analysis Audits and financial analysis Credit card & loan processing Developing detailed specs and blueprints Chip design Chip design Insurance claim processing Airlines reservations, customer service Finance, IT support, medical R&D services IT support, software design, accounting Software development and maintenance, finance Application development, call center Creating financial models, market analysis Call center
Sources: Engardio et al., 2003; Merchant, 2003
Discussion of Country Specific Competitive Factors
India‟s success in the skill-intensive global services industry can be attributed to a variety of factors. These are discussed below.
Government’s commitment to economic liberalization and globalization
The process of economic reforms started by the Congress Party in the 1980‟s has been continued by the BJP party from the 1990‟s to the present time. In his interview with the Academy of Management Executive, India‟s finance minister states, “India will open up and will become a full partner in a globalized world. The billion or so people who live in this country will make their contribution to the world economy, and that will be increasingly realized by the rest of the world.” (Ramamurti, 2001, p. 8). He reiterated his government‟s commitment to economic liberalization by stating that they had passed into law progressive legislations such as the Information Technology Act along with many others that streamlined bankruptcies, mergers and acquisitions, and foreign ownership. Additionally, he indicated that many FDI projects were put on a separate fast track for quick approval. To date, the politicians and bureaucrats in New Delhi have held the course on stated macro and micro-economic policies
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embracing globalization. The consistent domestic political support strengthens India‟s position as an attractive offshore location. Additionally, many Indian state governments have aggressively courted foreign investors to locate in their respective states. For example, many governors from US states travel to Japan, Germany, and other countries to encourage businesses to locate in their respective states. Similarly, Indian chief ministers (equivalent to governors of US states), have aggressively lobbied US and other Western businesses to locate their offshore locations in their states. Notable among the chief ministers is Chandrababu Naidu of the state of Andhra Pradesh. Due to his efforts, Microsoft has established the only other R&D office in its history in the city of Hyderabad (a non-US location). Other desirable locations in India are Bangalore (Karnataka state), Mumbai (Maharashtra state), Chennai (Tamil Nadu state), and New Delhi (Kapur and Ramamurti, 2001). There is a strong public-private partnership in these locations as state governments closely work with companies that have established offshore offices in their states. For example, Bangalore‟s Electronic City and Hyderabad‟s HITEC city, both created by state governments, offer a variety of amenities ranging from ample office space, hi-tech communication links, spacious housing, and a variety of social facilities.
Indian educational system
India has the world‟s second largest pool of English-speaking scientists and engineers after the United States. This gives the country a competitive edge when it comes to competing in the “knowledge business.” The following table gives a comparison of the number of science and engineering graduates from five countries including India. Table 3 Number of Natural Science and Engineering College Graduates Bas 1989 China 127,000 India 165,000 Philippines 40,000 Mexico 32,000 U.S. 196,000 Source: Engardio et al., 2003. Bas 1999 322,000 251,000 66,000 57,000 220,000 MAs and PhDs 1989 19,000 64,000 255 340 61,000 MAs and PhDs 1999 41,000 63,000 937 63,000 77,000
India has a large and sophisticated system of educational institutions with rigorous admission requirements. This educational system is the source of the human capital for software and other service industries. The Indian Institutes of Technology, Indian Institutes of Information Technology, the Indian Institute of Science, regional engineering universities and private institutions like NIIT and APTECH together produce nearly 100,000 IT professionals on an annual basis (Kapur and Ramamurti, 2001). This number is projected to increase to 500,000 in a few years. A study conducted by Merrill Lynch found that India was one of the few countries that possessed both system and silicon-level expertise along with digital/logic and analog skills. The analog expertise in the Indian software companies is in part attributed to the curriculum of the Indian Institutes of Technology that have emphasized training in analog design (Krishnadas, 2001).
Internationally competitive labor costs
One of the primary reasons for setting up outsourcing operations in India is to take advantage of cost savings resulting from the lower cost of labor. According to Vivek Nagarkatti, president of Global eBusiness Operations, completing HP accounts in India costs one-sixth of the total amount in the United States (Ribeiro, 2002). Business Process Outsourcing activities cost $7,000 and $17,000 per person in India—in the USA the cost for completing similar activities per person would be $14,000-$51,000.
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Information technology work that costs $100 per hour in the USA can be completed in India for $20. Help-desk support staff can be staffed at a cost of 60% less in India than in the US. Software project managers are paid $11,000 per annum, a competitive salary in India where the per capital annual income is $500. Starting salaries for Indian IT engineers are around $5,000 per annum. Indian chip designers with five years experience are paid $12,000 per annum; in the US, similar qualifications for a chip designer command a salary of $84,000 per annum. Financial specialists working in India for US brokerage houses and investment banks are paid $12,000 per annum--their US counterparts are paid $84,000 and more (Engardio et al., 2003). Customer service jobs (such as call centers) located in Bangalore pay $174 a month or $2,087 per year. In comparison, similar call center jobs in the US pay $8 to $12 per hour or $1,400 per month (Sasso, 2003). These examples clearly illustrate the tremendous cost savings that can be achieved by outsourcing work to India.
Strong work ethic with an emphasis on customer satisfaction
The Indian labor force that entered the software/IT industry has traditionally had a strong professional orientation with an emphasis on providing customer satisfaction. Pioneering firms like Tata Consultancy Services gained a favorable reputation for their quality execution and service. So strong is the quality and service orientation of India based firms, that according to Azim Premji, CEO of WIPRO, We have some advantages in competing …For one thing, internal suppliers never give the same treatment that external suppliers like us provide. Second, we have scale. Software services is all we do; is our lifeblood. So we have built quality processes that are leading edge in the world. Today I think there are 26 CMM Level-5 companies in the world, of which 19 are in India. We work with diverse technologies, which gives our engineers more breadth and exposure. We offer shorter delivery times, we can ramp up quickly if needed, and we are able to retain people. So we always do well in terms of customer satisfaction….(Ramamurti, 2001, p. 15) According to Greg Tranter, CIO of Allmerica Financial Corp., based in Worcester, Massachusetts, cost was not the only factor in moving the bulk of his firm‟s IT operations (including support and maintenance) to India. After experimenting with a Canadian location, Tranter feels that the “quality and work ethic are stronger in India.” (Hayes and McDougall, 2003, p. 40).
Achieving high levels of software certification
The Carnegie Mellon Software Engineering Institute‟s certification of “CMM-Level 5” (Capability Maturity Model) is considered as the highest global recognition of quality. The first company to obtain this certification was an Indian company WIPRO. Of the 26 companies that have this level of certification, more than half are located in India (19 firms). According to Kapur and Ramamurti (2001), some US firms have obtained this certification in their Indian centers, not in the US locations. WIPRO is now seeking to become the first company in the world to become certified in an emerging standard called PCMM-Level 5. Achieving this level of certification is an extremely difficult task involving many years of hard work. By meeting and exceeding these global standards, India based firms (domestic or foreign owned) have gained a sustained competitive advantage that is hard to replicate in the short term. Table 4 Big 5 Indian firms that have obtained CMM-Level 5 certification Company Tata Consultancy Services WIPRO Technologies Infosys Technologies Satyam Computer Services Cognizant Technology Solutions Source: Greenemeier, p. 58 Revenue 689.0 million $661.7 million $413.9 million $308.2 million 177.8 million
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The 12-14 hour time zone difference between India and the United States works to the advantage of Indian outsourcing companies. Kapur and Ramamurti (2001) note the ease with which software work-in-process can be moved between locations. The 12 hour time differential between India and the United States has enabled the formation of 24 hour development teams based in both countries. This is an advantage that cannot be replicated in other locations. Many US based companies use the 12 hour time differential to their advantage “by working around the clock.” According to Michael Landreth, customer service manager at a CA based photo services firm, “since we are separated by approximately 12 hours, the team in India is on when the US team is off, and vice-versa. This has helped our response time considerably” (Ribeiro, 2001, p. 28). Amazon.com is another company that has outsourced to India to take advantage of this time difference.
Independent judiciary that protects intellectual property
The Indian judicial system is fairly sophisticated and capable of adjudicating major disputes between companies and government (as in Enron‟s case), or between companies. Compared to other developing countries, there is fundamental protection for intellectual property such as trademarks and copyrights in India—this is a critical necessity for outsourcing knowledge-based activity. India is also one of the original parties that was a signatory to the World Trade Organization and fully supports all aspects of international law as it applies to intellectual property rights. In comparison to India, the Chinese judicial system is still undeveloped with weak enforcement of intellectual-property ownership (Hayes and McDougall, 2003).
Emerging Outsourcing Trends: Implications for Managers
Trend #1: Indian firms will face increased competition in two ways. First, firms based in other developing countries will position themselves as perfectly acceptable substitutes to India-based firms. Second, American and UK firms (such as EDS and IBM) will open their own development centers in India and in other countries that are low-cost locations. Managerial Implication: The literature has identified several countries ranging from Russia, Malaysia, Philippines, Hungary, Bulgaria, South Africa, Czech Republic, and China as potential competitors for many of the high-skill jobs that are currently being outsourced to India. Some predict that India‟s advantage is good only for another 10-15 years—these countries identified earlier will be able to compete effectively with India by 2015. Companies such as GE, EDS, Accenture, McKinsey, Prudential and others are also opening their own development centers in India. Indian firms will have to increasingly compete for the high-tech high-skill labor pool with foreign competitors. In the long term, if the labor supply of skilled Indian employees is unable to keep up with world-wide demand, then one could see wages and salaries rise and make offshore sourcing in India less attractive. From the client‟s perspective (firms that intend to outsource), additional global options and alternatives are good news as it gives them more leverage with respect to their current vendors based in India. From the perspective of Indian companies headquartered in India, increased global competition means they have to adopt several strategies to remain competitive. One option is to differentiate themselves from their competition by growing their firm‟s “brand name” to give it an element of exclusiveness vis-à-vis their competitors. They could also combine firm branding with country name branding by stamping “Made in India” as a desirable quality label. These are valid strategies given that many Indian firms have a CMM-Level 5 rating with very favorable customer testimonials. India based companies must expand their geographic presence by opening offices in multiple locations around the world. International expansion will enable Indian firms to expand their client base, increase their employee pool (they can draw upon intellectual capital in multiple locations), and address client concerns about data safety in case of a war between India and Pakistan. Many Indian firms will evolve into global companies taking advantage of international opportunities in the high-skilled services offshore market. These activities will result in increased contact between managers from various national/cultural backgrounds. The breadth of managerial skill sets must be expanded to include cross-cultural and language skills to be successful in various locations. Trend #2: Increased number of joint ventures and strategic alliances between Indian and US firms Managerial Implication: The client-vendor relationship that starts with outsourcing will spawn an increased number of joint ventures and strategic alliances between Western and Indian firms. Joint venture operations result in additional revenue for both firms as they provide a variety of services to third parties. MasterCard International Inc., launched a joint venture called Mascon-MasterCard Global Technology Services Ltd., with Mascon Global Ltd., a Chennai based firm that specialized in offshore services (Greenemeier, 2002). This joint venture evolved out of an 209
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outsourcing relationship that MasterCard had with Mascon. Mascon-MasterCard Global Technology Services Ltd. provides consulting services to MasterCard‟s member financial institutions, processors, and other vendors in addition to working on application development projects for other clients. Managers from both ends (client and vendor) should explore other value adding options (beyond immediate cost-savings) that could result from the outsourcing relationship. The creation of a joint venture (with an equity involvement by both firms), clearly indicates that the relationship has progressed to a new level. In addition to maintaining a sound relationship that focuses on outsourcing, both parties have added a layer of complexity in that they must pay attention to issues that are critical to the successful management of the new venture. Trend #3: Within the IT/IS area, Indian firms are aggressively moving up the value chain by being more involved in clients’ business planning and decision making. The nature and sophistication of outsourced IT/IS work will continue to increase. Managerial Implication: To offset growing competition from other low-cost sites, and to create a stronger longer lasting relationships with their clients, many Indian firms are becoming more “embedded” with their clients‟ strategic planning and decision making process. As this transition takes place, the type of employee skill sets also change. Top level consulting talent is needed. Satyam Computers recently hired 35 consultants from the top US consulting firms as part of their new strategy to provide high-end consulting, system design and business process modeling capabilities (Hayes and McDougall, 2003). Hiring high priced employees will change the cost structure with which these companies traditionally operated, but they will learn to include these figures in emerging cost structures. The cross-cultural management literature has identified Indian business culture as one in which long-term relationships are valued and where “insiders” are given preferential treatment. US based managers as well as managers from Western nations will do well to build a strong and long lasting relationship with their Indian counterparts. Indian managers will go the extra mile to service business requests for international clients who have earned the trust and confidence of their Indian counterparts. Trend #4: Besides the IT/IS field, outsourcing will expand to high-knowledge/skill jobs in pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, financial services, media, medical services and basic research (such as semi-conductors) Managerial Implication: These areas represent the best prospects for outsourcing to India. Due to its biodiversity in ecology and population, India represents an attractive market for market testing new drugs. Additionally, it represents a fertile ground for conducting basic research due to its large number of scientists. Pioneering firms such as GE have established a base in India, not just to take advantage of lower end business processing activities like call centers, but also to perform a variety of highly skilled activities such as credit & market analysis, advanced medical diagnostics, financial and accounting informational analysis, etc. India has a large and well developed movie industry in many locations (Mumbai, Chennai, Bangalore, etc). As more and more special effects are done in digital technology, much of this work will be outsourced in India. Indian chartered accountants (analogous to CPAs) and financial analysts are being increasingly hired by US investment firms and brokerage firms to perform many routine activities currently conducted in the US. India has a tremendous amount of intellectual capital-global firms that wish to take advantage of outsourcing should conduct a needs analysis of their present and future strategies in order to fully exploit India‟s intellectual capital. Trend #5: Political Backlash in the USA due to exodus of white collar occupations Managerial Implication: Global sourcing trends indicate that thousands of white collar high-skilled jobs will leave the United States for offshore locations. John C. McCarthy an analyst with Forrester Research Inc., predicts that approximately 3.3 million white-collar jobs and $136 billion in wages will shift from the US to lower cost countries by 2015 (Engardio et al, 2003). In the IT sector alone, a cumulative total of 472,000 jobs will move from the US by 2015 (Merchant, Alden, and Foremnski, 2003). This phenomenon will create a tremendous amount of debate in political and professional circles in the USA. Lawmakers may be motivated to pass laws that limit/restrict the ability of US firms to engage in offshore sourcing. New Jersey is close to passing a law that would prohibit outsourcing of public-sector contracts to low-cost processing centers such as India. Other states such as Maryland, Washington, Connecticut, and Missouri are considering passing laws similar to New Jersey. As an initial step to address these concerns, the Indian firms have hired Hill and Knowlton, a US public relations firm, to lobby against the proposed legislation. If the US economy does not improve in the short run, one could anticipate a growing US public resentment against outsourcing to India—under this scenario, effective public relations management skills are a must. US firms, in an attempt to maintain favorable image in the public‟s eye, may choose to limit their offshore sourcing. One suggestion would be to aggressively publicize the added taxes and income coming into the US by various offshore activities. Nasscom’s Vice President Sunil Mehta points out that offshore Indian companies contribute approximately $13 billion back to the US economy by hardware and software purchases, customer savings and US taxes paid by Indian workers (Kripalani et al., 2003). India based firms must 210
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realize that maintaining a favorable public image is critical for being successful in the US in the long run. They can look at the Japanese companies as examples that have been effective in establishing a positive image among US consumers.
Conclusion
Outsourcing of skill-intensive service activities will continue to increase (Cole et al., 2003). According to the National Association of Software and Service Companies (NASSCOM), US firms have saved nearly $8 billion over the last four years (1999-2002) by outsourcing to India. They have also realized added gains in terms of productivity, competitiveness, and savings. While many Indian executives are concerned over the potential US backlash, they feel that legislations against outsourcing could be challenged under the WTO (Merchant, Alden, and Foremnski, 2003). Additionally, Indian executive are optimistic that negative publicity in the US towards outsourcing will decrease once the US economy gets more robust. Despite increased competition from China, Western firms will continue to favor India for outsourcing knowledge-based work as they perceive less cultural and language obstacles and greater protection for their intellectual property concerns (Chen, Tu, and Lin, 2002). China will continue to remain attractive for outsourcing manufacturing activities. As Indian firms provide higher-end skills and value-based consulting services to their clients, they will become more integrated into their client‟s overall business strategy. Additionally, they will also need to recruit more host country nationals in their efforts to be more global. Kakabadse (2000) hypothesizes that these relationships will become more close-knit and long term eventually resembling a modified version of a keiretsu arrangement. New organizational structures may emerge with integrated value chains between firms and their outsourcing partners (Leisman, 1999). Joint ventures will become more common between clients and their offshore partners. Taking a long-term approach to relationship building, sharing information and trust will be critical components for the on going success of the new keiretsu arrangement.
References
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