P&G mulls India for outsourcing deals

Cyber News Service

BANGALORE: Proctor and Gamble (P&G) is looking to outsource part of its CAD/CAM design services for its pharmaceuticals business and India is a serious prospect. According to the company, there is a representative who is scouting in the country on the lookout for vendors who will be able to provide these services.

"P&G already has extensive experience in outsourcing. Over the last twelve months, we have signed outsourcing agreements to the tune of $ four billion. We also have a good understanding of the different ways in which outsourcing deals can be structured - project by project or organization by organization, with captive centers and vendors. With this cumulative experience, the company will be looking at outsourcing some more of its functions and leveraging the offshore model for increased effectiveness in the next two years," said P&G global business services next generation - PMO section manager William Metz.

He added that P&G was constantly analyzing its operations for work that can be outsourced or offshored.


"Generally, there is a lot more work that can be outsourced than you can think of. Even when you look, sometimes you might not want to accept it. Fact is, any work that can be done and delivered electronically can be outsourced and offshored," he said.

According to him, as a part of this analysis, P&G had decided that at least some part of the clinical trials involved in new drug discovery process can be easily outsourced and the company would be seriously looking into it in the next two years time. He added that India would be a strong candidate for such an outsourcing activity when the decision is taken.

"India is going to maintain its lead as an offshoring destination for at least five more years. The competition from other countries will persist but it will take them some time to catch up except in certain niche areas where they specialize. As far as general outsourcing is concerned, India will be the safe leader for some time," he said, while at the same time warning that India's total market share will keep shrinking as competition from other countries increase.

P&G recently awarded a major outsourcing deal related to IT services, worth $ 3 billion over the duration of a 10 year managed service pact, to HP. According to the deal, HP services will manage P&G's desktop and end user support, network management, a bit of applications development and maintenance along with the company's IT infrastructure and data center operations in over 160 countries.

Established in 1837, The Procter & Gamble Company began as a small, family operated soap and candle company in Ohio, USA. Today, P&G markets almost 300 products to more than five billion consumers in 140 countries.

(CNS)