Executive Summary

As global sourcing becomes a fundamental part of almost all sourcing decisions today, and as the appetite for offshoring increases, buyers as well as suppliers are looking beyond traditional destinations like India to source Information Technology (IT) and Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) services. While a lot of locations are making their presence felt, China as a sourcing destination has captured the fancy of buyers and suppliers alike. China's position of leadership as the manufacturing destination of the world remains undisputed. There is significant buzz in the market that China has the potential to also become a leading sourcing destination for services. While there is little doubt regarding this growth potential, it is still too early to say how much of this potential will be realized, and how soon.

The Everest Research Institute undertook an intensive research effort to get beneath the market buzz about China and to provide a fact-based approach to understanding the current state from which the Chinese sourcing market is maturing.