ADVANCED GLOBAL OUTSOURCING STRATEGIES APPLIEDTO OPERATING EXPENDITURE REDUCTION IN NETWORKOPERATING CENTER SERVICES

Abstract

This study investigates the commercial and cost-saving impacts of Advanced Global Outsourcing strategies—namely Request for Information (RFI), Request for Proposal (RFP), and Electronic Reverse Auction (eRA)—on Network Operating Center (NOC) services within the African telecommunication sector. It evaluates their effectiveness in reducing total costs using a Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) framework. Utilizing a comparative study methodology of a case company, the research analyzes internal procurement and operational data of existing five vendors across five Operating Companies (OPCOs) with the collected pricing data at each stage of the multi-staged procurement process RFI, RFP and eRA in the global outsourcing environment. The findings reveal a progressive reduction in costs from RFI to eRA, with eRA yielding the most significant OPEX savings. By applying TCO analysis, this study offers practical insights for optimizing vendor management and reducing operational expenditures (OPEX) through structured sourcing frameworks.