As it’s my first column of 2016, a belated “very happy new year!” to all Outsource’s readers around the world. I hope the old year ended wonderfully for everyone, and that 2016 has started superbly on all fronts. As many of you will now be aware, the turn of the year has seen some rather gigantic developments here at Outsource. As of the start of January, we are now under new ownership: Outsource has been acquired by the Sourcing Industry Group (SIG), a membership organisation that provides thought leadership and networking opportunities to executives in sourcing, procurement and outsourcing from Fortune 500 and Global 1000 companies. Over the course of the last five years Outsource has partnered with SIG on a number of projects and the relationship between the two has grown ever stronger and more successful. This acquisition is really the logical conclusion to that process, enhancing both organisations in countless ways – and demonstrating in the clearest possible way the alignment between two philosophies both centred upon delivering quality, impartially. I remain as editor-in-chief of Outsource as well as becoming Head of EMEA for SIG. You can read the press release announcing the acquisition (with some background information on SIG) here. I wanted, however, to take this opportunity to share my own thoughts and feelings about what I believe to be an absolutely marvellous move for Outsource and all our readers and network members. I first met the SIG team, headed by CEO and President Dawn Tiura (the new proprietor of Outsource) back in 2011 at one of their biannual Summits – this one on the delightful Amelia Island, in northeast Florida – and was blown away by the remarkable quality of the conference, the seniority of the delegates and the peerless attention to detail demonstrated by the entire team. There was a relentless focus on delivering exactly what the audience – comprising senior sourcing professionals from some of the world’s biggest companies, with a truly staggering amount of procurement spend under their control – required at every turn. I left an evangelist, and have remained one throughout the years that have followed, during which time I have been lucky enough to develop strong personal friendships with Dawn and a number of the other members of the SIG team. For Outsource, moving under the SIG roof places us within an organisation that has B2B delivery at its very heart and expands our reach in terms of both readers and contributors – and gives us access among much else to the dazzling array of documents that form SIG’s Resource Center. Our ability to create world-class events in new geographies, to connect our readers with the most important figures in global sourcing, and overall to deliver to a very high level of capability everything Outsource readers want from this publication will be immeasurably enhanced by this acquisition. Moreover, it ties Outsource in with SIG University, the new certification body launched by SIG for sourcing and governance professionals which is set to transform learning and professional development in this space. I've been fortunate enough to spend some time recently with Mark Pollack, Vice President of SIG U (see last month's interview with Mark here) and his passion for the new institution is infectious; I urge anyone with an interest (either personal or on behalf of their organisations) in learning and development to reach out to Mark directly at mpollack@sig.org to find out more about the fantastic courses SIG University has to offer. I would like to thank the former owners at EMP Media – who launched and nurtured Outsource and who appointed me editor nearly six years ago – for their support and faith in the brand; and, looking forwards, I would like to welcome Dawn and the rest of SIG to Outsource and to this wonderful community, without whom of course this entire publication would be impossible – and utterly pointless! Here’s to a great 2016 and beyond, and to many more years of success! For more information on the Sourcing Industry Group (SIG) see www.sig.org For more on SIG University, see www.siguniversity.org
