Working With Tools

Steven H. Jaggard, the president and CEO of ONCOR, an organization of independent commercial real estate firms in over 200 markets, definitely sees outsourcing as an asset for strategic planning. The system was established in 1977 to service corporate real estate departments with long-distance real estate needs.

"Our clients outsource to cut costs, of course" he says, "but they also do it to keep their own focus on what they do best, and assign tasks to others who do their jobs well. Things like market analysis, lease analysis -- these are left to our individual members in their respective markets. There are often teams of ONCOR companies working for a single corporate client. It all adds up to bringing the highest expertise to that client."

ONCOR completed more than 600 transactions in 1995, and Jaggard sees only growth in the future. "I think there will continue to be a need for service companies for corporate real estate. Our clients are still determining exactly how much they want to outsource. In the long run, our clients wifl likely use a strong combination of in-house capabilities combined with ONCOR firms and others."