Strategic factors enabling effective offshore relationships of Sri Lankan IT consulting & outsourcing companies : a model from the vendor perspective

Outsourcing is one of the emerging and most profitable business activities in the global market. It has already grabbed the focus of investors in the past few years and possesses the potential to sustain in the years to come. With amazing growth opportunities and immense competition, the decision to select the best suitable destination to outsource has become crucial. Therefore, it is more imperative than ever for Sri Lankan consulting and outsourcing companies to distinguish their delivery through a strategy. The winners are those that strategically align industry best practices with a customised delivery model in order to exceed customer satisfaction while optimizing profits. It is with that interest this research is focused in diversified business operational areas towards identification of strategic factors facilitating effective offshore relationships. The research analysed the complexities of these factors using a hybrid methodology mainly focusing on qualitative analysis techniques. The resulted factors are categorised into primary and supportive strategic factors in view of facilitating organisation-specific concepts. The primary factors include; professional values, strategic drives, supply & delivery management, service marketing capabilities, value creation approaches, innovation management, client segmentation & alignment, personal relationships, dealing, with management theories, and sustainable development. The supportive factors are; business nature, planning & control, knowledge management, CSF awareness, offshore effectiveness, team management, governance, PEST factors, risk awareness, and Sri Lankan offer/branding. These factors are then used to craft an effective offshore relationship model and it followed by a 3-Step policy undertaking process- to reinforce the relationship model. Finally the research recommends an offshore relationship index to standardise the proposed model and it highlights future research areas in strengthening operational effectiveness and strategic alliances to harness Sri Lankan offshore industry. Key Words: ITO, Consulting and Outsourcing, Offshore Relationship Index, Strategic Factor