IndiaThink

Do you need an India Specific Project Plan?

Any project manager will tell you making a plan is the path to success.  The problem is many firms looking to outsource work to India do not create India Specific Project Plans.  Here are a few questions to consider:

How would you describe your relationship with your Indian outsourcer?
a.) Horrible.  They do not answer the phone when I call.  I am canceling.
b.) Ok.  We may send work there again but the Return on Investment was near negative.
c.) A partnership.  We have a understanding on both sides of the table what the needs are and how to get to that goal.

How many additional resources, beyond the plan usage, were assigned to get the project to completion?
a.) None.  We had a very detailed plan on what the project required and it was completely accurate. 
b.) We worked with the Indian outsourcer who helped us determine how to best allocate our resources to complete the project.  They were very knowledgeable in directing us.
c.) Many more than planned.  We had to pull resources from other projects to bring the outsourced work to final delivery.

How late was the last project outsourced to India delivered?
a.) The project was delivered 6 months late.  We have canceled our contract.
b.) The project was a few months late.  We are not sure why that happened.
c.) The project came in on time and every aspect of the deliverable was completed.

Did the outsourced project allow you to access talent that you would have otherwise not been able to hire?
a.) The work was done by people we could have hired locally, but we were trying to cut costs
c.) The outsource relationship offers us access to talent we could not have used based on cost or accessibility.
c.) We outsourced the work but we could easily do it ourselves.

If you answered C, A, C, A congratulations.  You are achieving the dream of outsourcing projects to India.  We are all envious of your success. 

For the rest of you, an India Specific Project Plan is required. 

The Real News Behind Outsourcing to India

The New York Times on June 8th said "Firms Close Back Office in India to Cut Costs."

What the content of this article is about is quite the opposite.  Firms are closing their doors in India, and handing the keys over to large Indian firms who want their business.  And their employees who are often well versed in the business. Citigrou and Aviva are some of the firms that engaged in large transaction swaps if you will, offering large contracts to the firm that purchased their centers.

While some are leaving India, most are just starting to shop as they figure out new ways to grow their business.  Amitabh Chaudhry, the chief executive of Infosys BPO, expects his business unit to grow up to 20-40% this year.  While this is far from the growth curve of 2007, the growth pattern continues.

Nano. Nano. NANO. NANO

The world so needs something to cheer about.  We need invention, shiny objects, fascination, a need to understand...

One wonders if Tata planned the launch of the Nano car in the middle of this endless pit of gloom on purpose. 

USA Today called it the most talked about car....that is not in US show rooms.  I call it a WOW.  Here is something everyone need in India...but for some reason no one made until now.

The Nano has over 70 facebook pages filled with pleas directed specifically at Tata to "bring the Nano here, and fast" with a few concerns about "how fast" it will really go and extensive details on how to get on the waiting list.

Yes.  I said waiting list.  The first 100,000 will purchase the car through a lottery system and must put down 50% of the total payment. 

So, that will set you back about $1,500. Check it out yourself...

Driving away from the recession?

The magical date is March 23rd.  The day Tata will formally launch the much anticipated Nano or the $2,500 car. 

As the world tries to understand what is happening or will happen to the auto industry here in the US, take a look at who is buying cars.  India.  Seen here as presented in the Business Standard.

 

SUDDEN REV Domestic passenger car sales
Company	Feb 08	Feb 09	% change
Maruti Suzuki	59,311	70,625	19
Hyundai	14,600	21, 215	45.3
Mahindra & Mahindra	12,562	14,720	17*
General Motors	5563	4921	-11.54
Honda	3774	5579	48
Tata Motors	18766	19039	1.4
total	114576	136099	18.78
*utility vehicles                                Source: Companies

The percent change in prices month over month are exciting.  India has put programs in place to encourage purchases through loans.  If Indians are purchasing now -- I predict a line at the Tata dealership at the end of the month.

Read Between the Lines: We are sending work to India

A few months ago I went to China.  Before I left, I read a few books about the history of China's government, one of which was Life and Death in Shanghai.  This is a story you should not miss.  Its relevant here because the main character "read between the lines" every day.  She carefully studied the paper, looking for clues about what was really happening vs. what was being reported.

I have been reading between the lines today.

GM reported to Congress today and they are going to be working on a "Global" strategy.  I have some very bad news for Detroit: this means they are working to move more of the company off shore. They blatantly told the US Congress today that they were going to stop focusing specifically on the US market.  What market specifically will they be focusing on?  My answer (although I bet you had a smiliar one) India and China.  The parts of the world that are growing.  India/China basket holds more than 3 billion people.  Most of which to not have cars.  That's growth.  And how will they compete?  Against the likes of Cherry who is owned by the Chinese government and stole some of GM's designs?(see article in the WSJ on this a few years back.  Fascinating pictures where the newspaper took off the door of a Cherry model and put it on the GM.  The "key" if you will to the car design is the door.) This is not possible in the US--building cars and parts here and then shipping things to China?

While none of these things were stated in the article (beyond the global strategy piece) what other assumptions are available?

Topic Shift.

Congress added some language to the stimulus bill that, well I will let the Economic Times explain:

"Nearly 100,000 skilled Indian workers' prospects of living the American dream may turn sour with the Congress barring firms that received bailout money from hiring foreigners through HI-B visa programme if they replace US citizens."

I wonder if Congress has ANY IDEA what the average profile is for an H1-B Visa candidate.  From my experience, and this data is backed up by the Economic Times, most of the H1-B visas are issued to technical or scientific skill sets.  Majority of these are jobs in IT.  There are only 65,000 H1-B visas issued each year. 

Here is the real story: Americans do not have the skill sets that these jobs require so employers have two choices:

1.) bring in a candidate and keep the job in the USA.
2.) send the work off shore.

H1-B VISAs holders are your neighbors.  They do not work for "less."  Or in any way impact the job search of someone who already lives here.  Why would an organization want to pay the legal fees to support a visa when they don't have to?  Its not cheap--they must file paperwork and employee lawyers to manage the process.

In essence this provision just sent MORE jobs off shore.  When a company needs something done there is no reason for them to keep that work, especially if they cannot find a candidate.  What a business can learn from this is that the US is being protectionist.  That the US is not helping businesses achieve its needs.  That the US is promoting that search to end with a job offer to someone in a different country.

Lots of folks are writing about this.  But Harvard's recent study of patent applications over the past 15 years really demonstrates that our foreign visitors contribute much more than Congress wants to understand.