1. In traditional IT outsourcing and multisourcing arrangements, clients isolate vendor tasks, resulting in modular sourcing structures. But this approach can stifle vendor competition, result in vendor lock-in and hinder organizational flexibility. This article describes how adidas adopted a new type of multisourcing strategy, which embraces vendor overlaps to overcome these constraints, and delivers a range of benefits.

2. Agenda Drawbacks of a Modular Structure for IT Multisourcing
adidas Business and IT Background
adidas’ Multisourcing Journey
Summary of adidas’ Multisourcing Journey
Lessons Learned from the adidas Case

3. Drawbacks of a Modular Structure for IT Multisourcing 1/2
During the last decade the modus operandi of IT outsourcing has undergone a major transformation. While earlier outsourcing deals were primarily executed with a single vendor, more recent deals often involve multiple vendors.
When a firm contracts with multiple vendors for IT projects and services, this is called IT multisourcing.
Compared to traditional single-sourcing arrangements, key benefits include lower IT costs resulting from vendor competition and best-of-breed services, higher IT service quality and lower vendor dependency.

4. Drawbacks of a Modular Structure for IT Multisourcing 2/2
The predominant approach to structuring IT multisourcing arrangements is based on the concept of vendor modularity.
This approach follows the same logic as single-sourcing models: activities given to a vendor have to be “separable” from the activities performed by the client and other vendors, respectively.
By assigning dedicated work areas (“modules”) to each vendor, IT multisourcing clients employ a traditional way to deal with complexity in organizations, and to limit coordination costs. They break down large sets of IT activities into modules to make them more manageable.
What could go wrong?

5. Major Benefits and Risks of IT Multisourcing

6. Agenda Drawbacks of a Modular Structure for IT Multisourcing
adidas Business and IT Background
adidas’ Multisourcing Journey
Summary of adidas’ Multisourcing Journey
Lessons Learned from the adidas Case

7. adidas Business and IT Background
The adidas Group is a major player in the global sporting goods industry. With more than 50,000 employees worldwide and annual revenues of about $16.6 billion adidas is currently the second biggest sporting goods company.
Globalized markets and increased competitive pressure in the sporting goods industry forced industry players to work to tight profit margins and be very conscious of cost, which led to the outsourcing of IT function/its parts.
Since the late 1990s, the strategic focus of the adidas Group has shifted from being a pure wholesaler to engaging in direct interactions with end consumers around the globe which required flexible, more innovative and consumer- oriented IT solutions.
As a consequence, IT was no longer regarded only as a mere operational tool, but also as an important contributor to competitive differentiation and value creation.

8. Centers of Excellence & Single Vendor Outsourcing at adidas

9. Agenda Drawbacks of a Modular Structure for IT Multisourcing
adidas Business and IT Background
adidas’ Multisourcing Journey
Summary of adidas’ Multisourcing Journey
Lessons Learned from the adidas Case

10. Phase 1: Introducing IT Multisourcing & Overlaps

11. Phase 2: Leveraging IT Multisourcing

12. Vendor Overlaps and Interfaces in Phase 2

13. Agenda Drawbacks of a Modular Structure for IT Multisourcing
adidas Business and IT Background
adidas’ Multisourcing Journey
Summary of adidas’ Multisourcing Journey
Lessons Learned from the adidas Case

14. Summary of adidas’ Multisourcing Journey 1/3

15. Summary of adidas’ Multisourcing Journey 2/3

16. Summary of adidas’ Multisourcing Journey 3/3

17. Benefits Realized from adidas’ Multisourcing Journey
“By ‘horizontalizing’ these functions, … they’ll be able to better leverage process tools and also … bring in a lot of synergies, which might help them in [further] reducing the cost and increasing the quality.”
“[The IT multisourcing strategy made] the whole agility and flexibility of adidas IT better”

18. Agenda Drawbacks of a Modular Structure for IT Multisourcing
adidas Business and IT Background
adidas’ Multisourcing Journey
Summary of adidas’ Multisourcing Journey
Lessons Learned from the adidas Case

19. Lessons Learned from the adidas Case 1/2
Lesson 1. Embracing Vendor Overlaps Promotes Ongoing and Healthy Vendor Competition
Lesson 2. High Granularity in Vendor Overlaps Reduces Vendor Onboarding Risk and Accelerates Vendor Learning
Lesson 3. Provide Vendors with Opportunities for Growth to Sustain Competition and Cooperation

20. Lessons Learned from the adidas Case 2/2
Lesson 4. Vendor Overlaps Create Both Short-Term and Long-Term Benefits
Lesson 5. Less Granular, Horizontal Vendor Overlaps Help Reduce Coordination Costs and Improve Accountability
Lesson 6. Orchestrate the Work Performed by Multiple Vendors as an Ensemble