Running a business has never been easy or without challenge. Today, organisations need to be flexible and agile to keep pace with rapidly changing markets. Whether it is the unrelenting speed of technological development; the growth of digitalisation, automation and robotics; increasingly sophisticated customer demands; pressures to reduce carbon footprint; new regulatory requirements; or the market impacts of both domestic and global politics. It would appear, ‘level playing fields’ have been replaced by an ever-changing obstacle course.
Supply chains leaders that have the resources to quickly evaluate, respond or, even better, anticipate the new market and business realities will be best placed to capture the opportunities that change brings. Most SMEs don’t have this luxury, resources they do have may be too busy dealing with the day to day tactical realities rather than having time to extend their planning horizon to the medium and long term.
So, what can businesses do to respond and adapt?
One option often pursued is Outsourcing, where companies focus on their ‘Core Business’ and contract out all, or part, of their support functions and processes. This can bring the advantage of releasing current resources to undertake longer term strategic goals, or it can provide access through a service provider to a breadth of specialist expertise and insight not currently available – it may even do both.
If it is managed and implemented correctly, Outsourcing can be one of the best decisions a business makes. Providing the opportunity to gain efficiencies, reduce cost, support business growth and release in-house resource to focus on more value-added activities, such as new product design, business development and technical innovation.
However, if it is not executed correctly it can become one of the worst business headaches. Potentially delivering none of the benefits hoped for whilst adding another layer of cost, contractual complexity and management distraction.
Staying Agile with Davies & Robson
At Davies & Robson we have helped many clients to develop their outsourcing strategies, allowing them to understand the risks, maximise the opportunities and successfully navigate the potential pitfalls. So, if you are considering outsourcing but want to be sure that it is the right direction for your business, we offer:
- A source of expert, objective and impartial advice – helping you to assess the benefits that can be unlocked by successful Outsourcing, but also the potential risks – making sure it is the right thing to do for your business;
- An ‘end to end’ review of your organisational structure and business processes and identifying functions most appropriate for Outsourcing, separating ‘core’ from ‘support’ activity;
- Support to develop your change management process, including consideration of impacts on Customers, People, Systems & Processes;
- Help to build detailed service specifications which capture and clarify your expectations, the relationship you want to have with providers, the standards you expect to be maintained and measures you want to see achieved;
- Finding suitably qualified and capable service providers and supporting you through the full sourcing process, from pre-qualification of prospective service providers through to final contract & implementation.
- Providing post-implementation support to ensure delivery of expected benefits and assist in service provider contract management as required.
Want to know more? Interested in Outsourcing but no sure if it’s right for you? Maybe daunted by the risks? Why not give us a call on 01327 349090 or send us an email to info@daviesrobson.co.uk to arrange an initial informal discussion.
Our Clients Include
