|
Page 146 GO IT ALONE!
- Do you trust the third-party business that will be handling the outsourced function?
Will outsourcing the function make it easier for you to coordinate your overall business system? If the answer to both of the above questions is yes, then the function should, in all likelihood, be outsourced. Successful outsourcing requires that you believe another business can cost-effectively handle the function as well or better than you. Successful outsourcing should also streamline the operations of your business, and reduce the associated complexity of your responsibilities. The outsourced activity should fit seamlessly into your overall business activities, so that the time associated with coordinating your entire business system is reduced.
DEFINE OUTSOURCING BROADLY
Your goal in outsourcing is to create leverage for your efforts: You want to focus your time and energy where it will achieve the highest results—you want to define outsourcing very broadly. Outsourcing can include: - Relying on an ASP subscription service (such as Salesforce.com) to manage the information associated with sales efforts and prospects
- Engaging someone to work part time (off-site) following your instructions for a repeatable task (such as data entry)
- Engaging a call center to take phone orders
- Contracting with separate firms for everything from
manufacturing to the logistics associated with your
products (such as warehousing, mailing, and delivery)
Search the complete text of Go It Alone!
Terms of Use
GO IT ALONE! Copyright 2004 by Bruce Judson. Reprinted by permission of HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
|
|
