The International Association of Outsourcing Professionals (IAOP) is compiling its third annual ranking of the world’s best outsourcing service providers — The Global Outsourcing 100.

The Global Outsourcing 100 and its sub-lists are essential reference guides for companies seeking new and expanded relationships with the best companies in the industry. The lists include companies from around the world providing the full spectrum of outsourcing services — not just information technology and business process outsourcing, but areas such as facility services, real estate and capital asset management, and manufacturing and logistics. They include not only today’s leaders, but tomorrow’s rising stars.

The list of companies on The Global Outsourcing 100 were announced at The 2008 Outsourcing World Summit® in Orlando, Florida this past February, and the rankings will be unveiled in a special advertising feature in the May 5issue of FORTUNE® magazine. Listings will include the company name, a statement of its services, strengths, and web address. This ranked list, along with numerous sub-lists, also with be highlighted on the IAOP website beginning April 28.

How the lists are developed

The evaluation process mirrors that employed by many top customers and considers four key criteria:

1. Size and growth in revenue, employees, centers, and countries served.
2. Customer experience as demonstrated through the value being created at the company’s top customers.
3. Depth and breadth of competencies as demonstrated through industry recognition, relevant certifications, and investment in the development of people, processes and technologies.
4. Management capabilities as reflected in the experience and accomplishments of the business’s top leaders and its investment in management systems that ensures outsourcing success.

Companies of all sizes that are providers of outsourcing services may apply. Revenue is just one factor used to rank the companies, but it is not the dominant factor. Others, such as customer outcomes, capabilities, relationship management approaches and management talent and experience are just as important. In particular, revenue growth is more important for “rising stars” than pure revenue, but even here, other factors received just as much or more weight. In the end, the lists are intended to reflect the best companies, not necessarily the biggest.

The evaluation team

The 2008 evaluation team, comprised of IAOP member professionals, was led by Certified Outsourcing Professional (COP) Jagdish Dalal, Managing Director of Thought Leadership at IAOP and a world-renowned outsourcing expert who has worked as a senior executive in customer, provider and advisor companies for almost three decades. (Jag’s work as the outsourcing customer for Xerox’s $3.2B contract with EDS was turned into a Harvard Business School case study and is used in many teaching curricula.) The panel included:

• Tina Dacin, E. Marie Shantz Professor of Strategy & Organizational Behavior, Queen’s School of Business, Ontario, Canada
• Vera Marques, former CIO, BASF South America; currently, CIO, Roche South America
• Manish Sahai, Vice President, Customer Service International, Service Network Partners, American Express
• Kurt Kohorst, COP, Assistant Vice President, Business Process Outsourcing, Safeco Insurance
• Arno IJmker, Partner, Quint Wellington Redwood (IAOP’s Global Training Partner)
• Robert van der Eijk, Partner, PricewaterhouseCoopers
• Eric Storey, Senior Associate, Outsourcing Advisory Services, Booz Allen Hamilton

IAOP congratulates all of the companies that made the 2008 Global Outsourcing 100 list, along with all who applied and will be included on the expanded sub-lists this year. The application process for the 2009 Global Outsourcing 100 list will begin in August 2008;we’ll be announcing it in early summer.