Nowadays, increasing numbers of small businesses are engaging with outsourcing in order to save costs and reduce their in-house workload. If you’re unfamiliar with the concept of “outsourcing”, it is a commonly employed business practice in which businesses use independent third-party companies to complete specific tasks, operations, jobs, or processes. While there are various reasons that companies engage with outsourcing. Sure, when you first start out, outsourcing can save money, as it can be cheaper in the short term to use third-party manufacturers to create a short run of goods. It may also be easier to draw in individuals with independent expertise to complete one-off tasks rather than training one of your own employees or hiring a full-time employee to do one task and serving little more purpose for the benefit of your company. However, when it comes to looking at your business in the grand scheme of things, you will generally benefit more from bringing operation under your own roof. Here’s everything you need to know on the subject!
Benefits of In-House Operation
At the end of the day, in a capitalist world, it’s always going to be better to own the means of production for your own business. When you outsource, you hand a portion of control of your company over to someone else and become dependent on their work and services. You have to place your trust in them and hope that they complete the required work to the quality that you expect. By keeping things in-house you regain control: you can oversee processes and make tweaks and changes along the way.
Areas to Bring Back In-House
Storage
Many businesses store their stock or products outside of their own commercial space. However, you can easily experience damage or loss when your goods are out of your sight. So, store your products where you can monitor them yourself. This is especially poignant for edible products – investing in a cold storage refrigeration system by M&M Refrigeration will ensure none of your products are spoiled before being shipped.
Market Research
Many people use outsourced market research to save time. But if you have a little patience and work a few extra hours you can do the job yourself. Most of the research is already out there with results posted online. Then you can conduct small scale specific interviews yourself. Simply use your social media page to find volunteers who will be able to give you a deeper insight and understanding of your brand and brand image.
IT
Nowadays, increasing numbers of businesses are outsourcing their IT departments. But surely it’s better to have a closer relationship with those who are dealing with some of your most private professional systems. You don’t want complete strangers scrolling through all of your data now, do you? In-house IT departments also tend to have a better understanding of any specific or custom software that you may use, making resolving problems a faster and easier process.
While outsourcing may be beneficial in the early days of your business’ operation, bringing things back in-house as you begin to expand and experience success tends to be a much better option to consider.
