Today in class and apparently over the next few weeks we talked and will talk about Outsourcing. While outsourcing is a way to help run compainies more efficiently and expand their own market share, we need to realize that there is more to it then just calling a contractor and giving them a job. I feel the most important link to outsourcing, especially if it will interfere with the customer, is succeeding in customer relationship management (CRM). In the Carnival Cruise Line case, they explained that third party companies were not collecting the right amount or sufficient data from customers as they called in. They stated that these outsourced companies did not care as much as they did about the information provided and could not rely on the data to be accurate.
The article above explained that companies are becoming more reliant on CRM, but are outsourcing it to other vendors. There are several companies that have grown tremendously just focusing on CRM for other firms. Their main focus is to understand that CRM is so important that they must provide the best customer service at every level.
I think CRM may be one of the functions that must be closely monitored by the company to ensure it stays aligned with the firm's strategy. That is, outsourcing CRM is one thing, but becoming too reliant on the vendor can lead to neglecting the customer service aspect, especially when competing on service.
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