Thought Leadership and Opinion Pieces

Ten Years of BPO: What Changed, What Didn’t, and What Comes Next

October 12, 2026

This week, the CX Files turns the tables on co-host Peter Ryan. Ryan Strategic Advisory has just celebrated its tenth anniversary, so...

AI can help identify Vulnerable Customers, but the tech still needs human judgement

September 28, 2026

Last week, I had the pleasure of co-hosting an executive roundtable for TP alongside Intelligent Sourcing at The Rubens at the Palace...

Owning the Agent: How Sourcing Shapes Agentic AI in Procurement

September 11, 2026

Agentic AI is no longer a recommendation engine sitting beside the procurement team. It monitors suppliers, screens risk, drafts tenders, and in...

Europe and the Nearshore: 2026

Ryan Strategic Advisory is pleased to announce the release of its latest publication, Europe and the Nearshore: 2026. This report is the...

Maybe Procurement’s Biggest Job Hasn’t Even Started Yet

September 8, 2026

What if procurement’s biggest opportunity in the age of AI is not making procurement faster What if it is helping organisations become...

Managing Outsourcing Relationships

September 2, 2026

There is an old cliche (which is nonetheless very true), to the effect that whilst a “good” contract will not – in...

Vending CX: The Unseen Consequences of Self-Serve?

August 26, 2026

In 2018, I wrote a piece on returning from the annual family holiday, about how as consumers, the summer getaway  – even...

Complex climate change dynamics that feed directly into reputation and trust

July 16, 2026

It feels timely that, as I sit down to write this blog, we are in the middle of another heatwave here in...

Scaling value without scaling headcount: The new promise of AI-enabled BPO

July 13, 2026

The business model that built the BPO industry over three decades is changing. What began as simple labor arbitrage – shifting work...

New research underlines importance of accredited BPO providers

January 15, 2026

Following the release of new research, a leading industry expert has called on BPO providers to be more transparent to help potential...