The Strategic Value of Outside Specialists

Do you find yourself, or your organization as a whole, spending too much time on relatively minor operational tasks – so much that you end up with little or no time for the work that is critical to your business objectives? 

As U.S. financial services providers strive to gain competitive advantage and improve their value to shareholders, more and more are turning to outside specialists to manage administrative processes.  According to Michael F. Corbett & Associates, a leading outsourcing expert, outsourcing introduces new ways of doing business, while allowing companies to focus on the core of their business.  Moreover, as documented in a PricewaterhouseCoopers study, outsourcing helps to reduce the total cost of ownership by eliminating the hidden costs of operating in-house systems, such system maintenance and upgrades.

Many financial services providers see outsourcing as more than a cost-cutting strategy.  As a result, they're not only gaining efficiencies and access to better technology, but also improving their operating models.

The following highlights some of the benefits which can be had by farming out non-core functions:

New Perspectives and Expertise Through a consultative approach, outsourcing can provide continuous insights for process improvements from an impartial third party.  Outside specialists offer a fresh look at business processes while simultaneously allowing firms to draw upon expertise that resources do not permit to develop and maintain in-house. 

Such expertise might include familiarity with regulations, technologies and industry standards—a must-have in today’s world of regulation and reforms which continue to reshape the financial services industry.

Lower Costs  Economies of scale allow outside vendors to perform many business tasks far more efficiently than financial services providers could do themselves—and that translates into substantial savings.  For example, with document mismanagement claiming 12-15% of corporate revenue (Gartner Group), there is a significant opportunity to reduce costs.  By partnering with a full-service business process management provider with the expertise and methodologies to streamline your document management processes, opportunities surface to free up space, people and assets—directly affecting your bottom line. 

Time to Focus on Your Core Business  What if all those hours you and your employees spend, week after week, on non-core business activities were devoted to your firm’s core business?  Would you have greater opportunity to refine your skill set and truly contribute to your organization’s performance?  By outsourcing those business processes which don’t fall under your umbrella of expertise, you can take a more active role in what you do best, allowing you to work smarter—not harder. 

Streamline New Store or Branch Openings  Acquisitions offer a tremendous opportunity to expand your market presence and generate new revenue.  However, both the manpower and experience to successfully plan and implement new store or branch openings and conversions can be hard to come by. 

Assuming responsibility for new signage, fixtures and furniture, new forms and supplies, marketing materials and everything in between can consume your work days, leading to the inability to focus on what really matters—handling customer transactions and uninterrupted customer service. With the proper expertise in conversion workflow, technology, standards, compliance and how to work with people in a changing environment, outsourcing conversion management can help you meet critical timelines and make a seamless transition.

The Critical Partner Handling Non-Critical Operations
Now, more than ever, service providers must understand their customers’ requirements and business processes.  Specialized companies that handle the outsourced work are often streamlined with world-class capabilities and access to new technology that a company couldn't afford to buy on their own. Outsourcing provides the means to focus on what’s really important to financial services providers of all sizes.