Perhaps unsurprisingly, the most common term for renegotiation is the price of the contract, according to research commissioned by Pinsent Masons, the law firm behind OUT-LAW.COM. One in ten respondents said that they intend to bring outsourced processes back in-house.
Nearly two-thirds (63%) of the businesses polled said they would not be reviewing their outsourcing arrangements with their current supplier, mainly to avoid the time-consuming and expensive tender process associated with a new procurement process.
It is widely regarded as best practice for a business to review regularly its outsourcing suppliers. However, because most businesses are focused on reducing costs, relatively few are asking their outsourcing vendors to retender this year.
Garfield Smith, a partner at Pinsent Masons specialising in outsourcing, said that a good understanding of sourcing options is a necessary precursor to any renegotiation review.
"Our survey indicates that sourcing has not yet been given the priority that it merits," said Smith. "Businesses are concentrating on more traditional measures to save costs and this may impact the ability of a business to respond when there is an upturn."
"Our expectation is that once traditional measures have been exhausted, sourcing will move higher up the corporate agenda," he said.
Pinsent Masons interviewed 200 business leaders in privately-owned, listed and internationally-owned businesses in March and April.