Wal-Mart to Start Outsourcing More to India

[ChromeFoundry]

Source: Businessweek

June 8, 2009, 9:50AM EST

The U.S. retailer is considering TCS, Wipro and Infosys for $500 million outsourcing deal

Wal-Mart Stores has shortlisted top Indian tech firms, including TCS, Infosys and Wipro, for an outsourcing contract potentially worth up to $500 million over next few years, as the retailer seeks to award multiple contracts for managing its business applications and other back office activities.

At least two people familiar with Wal-Mart's outsourcing strategy told ET on conditions of anonymity that the retailer is expected to start outsourcing more to India within six months.

"Wal-Mart has been testing the waters by outsourcing smaller projects to companies such as Infosys, TCS and Wipro. Now, the retailer wants to flesh out a more comprehensive outsourcing strategy and has shortlisted these tech vendors," said a senior executive of one of the tech firms exploring business opportunities with Wal-Mart. He requested anonymity because he is not authorised to speak to media.

When contacted by ET last week, Wal-Mart spokesman John Simley confirmed his company is in discussions with several service providers, but declined to elaborate any further. "Certainly, we feel our company has a lot to offer India and we hope to grow our business there. We are always in discussions with potential service providers, but we have nothing to announce at this time," he said.



Read more: http://www.businessweek.com/globalbiz/content/jun2009/gb2009068_435509.htm?chan=top+news_top+news+index+-+temp_global+business

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I fucking hate Walmart.

[OhioChick]

1. Fuck Walmart n/t

[rfranklin]

2. With a sandpaper condom....

and no lube!

[OhioChick]

4. I was thinking of something a little worse, but that'll do. n/t

[LynneSin]

21. Fuck these vendors who would outsource American Jobs

I hope the CEOs and their ilk that run these companies rot in hell for all the jobs they have cost in this country. People losing their homes, no healthcare and trying to take care of their children. How these people sleep at night is beyond me!

[Baby Snooks]

30. They sleep very well at night...

They bought Congress a long time ago. And have slept very well ever since.

[OhioChick]

44. They don't give a rat's ass about us...

They already have "theirs."

[Capt. America]

3. Look for the Made in the USA label.

[Lateedee]

40. made in the USA

good luck finding anything with a label that reads "made in the USA." I remember when wally world first starting building their big box stores, (running out the little guys) they advertised they were an american business that hired american workers and sold american made products. If you can find anything in their stores thats american made I wish you would share that information. Since reading this story about them outsourcing even more stuff overseas, well... I've shopped my last in that store (not that I shop there much anyway, I leave it to the tourists). Let them build their big box stores in India and let those folks buy the substandard products. I hope this means that more "mom and pop" shops will open again and we can actually get back to buying american! GO USA!!!

[joeglow3]

46. We need to look into the mirror here

This is a battle I have fought non-stop for well over a year. About a year ago, most of the posters here were talking about how great the Japanese cars are and how they would never buy an American car. Myself, and a few others, fought about how the US made cars are NOT crap and how important it is to support our fellow Americans.

Well, a year later and take a look where we are at. It is not just the people on the right buying the crap from China that you find at Walmart. They would NEVER have gotten this big without many (if not most) posters here also being quick to jump on the cheap crap at Walmart.

In short, the above poster is correct: we need to buy American. And you have zero right to bitch if you don't.

[femrap]

51. That is very difficult....

however I haven't bought Made in China crap since 1989. However, it has gotten to the point that certain products are ONLY made in China....fans for one thing. I buy from Vietnam and Taiwan and India and Mexico.

Pretty soon all linens will be made in China. So hurry up and get them while they're still made in the USA.

I've been bringing this to people's attention for years...but most willfully stupid Americans just care about the cost and could care less that our jobs are being sent to China. Pretty soon we'll be the Thrid World country and manufacturing will come back here...unless We, The People stop this.

[daggahead]

79. We need trade policies that will bring manufacturing back to America. n/t

[Capt. America]

49. I agree with your statement. My post was intended as sarcasm from Wal-Mart's old

advertising campaign. That used to be their mantra, how proud they were to buy and sell American goods.

[galledgoblin]

53. not to mention the labels sometimes are unreliable

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5408446

sweatshops in US territories can still label the clothes manufactured there as "Made in USA".

[ihavenobias]

5. To the greatest. n/t

[Sebastian Doyle]

6. They can't afford to pay minimum wage with no benefits anymore?

Pieces of shit. :puke:

[hendo]

10. yeah, cause they are really goign to shut down thier stores here because of that

:sarcasm:

[Hawkeye-X]

7. As I just told my friend who just started a new job working for Mal-Wart

We'll see what he says.

He just turned down a promotion to a meat-cutter at Mal-Wart.

[dorkulon]

8. Pretty soon the 'greeters' are going to be TV sets showing a waving Indian.

"I am welcoming you graciously to Wal-Mart!"

[Chisox08]

15. Don't forget the cashiers. They will be on tv sets a week later

We shouldn't be giving wal-mart any idea.

[Joe Bacon]

61. They started phasing out cashiers here in Los Angeles!

I saw it first at the Tesco "Fresh & Easy" stores where the checkouts are all automated and now Ralphs is starting to install the same gizmos. You check yourself out and no cashier. I'm waiting for Robby the Robot and the Lost In Space Robot to start stocking the shelves!

[riverdeep]

9. Yes, let's kick the American worker when they're down.

It's not like we have any companies here that can do that job. Oh, I forgot, do that job for pennies an hour. This will also make any company NOT doing this less profitable and so more inclined to follow Hell-Mart's footsteps. Good going, you guys are just a peach.

[Rosa Luxemburg]

11. where is the legislation that stops this?

[Mari333]

12. yes, when we bailed out all those big companies with OUR money

and they turned around and used it to go overseas ....where was the legislation demanding that if they wanted TARP monies, they would HAVE to keep the jobs here..
WalMart doesnt care. none of them do..you can thank Reagan AND Clinton for this, and NAFTA.

[PNutt]

14. Blaming NAFTA for jobs in India and China?

Newsflash........

N-orth
A-merican
F-ree
T-rade
A-ct


My map does not have India, nor China in North America.........but then again, what do i know?

[Skittles]

23. actually A = Agreement

but you are indeed correct

[AdHocSolver]

26. Clinton signed off on Most Favored Nation, MFN, trading status for China. MFN is similar to NAFTA.

Wal-Mart is based in Arkansas. Clinton was governor of Arkansas. Could there be a connection between these two facts?

If you want to place some blame for the outsourcing of jobs by Wal-Mart, then blame those Americans who preferred buying Chinese at Wal-Mart over buying American at smaller retailers just to save a buck or two, even though it cost American jobs.

Economies are demand driven. If you spend your money on cheap crap, that is what you will get. Microsoft didn't get so huge and profitable by creating and selling the best software. They got big and profitable because they convinced a lot of people to buy their crap software rather than buy someone else's better-quality product.

And there lies the solution to all this outsourcing. Don't buy foreign. If you buy American, even if you spend a little more, and you go without some purchase if you can't find an American-made product, then the corporations will get the message. If Americans can't resist buying cheap imported crap, that is all we will get.

[bulloney]

35. In Sarah Palin's world they're in North America. That counts for something.

[panzerfaust]

37. Well - Columbus thought here was there, and he was guided by God,

which is why we have "Indians"

[hankthecrank]

68. I get a picture from this

I see two native Americans looking at each other and asking what does this crazy guy keep asking about spices?

[my future me]

13. Heaven forbid . .

that anybody would ever question Free Trade and how great it has been for the US. I bet the Obama will never even mention repealing NAFTA or modifying our tariffs with other countries.

[glinda]

19. Recently Canada passed a vote having to do with "fighting American protectionism"

thanks to the propaganda from the Republican smear machine. They are to be blamed for the push back from other countries (as well as some Dems) and the vast growth of WALFART.

[daggahead]

80. If it weren't so F*CKING cold in Canada, I'd move there tomorrow. n/t

[Strong Atheist]

70. Welcome to DU!

:toast:

[Jim Sagle]

17. We can always hope.

;)

[bulloney]

34. That would mean that our government would be interfering with the hallowed "free market."

:sarcasm:

[Rosa Luxemburg]

43. the government could tax American companies more which send their jobs overseas

it would be nice to see walmart pay penalties.

[OhioChick]

45. If that happened, Walmart would be out of business. n/t

[joeglow3]

47. How do you stop the company from up and moving everything overseas?

Microsoft has already said there is a good chance they would move overseas if the deferral of taxes on foreign income is repealed.

[Rosa Luxemburg]

56. well you can put a 10 year clause in

if a company moves it's operations and registers in a another country it owes double tax. One to the foreign country and one to the USA

[joeglow3]

62. There is no way that would hold up under the Constitution

If a company is domiciled in another country, you cannot simply go to that company and say "well, you WERE headquartered here, so you owe us taxes on your worldwide income."

[Rosa Luxemburg]

64. why not?

the company would not be allowed to be domiciled in another country - it can only have branches for 10 years. We have money in foreign banks and yes we are still taxed (except for those dodging offshore).

[Vidar]

48. Good idea, but that would involve having honest politicians.

[Rosa Luxemburg]

55. is there such a thing?

[Vidar]

60. One or two of them, but definitely a rarity.

[tomreedtoon]

16. I may have had an early experience with this.

I had to get money to a friend, and the only way was purchasing one of those "green spot" Visa cards. The information to activate the card had to be called in on my cell phone. The "voice recognition" software didn't recognize my friend's voice.

More important, the human being who eventually got on didn't understand my friend's words.

I'm not going to make excuses for her timid voice, but from what I heard on this end of the conversation, the other person simply didn't have English as a second language. Or maybe a third.

Expect a lot more trouble activating and using gift cards from Evil*Mart because of this outsourcing.

[The_Casual_Observer]

18. How much further are they going to squeeze the Americans?

Are they going to go right to the brink with this shit?

[KillCapitalism]

22. I guess they figure that we don't need jobs.

If this keeps up, damn near everyone in America is going to be sitting around in a tent city twiddling their thumbs all day.

[DainBramaged]

20. Even more reason to hate Wally World.

[Yavin4]

24. The Globalists Want Us To Be Pure Consumers, Nothing More

They want us to borrow money that we can never pay back, and then have to take whatever crappy job there is to try to pay some of the money back. Sure, this will result in a economic crash. However, the bad debts will land on the govt's balance sheet, and a whole new round of lending can begin again.

We're in a viscious economic downward spiral, and our politicians are too cowardly to stand up to the globalists.

[Amonester]

84. That's because the globalists PAY (most of) their campaigns,

plus a few free cocktails here and there (and stuff...).

Why would they tell them NO? They never will.

Just a couple of them do (always did).

[47of74]

25. Screw you, Wal-Mart

[Miss_Underestimated]

27. Time to boycott all the products sold by Walmart and to write to those

companies to let them know about it!

For example, here is a link for a site that has the "Walmart Top Products" on display - a lot of Nintendo junk

http://www.topwalmartproducts.com/

[Strong Atheist]

73. Welcome to DU!

:toast:

[Triana]

28. Haven't shopped there in a couple years and don't intend to.

outsourcing in a recession/depression ought to be outlawed.


period.

f*ck the "oh we can't do protectionism!" mantra and "free trade" - if you are trying to save your nation's economy -- it WON'T WORK if your citizens DON'T HAVE JOBS! GOOD jobs.


PERIOD.

[LaPera]

29. Walmart certianly cares about America and it's workers doesn't it....

[krispos42]

31. Well, this will increase their consumer base

After all, we all know that the target demographic of all retailers is people that have no money to spend.

:sarcasm:

[PatSeg]

32. How American of them

Who the hell do they think is going to buy their cheap crap? They can move their whole damn company, stores and all, to India, but then India has major restrictions on Big Box stores.

[InfiniteThoughts]

33. outsourcing contracts are welcome; stores aren't - thank you very much

You are right. Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in retail is restricted in India because it might hurt the middlemen, small time traders and small shops - who are a very powerful voting class. Thus, the ban on Walmart, Best buy to open large stores in India.

But outsourcing contracts, that's a different story ...

[PatSeg]

42. India is doing what is best for their economy

and their laws regarding Big Box stores helps pull a lot of people out of poverty. Can't blame them for trying to keep their people employed. The blame for outsourcing belongs right here in a country where businesses look for the fast buck with little regard for the long range repercussions. India is trying to build their middle class whereas we are destroying ours.

If companies can find cheaper labor somewhere else in the world, they'll pull out of India and leave them high and dry as well. I saw a movie called "Outsourced" a while back and it painted such a scenario very well.

[InfiniteThoughts]

58. agree & disagree ...

Agree on the Outsourcing part - If there was a viable, scalable country offering rates that was 70-80% of what India is offering, Outsourcing in India is history. Also, agree that middle-class in US is being slowly but surely destroyed as a result of business interest & government apathy!

Where i disagree with you is the Big stores part in India.

* First, The middlemen & traders in India belong to a powerful vote bank. While a lot of them are socially backward, they are one of the most economically forward communities (that's the irony of the situation). The middlemen & traders as a community bankroll local & sometime even state-wide & national politicians. Hence it is very difficult for the government to antagonize these folks.

* Second, In a widely published study, it was found by the government that the middlemen contribute to 50% of the cost in most agricultural products. End result is that the farmers don't gain and the consumers pay a lot which goes as margins for the middle-men. So, in a way, middlemen keep the poor that way!

* Lastly, even if the big stores were allowed, it is hard to see the lower middle class & the poorer sections going to these stores. The rich, upper middle class & may be the middle class might shop in these stores - which is what they do today as well, shop in large supermarkets/hypermarkets owned by local Indian conglomerates.

So, i see no reason why these large big box stores shouldn't be allowed to setup shop in India.

[PatSeg]

59. Thank you

I didn't realize that and it does paint a different picture. I'm quite sure the large big box stores would love to "setup shop in India". They'll find a way eventually.

[Strong Atheist]

72. Welcome to DU!

:toast:

[panzerfaust]

36. To a corporation 'globalization' means

... that the production line workers get paid the going rate in China ('cause that's where they are), the 'knowledge' workers get paid the going Indian rate (again, 'cause that's where they are), and that the managers get paid the same as at Chase.

A Brave New World indeed.

[CTM1978]

38. IN THE RACE TO THE BOTTOM, WAL-MART IS NUMBER 1

[Strong Atheist]

74. An EXTREMELY Belated Welcome to DU!

:toast:

[Buzz Clik]

39. Outsourcing to India? That's going to piss off the Chinese.

[marmar]

41. I'm proud to say I've never spent a penny in Wal-Mart.....

..... the only time I've been in one was on a visit to California, driving from Monterey back to San Francisco, because I had to use the restroom. And even that experience was unpleasant.

[HughBeaumont]

63. Neither have I. I can't even stand the smell of one.

Smells like moth balls, varnish, paint fumes, old K-Mart and a hint of anal gas.

[femrap]

50. And they are now the largest employer

in the U.S. GM used to be....The writing is on the wall.

WASF.

Wonder if Wal-mart sells pitchforks?

[high density]

52. But don't forget about those 22,000 $8.50/hr jobs they'll be creating this year!

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x3907960

It all balances out! :sarcasm:

[Wednesdays]

54. K&R

:kick:

[1776Forever]

57. Remember when Obama said he would give tax breaks for companies that kept US jobs?

Does anyone know if it would be possible to tax WalMart in order to gain some revenue back for our country out of this?

[lanlady]

65. What happens when India gets too expensive?

What other huge, low-wage English-speaking continent remains to be conquered by the Walmarts and Microsofts of the world?

[and-justice-for-all]

66. Greed!!!! Must have more!!!!! Wal-MArt monster still hungry

because paying their employees jack shit w/ no benefits is still to much.

[ProudDad]

67. I Hate Wal-Mart

http://www.davelippman.com/walmart/whyihatewalmart.html

Wal-Mart is the nation's (and the world's) biggest retailer. But the problem is not just Wal-Mart - Toys R Us, McDonalds, Microsoft, Barnes and Noble, Starbucks, the Gap, Kinko's, Circuit City, Home Depot, Nations Bank...all wipe out the smaller, more local competition. Why? Because they can. McDonalds in the Eiffel Tower, K-Mart in Greenwich Village - is this our destiny? Read on....

Only a company of their size can buy direct from manufacturers, cutting out the distributor. They buy so cheaply they can resell to other stores at cheaper than wholesale. Thus they can ruin the competition through PREDATORY PRICING.

WAL-MART REPORT CARD

Human Rights....0
Diversity.......0
Community.......0
Ecology.........0
Spirituality....0

The trend of mega-mergers and huge chains is wiping out small business everywhere, and with it the distinctiveness of local cultures. Not just in the U.S., but all over this great varied planet. Chains are everywhere, and who benefits? Not the small business, not the small town, not the individual - only a few guys pretty high up in the chain's food chain. Consider: Wal-Mart's annual sales are larger than the entire Gross Domestic Product of 161 countries! Do the Wal-Math: They are bigger than most nations, yet they have no government that answers to the people it affects. They are unaccountable to anyone. Democracy must include the ability to control those who control us!

[blaze]

82. This really is the bottom line, isn't it?

Walmart (and others) does what the law allows.

[hankthecrank]

69. Why don't they cut out the middle man

and just move the whole thing to India

stores too

soon we won't have anything to spend anyway

[Stephanie]

71. Actually India has protectionist policies regarding foreign retailers

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20090530/bs_afp/indiauscompanywalmartbhartiretail

[hankthecrank]

75. But if they move there they won't be foreign

[sarcasmo]

76. Walmart, a nasty Corporate WHORE. I go in to price check Target and feel like I need a shower when

I leave a Walmart.

[Deja Q]

77. Damn. And I was almost starting to believe in those 'community' posters and ads they put up.

[daggahead]

78. Just one more reason I will never set foot in that place. n/t

[daggahead]

81. This is the payscale - the conversion for Rupees to Dollars is 1 rupee = $0.02

[Blandocyte]

83. Frack WalMart

I wish I made enough money that I didn't have to shop there.

[JCMach1]

85. I am shocked I tell you, shocked