As competition and demands increase in various business industries, outsourcing also becomes highly sought after. This standard business practice entails contracting an organization’s processes to external providers or third-party agencies to tap into additional labor resources when the need calls for it.
According to Microsourcing, the total cash value of outsourced services availed in the global market grew from $45.6 billion in 2000 to approximately $86.6 billion in 2018. This only proves how more and more businesses are resorting to offshore outsourcing and capitalizing on its advantages.
On top of reducing operating costs and benefiting from the added support of an off-site workforce, outsourcing can also help an organization focus better on core activities, mitigate employment risks linked to turnovers and inconsistency, and produce optimal service quality more rapidly and efficiently.
However, despite its many benefits, outsourcing is not always suitable for a company or appropriate for a situation. Thus, you might be wondering what businesses can safely avail of particular outsourced services? Below, we’ll discuss several popular types of outsourced business functions.
Content Production
Outsourcing content for online platforms is ubiquitous these days, especially for corporations that specialize in digital marketing, manufacturing, and retail.
Outsourcing digital or print content is highly beneficial if the company has no time to accommodate writing tasks. Moreover, when the industry requires particular domain expertise in writing, it’s best to hire expert freelance writers to ensure the accuracy of the articles.
Photo-editing Services
Mostly availed by e-commerce retailers, professional editing services are offered by freelance graphic artists and designers or photography agencies. These providers typically work with color enhancement, ad design, image manipulation, background removal, 3D modeling, and retouching. The transaction is also speedy and convenient as the photos need to be sent to the editors, and they’ll send them back to the client with the necessary and requested edits.
Order Taking and Processing
Another commonly outsourced service in manufacturing and retail businesses is order taking. Accordingly, by utilizing the services of an order-taking call center, a company can maximize time efficiency and decrease downtime when receiving orders.
Driver Leasing
It’s typical for establishments in the industries of tourism and hospitality to have peak seasons or specific periods when additional labor resources are indeed necessary. Most likely, these happen during holiday seasons and vacation time.
To accommodate sudden increases in demand, tour companies work with driver leasing agencies for tour services that include transportation. As previously discussed, outsourcing mainly deals with contracting. Thus, it’s easy for companies to release their external service provider once the demand slows down again and returns to its original state.
When evaluating third-party providers, it’s indispensable to assess features such as pricing models, corporate reputation, contract terms and conditions, industry specialization, and overall competency. Other aspects to take into account include differences in culture and timezone, primarily if the agency is based in a different state or abroad, as these factors can pose risks.
