When you find an outsourcing service provider that regularly generates high-quality work in a timely manner, it’s an exciting milestone. If only those providers would continue providing that reliability indefinitely
Regularly assess your services to your clients.
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Quality Fade
“Quality fade” is an ongoing problem in global supply chains, including the digital supply chains we focus on. With quality fade, vendors strive to gradually cut costs in order to widen profit margins.
Because the changes are gradual, those receiving the products or services may not notice it initially, but over time dissatisfaction sets in, with suppliers perceived as providing shoddy work.
The problem with quality fade is that it can tarnish the overall reputation of a service provider, costing new work opportunities and scaring businesses away from outsourcing altogether. To help prevent quality fade from harming your own work projects, consider learning more about outsourcing vendor management with books like Outsourcing Rules: How to Outsource & Transform Any Business with VM and Successful IT Outsourcing
.Putting Standards in Place
Prior to beginning another client relationship, ISSPs should put standards in place that they will then uphold at all times. These written standards can be retained by your clients to serve as a promise that you’ll always provide the same great service you offered in the early days of your working relationship.
Once written standards have been created, hold yourself to them by conducting regular performance audits. If any changes are made in the production process, document them, along with explaining the reasons for those changes. If at some point your clients ask why changes were made, you’ll be able to provide a detailed explanation.
For ISSPs, maintaining high quality standards throughout working relationships with business customers is crucial. By outlining your own commitment to these standards from the beginning, you’ll avoid declining quality that can cost your ISSP the reputation it has worked so hard to build