The PriceBook is an off-the-shelf reference that strategic outsourcing and vendor management professionals and Customer Experience Management (CXM) leaders can use to support a range of ongoing pricing and commercial discussions with providers, plus internal planning and back-of-the-envelope business cases. Members can also use the analyst inquiry service to clarify points, ask for additional advice, and discuss other points related to the PriceBook.

The PriceBook is an off-the-shelf reference that strategic outsourcing and vendor management professionals can use to support a range of ongoing pricing and commercial discussions with providers, internal planning, and back-of-the-envelope business cases. Members can also use the analyst inquiry service to clarify points, ask for additional advice, and discuss other points related to the PriceBook.

As we enter 2024, enterprises are under immense pressure to optimize their budgets and uncover potential cost savings. Over the past three years, businesses across the globe have struggled to stay within their budgets. In 2021 and 2022, we saw a sharp increase in pricing, and then budgets were slashed in 2023. We face a strong likelihood of an economic slowdown in 2024 and an uphill battle to deliver savings. Watch this webinar to learn current pricing trends and how enterprises can find greater value and lower costs in their outsourcing, cloud, and SaaS contracts in the new year. What questions did the webinar answer for the participants? Where is outsourced deal pricing headed in 2024 amid an economic slowdown? How can enterprises drive more savings from their outsourcing contracts? How can enterprises realize better value from their Cloud and SaaS contracts?

This Executive Brief is available only to Outsourcing Excellence members. For information on membership, please contact us Negotiation is an important part of the strategic sourcing process, both in the context of new deals and renewals. It enables an equitable legal agreement between the enterprise and the provider(s). This Executive Brief describes how organizations can develop an effective negotiation strategy and execute it to achieve their sourcing objectives. It examines key points to consider, common misconceptions, the role of equitable terms to incentivize services delivery, components of an interest-based negotiation strategy, and a case study on how a large company negotiated with its largest services supplier. Scope All industries and geographies Contents This report examines the: Importance of negotiation in the strategic sourcing process Components of a well-structured negotiation strategy Key negotiation myths Note: Everest Group publishes executive briefs for senior executives from enterprises. These briefs address hot industry topics and particularly challenging issues of the day in an easy-to-digest format.

This report is available only to Outsourcing Excellence members. For information on membership, please contact us E-auctions are a powerful tool leveraged by the procurement function to drive cost pressures in competitive negotiations. Traditionally, e-auctions were used to source simple services or goods; today, they are becoming increasingly popular in the services outsourcing space. In this executive brief, Everest Group analysts share the benefits of using e-auctions for outsourced services, deep-diving into the process and best practices for running an e-auction effectively, and the pros and cons in conducting such events. Everest Group publishes executive briefs for senior executives from enterprises. These briefs address hot industry topics and particularly challenging issues of the day in an easy-to-digest format.

On September 27, Everest Group hosted a 60-minute webinar on Contracting for Agile. Questions addressed in the webinar: Is broad-based adoption of Agile Development real or hype? How does Agile impact the delivery model for outsourced services? How do pricing models need to evolve to capture value from Agile? How do Terms & Conditions for Agile contracts need to change to minimize risk and maximize value? What are some best practices to consider when negotiating and managing Agile contracts? As frequent delivery and customer satisfaction become the new currencies for IT organizations, a greater number of enterprises are embracing Agile and DevOps methodologies to rapidly deploy useful software. As traditional, Waterfall-based contracts are unable to manage the ambiguity and complexity related to Agile, the increase in Agile adoption is causing sourcing groups to reassess outsourcing contract templates. This webinar will provide Strategic Outsourcing & Vendor Management groups with practical insights for structuring and negotiating Agile contracts.

As a sign of outsourced IT and BPO services maturity, Everest Group has observed contract benchmarking clauses being diligently invoked at regular intervals. Over the years, a corresponding proliferation in benchmark providers has also been observed that promise to help evaluate and optimize contracts. However, the focus of most benchmarking / contract review exercises tends to be on the directly “visible” levers such as resource unit rate cards and delivery mix alignment. There are a number of levers that remain hidden and are often ignored, resulting in untapped optimization potential. This viewpoint outlines some of the common obscure “choke points” that buyers need to be aware of, in order to avoid significant value leakage in contracts. CONTENTS This report provides an overview of the typical optimization levers that remain “hidden” in contracts, resulting in significant untapped optimization potential. The key sections of this viewpoint include: Factors causing value leakage in outsourcing contracts Typical sources of these choke points Proposal vs. solution approach Lack of contract “right sizing” Misaligned productivity charter Inequitable contract T&Cs Conclusion Key questions addressed by this research are: What are the typical factors that remain hidden in IT and BPO contracts, resulting in value leakage? What are the typical sources of these choke points? How can buyers avoid the negative impact of these choke points?