Bridging the Process Gap for Operational Excellence

In recent times, many industries around the world, including the legal industry, have transitioned to outsourcing. The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated this trend, resulting in a significant increase in outsourcing. According to Statistica Research, the Global Outsourcing Industry has experienced tremendous growth in recent years and is projected to reach $92.5 billion by 2023. This surge is driven by the rising demand for cost-effective and efficient business solutions, as well as the advancements in technology and communication that have made it possible for companies to collaborate with remote teams more easily.

In today's fast-paced business environment, businesses are looking for strategies to simplify their processes, cut down on expenses, and enhance productivity. Outsourcing specific areas of their operations to outside service providers is one approach to attain these objectives. This post delves into the idea of outsourcing specialised areas, its advantages, and the essential factors for closing process gaps.

Smart Business Strategy

Outsourcing has become a popular strategy for achieving these goals, providing an effective solution for businesses to increase process efficiency, save time, and reduce costs.

Cost savings are a significant benefit of outsourcing, particularly by outsourcing non-core activities such as accounting and payroll to countries with low labour costs. For example, outsourcing software development to countries like India and the Philippines can result in savings of up to 60% compared to in-house development. This can allow companies to redirect resources towards business growth and innovation.

Outsourcing also offers the advantage of increased process flexibility. Companies can choose to outsource specific tasks, processes, or entire departments based on their requirements. This allows businesses to scale their outsourcing efforts up or down as needed, ensuring the most efficient and cost-effective solution is always in place. Overall, outsourcing enables companies to improve the speed and efficiency of their processes, leading to increased productivity and reduced costs.

Global Hub

In the era of globalisation, people have become aware of the unique offerings of various cities and countries across the world. Eastern countries such as India, the Philippines, China, Malaysia, and Pakistan have become the go-to destinations for supporting Western countries. Enterprises have adopted a hybrid model of utilising both internal and external resources, including onshore and offshore expertise.

As a result, India has emerged as a prominent player in this space, with a thriving industry and established service providers specialising in various areas such as business and legal services.

Innovation is driven by the need

Several decades ago, outsourcing was mainly focused on cost-centre tasks such as inbound/outbound calling services, back-office operations, data entry services, and software development. As companies began to rely on third-party providers for these business operations, they also recognised the potential for outsourcing knowledge services. These services were typically performed in-house before outsourcing became popular, but resources would often become redundant once a project was completed.

With the advent of knowledge services, companies started to outsource other cost-centre activities such as marketing, research, legal, and technology implementation to third-party providers.

According to Varun Bhatia, co-founder of 3N Serve - a company that provides legal consulting and outsourcing services – “legal professionals are unsung heroes who are focused on delivering results. 3N has identified areas that other service providers have not explored yet”. He emphasises that it's crucial to understand what takes more time than money. Bhatia also highlights the significance of comprehending and adjusting to clients' processes and cultures. He assures that 3N won't disrupt their clients' operations unnecessarily but only make the necessary process adjustments.

In our article titled "Alternative Legal Service Providers (ALSP) Adoption Drivers" published in February 2022, a study was discussed which revealed that legal process outsourcing, e-discovery, and document review service providers receive an annual expenditure of $6.2 billion. Additionally, the study found that contract lawyers, in-sourcing, and staffing services receive an annual expenditure of $900 million.

During the past few decades, particularly in the wake of the global pandemic, client expectations have expanded beyond traditional areas of expertise. This has led to the emergence of managed services in fields like law, research, technology implementation, process management, and workflow design. This shift was necessary to fulfil the growing demands of clients. Even medium-sized businesses have turned to outsourcing to meet the needs of their clients, increase efficiency, and remain competitive in the marketplace.

A recent study by Research and Markets projects that the global market for legal process outsourcing will experience significant growth, with a compound annual growth rate of 31.8% from 2019 to 2025. The study estimates that the market will reach $35.9 billion by 2025. As a result of this projected growth, there will likely be a notable increase in the adoption of legal outsourcing or legal process outsourcing.

Based on multiple reports and statistical data, the upward trend in investment and job opportunities in this sector is quite remarkable. According to KPMG's 2023 Chief Tax Officer Outlook survey, a significant 83% of respondents plan to adopt outsourcing, co-sourcing, or managed services models in the next three years to stay competitive in the industry. This finding is particularly noteworthy.

Unlocking Business Potential

Innovation has led to the emergence of Managed Services, whether in the realm of business or law, as industry leaders recognised that scalability with quality is the key to unlocking a business's full potential. One-person operations cannot achieve globalisation.

While niche services can bring success and profitability to businesses, it is crucial for business leaders and service providers to conduct a thorough market and competition analysis before entering a niche. Moreover, they must continually adjust to changing market conditions.

In conclusion, unlocking the full potential of a business requires a multifaceted approach that takes into account various factors such as strategic planning, effective leadership, innovation, adaptability, and a customer-centric mindset. It also involves leveraging emerging technologies, investing in employee development, building strong partnerships, and continuously monitoring and evaluating performance metrics. By adopting a holistic approach to business development and growth, organisations can position themselves to seize new opportunities, meet evolving customer needs, and stay ahead of the competition in today's dynamic marketplace.