Subtitle: You don’t need to own the building to build an empire—just pick the right lease agreement with your sanity intact.
Because let’s be honest—too many GCC strategies still think it’s 2010 and the only KPI is “cheaper.” This series is your no-nonsense companion to building AI-ready, strategically aligned GCCs that don’t implode mid-transfer.
This post is based on the “Establishing and Managing GCCs – A Sourcing & Procurement Professional’s Guide, 2025” whitepaper. Download it before your next RFP turns into a TED Talk on regret.
There’s a moment in every sourcing leader’s life when they stare at five GCC models on a PowerPoint slide and quietly ask themselves:
“Do I really need this many ways to get outsourced?”
Let’s get you un-stuck. Choosing the right GCC model is less about choosing the one with the best buzzwords and moreabout knowing when you want control, speed, or a clever way to avoid both until Q4.
So here’s your not-so-gentle guide to the big five:
1. 🏢 COCO – Company-Owned, Company-Operated
AKA: “We want full control. Also, pain.”
You build it. You run it. You own the IP, the HR headaches, and the water cooler.
✅ Great for:
- R&D, IP-heavy work
- Fortune 500s with time, cash, and patience
❌ Not great for:
- Speed demons
- Anyone who’s never opened a real estate compliance binder
🔍 TL;DR: You’re in it for the long haul. If you’re not, your board will ask why you just built a $12M reminder of poor decision-making.
2. 🧑💼 Managed Services / Third Party / GCC-as-a-Service
AKA: “Let someone else do it but give me dashboards.”
You rent talent, processes, maybe even half a team’s soul—without owning any of it.
✅ Great for:
- Fast setup (think 90 days)
- Mid-market firms who want in, but not all in
❌ Risky for:
- IP control
- Any task you might want back later
🧠 Snark Note: This is your “see how it goes” model. Just make sure “how it goes” includes audit rights and termination clauses.
3. 🏗️ Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT)
AKA: “I want the shiny thing, but you build it first.”
The vendor builds and runs it. Later, you inherit it. Like leasing a puppy with a purchase option.
✅ Great for:
- Companies testing India without the setup risk
- Organizations planning to own… someday
❌ Downside:
- Transfer shock is real (ask anyone who’s lived through it)
- You may inherit more legacy than you bargained for
🔍 Pro Tip: Bake in SLAs now for what happens after the transfer and during the transfer Or your “strategic transition” becomes a yearlong therapy session.
4. 🤝 Joint Venture (JV)
AKA: “I like you, but I’m not moving in.”
You and a local partner co-own the GCC. Risk is shared. So are the disagreements.
✅ Great for:
- Market expansion
- Deep local access with some control
❌ Tough for:
- Decision-making (hello, deadlocks)
- Innovation alignment (especially post honeymoon)
🧠 Caution: JVs are like strategic marriages. Fun at first. But if you don’t align on vision, you’re splitting the furniture by year two.
5. ⚖️ COPO – Company-Owned, Partner-Operated
AKA: “We own the entity, you run the circus.”
You keep the IP and entity, the vendor runs day-to-day. A nice hybrid for grown-ups.
✅ Great for:
- Mid to large firms who want speed + some control
- Scaling AI without building it from scratch
❌ Not ideal for:
- Micromanagers
- People allergic to dual accountability
🔍 Use Case: Perfect if you’re building AI capability, want data residency in India, but can’t deal with setting up an office in Pune by Monday.
So… Which Model’s Right for You?
Let’s do a quick matching exercise:
| Goal | Model |
| Own everything? | COCO |
| Launch fast, avoid commitment? | Managed Services / GCCaaS |
| Want a “try-before-you-buy”? | BOT |
| Local partner love affair? | JV |
| Own the ship, skip the rowing? | COPO |
Spoiler: there’s no universal right answer. But there is a wrong one—and it’s picking a model because it’s what your competitor did.
📥 Before You Choose…
The whitepaper includes:
- A side-by-side table of models with AI-specific pros/cons
- Risk areas like vendor lock-in, IP ownership, governance hacks, and
- An adult-sized checklist so you don’t wake up owning a 200-person team in Chennai you never wanted
📥 Craving structure? Confused about COPO vs BOT? Curious about contract clauses, AI maturity scoring, or ethical AI in vendor proposals?
We’ve got a 30+ page answer for you. Drop us a note and we will send the complete white paper to you, no cost.
👉info@two93.com
