Saturday, August 10, 2013

Outsourcing Definition: An Introduction


Outsourcing is a popular trend in the modern business world. The increasing globalization has further boosted the process of subcontracting. Many companies are opting for local and overseas subcontracting for assistance in fulfilling non-core tasks. However, the outsourcing definition, the types of outsourcing and its benefits to a particular business are not clear to many. Here's an outline of the subcontracting process. So, read on to understand "what is outsourcing?"

To define it in simple terms, outsourcing is a process wherein a business house hires or subcontracts an external organization to perform small yet crucial business tasks for their firm. The firm is hired for a specific period and renders its services to the employer firm in whatever manner desired. This is an arrangement in which third party companies provide fundamental services to another company that can be otherwise performed by in-house employees. The subcontracting can be complete or partial. Outsourcing is the most widespread in the IT industry.

What are the services offered by Outsourcing Companies?

When considering the outsourcing definition, we need to consider the services covered by outsourcing companies. There are a wide range of companies to be found on the web. The process is divided into different categories based on the type of function preformed. They include Professional, Operational, Manufacturing and Process- Specific.

Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) and Knowledge Process Outsourcing (KPO) are the familiar types of professional jobs performed. The functions they perform includes customer support, telemarketing, market research, ghostwriting, web design and web development, medical billing and transcription, HR, accounting and bookkeeping, content writing, Sales and Purchase. Manufacture and process-Specific services pertain to specific industries. On the other hand, there are companies performing operational tasks that include equipment maintenance and repair.

Why do a Companies need to Outsource Services?

The tasks that are generally outsourced such as call center services, payroll services and email services can be performed by in-house employees as well. Then, why should a company subcontract these tasks? There are financial and managerial advantages in doing so. Cost savings is one of the main benefits of it. The companies can save big on overhead expenses. Secondly, when the services are outsourced overseas it offers the availability of cheap labor rather than hiring full-time employees. The companies who offer outsourcing services specialize in the services they offer and thus ensure high quality services. Companies can divert their manpower, time and money to more productive uses.

However, one of the biggest disadvantages of outsourcing is increasing unemployment in the home country as most of the services are outsourced overseas, which is a process most known as off-shoring (or offshore) into the outsourcing definition..see more blogging