Innovative Use of Outsourcing Providers Can Help Retailers Reduce Costs Immediately

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

DALLAS, April 13, 2009 – Leading sourcing advisory firm Alsbridge, Inc. has identified specific areas in which retail firms may readjust and reduce costs in order to survive the current global economic downturn.  The benefits from Alsbridge’s recommended sourcing solutions range from the tactical to the strategic, starting with cost reduction and cost takeout to the potential to transform the enterprise to compete in this new hyper-competitive and volatile economy. Transformations of Alsbridge’s recent retail clients have addressed the entire spectrum of their needs from labor cost to inventory management to accounting and more.

Consumer spending has taken the biggest plunge in decades,and retailers are slimming down, shutting stores, trimming inventory, slicing payroll, and taking other strategic steps to deal with shrinking market demand. The contracting economy is impacting all facets of traditional business planning and strategy. With fears that the coming months could be the toughest since the 1991 recession, retailers must turn to quick cost-cutting initiatives to secure a sustainable presence in this current economic environment.

The typical functions targeted for significant cost savings and process improvement include finance and administration, human resources, procurement and information technology (IT). Typically, IT outsourcing can yield savings over 30 percent while providing access to world-class technology and process improvement. Outsourcing the IT function can also free up capital and human resources, allowing retailers to focus on their core competencies, their customers and their bottom lines. Alsbridge’s experiences in advising retail firms have indicated that by moving from staff augmentation to leveraging offshore application development providers, organizations can increase end user and management satisfaction, improve vendor relationships, and transform delivery models for better performance.

According to Micky Houston, managing director of Alsbridge’s
retail practice, retailers should be asking:

• How do we combat the rising costs of doing business?

• How does our IT expense compare to industry benchmarks?

• How can we quickly evaluate what outsourcing options are
  available?

• How can we achieve cost savings in 2009 or 2010 with limited
  capital investment?

• If we do outsource, how can we ensure success?

Houston notes, “Retailers need a business strategy that lowers cost, ensures competitiveness, and delivers better quality. To achieve this, companies need to conduct board level due diligence on functional areas of opportunity, take a leadership perspective, position themselves to make good decisions, and make use of sourcing advisory firms who have gone through these processes many times before.”

Alsbridge recommends that retail company executives who are facing increasing cost pressures take action as soon as practical.  The firm’s FastSource™ methodology can help companies reduce time-to-benefit as much as 40%.  Companies interested in engaging Alsbridge consultants to assist with the answers and actions to the questions above should contact the firm at (214) 696-6410 or email inquiry@alsbridge.com.

In support of companies in retail and all industries who are seeking innovative solutions to cost challenges, Alsbridge hosts a weekly web seminar series through its sponsorship of the online sourcing journal Outsourcing Leadership.  Complimentary web seminars on the use of new sourcing strategies coming up in April include sessions entitled “Outsourcing: Like It or Loathe It, Can You Afford to Ignore It?” on April 15, “Outsource Finance and Accounting Now: Fast-tracking FAO” on April 16, “Insourcing: The Latest Trend in Sourcing Strategy” on April 23, and “The Role of Benchmarking in Outsourcing” on April 30.  All web seminars start at 2:00 PM EDT / 1:00 PM CDT / 11:00 AM PDT.  See www.OutsourcingLeadership.com for registration information.

About Alsbridge, Inc.