"Organizations are turning to external suppliers for everything from payroll processing to facilities management. The goal is better quality at lower costs, but too often the results are disappointing to dismal -- simply because many buyers lack a clear outsourcing methodology. Using the concepts in this book, managers responsible for outsourcing will learn to avoid typical pitfalls and ensure success. Readers learn how to: * determine core competencies that should be kept in-house rather than outsourced * align outsourcing with overall corporate strategy * use outsourcing to support transformation strategies such as restructuring and TQM * evaluate, compare, and select vendors * develop targeted RFPs (requests for proposals), negotiate win-win contracts, monitor how vendors perform, and evaluate financial savings * handle "recompetition" as contracts end--an especially hot topic"