The Advantages of Outsourcing

• Lower labor costs
• Less overhead
• Less payroll taxes
• Increased efficiency
• Less human resource issues
• Information Technology savings

Disadvantage of Outsourcing

• Less direct control over processes
• Negative Stigma (off-shore outsourcing)
• Changes in processes may be more difficult to implement
• Trade Secrets
• Possible language barriers

Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) 

Many people shudder when they hear the term “business process outsourcing (BPO),” immediately remembering a bad customer service experience. Not all outsourcing is bad. With some intelligent thought behind your outsourced project, huge dividends can be paid to your organization and customers.

Outsourcing does not mean sending every business process to India or China. Outsourcing can be as simple as sending a document scanning project to a local imaging company. Outsourcing to a labor rich country can also be a very good thing if carried out correctly.

The World is truly a global economy now. In order to remain competitive you must use business process outsourcing to your advantage. Save money, increase productivity and boost customer satisfaction by BPO.

Why outsource?

One of the biggest benefits of outsourcing is being able to redirect valuable resources toward what ever it is your business does best. Costs can not be measured in just dollars and cents. The Opportunity Cost must also be factored in. What does it really cost you to create or implement a new imaging system? Time and money is best spent on your real money making processes not secondary processes.

Trust

Trusting someone else with any part of their business is unthinkable to some. It's easy to believe no one will care for your business processes as you would. Giving up control is the biggest drawback to outsourcing. This is an obstacle, but good measure of control can still be maintained while outsourcing your project.

Can outsourcing hurt me?

Outsourcing which is purely driven by cost cutting can hurt you. Have you ever spoken to a Dell representative in India about your broken computer? If you have, you've probably had a negative experience. The language barrier just may be too difficult to overcome for many people. This could lead to an overall customer service nightmare.

Dell should have outsourced this task to a call center employing employees who speak English as their first language or kept the project in-house. Not every project should be outsourced the same way.

What types of projects can be outsourced?

There are many types of projects that can be outsourced. If handled correctly, the advantages of outsourcing the types projects listed below will always far outweigh the disadvantages of outsourcing.

• Document Scanning
• Data Entry
• Forms Processing
• Claims Processing
• Document Web Hosting