Virtual Insourcing Can Reduce Costs, Increase
Collaboration.
As global economies rise, managers are reassessing the
benefits and costs of different business service models.
In the past, inefficiencies in corporate business units
and high costs led organizations to choose shared
service or outsourced alternatives. Other choices
emerged with the advent of Web 2.0 technologies and
global service options. Today, virtual insourcing is
becoming a viable option because it showcases the
efficiencies of corporate business units and maintains
costs near or below those of shared services.
A case study of a corporate business unit at Nestlé in
the United States demonstrates the potential of virtual
insourcing. While the benefits of sharing information
and services will vary across organizations, the authors
believe virtual insourcing deserves to be added to the
list of service models being assessed. 2009
