Outsourcing – Are You in Control?
When companies are looking at offshoring either technology, call centres or business processes as a strategic management option, they are wise to analyse the advantages as well as the risks rather than slavishly following the trend. Outsourcing is not the right option for all companies, or indeed the only option. Neither should Outsourcing be used as a quick fix for difficult business issues, or transference of responsibility. Getting it right can add huge advantages to businesses, but getting it wrong can be costly and involve huge legal contract battles.
Carefully constructed non-ambiguous contracts are vital to the success of the partnership relationship between customer and supplier. It is also important to keep control of strategic planning and business analysis, and to retain core internal management that can closely monitor the project. The advantages of Outsourcing generally fall into three categories: Cost, Core and Capability.