In continuation of our Series ‘Choosing The Right Outsourced Product Development Partner – Part 1‘, here’s the Part 2 where we will try to understand what is the strategic advantage one should seek before choosing an outsourced-product-development partner.
Part 2 –
Today, if I am outsourcing a function of my business I am looking forward to reap much greater benefits than the cost advantages. I want “Strategic Advantage” out of my outsourcing partners. What do I mean by “Strategic Advantage”? As a modern business when I think about Outsourcing Partners, I am thinking about all of the following aspects and many more depending on my business context.
- Will the partner bring the product, markets, and technology know-how related knowledge on table? Especially, knowledge related to the domains where I possess limited understanding.
- Will I be strongly positioned against the competition after this partnership?
- What is the labor cost arbitrage? How much can I save while keeping my quality and time line goals intact?
- Does this partner understand user-experience and creating beautiful yet meaningful user interfaces?
- Can I change or enhance my requirements mid-way when the partner is building my product with minimal impact?
- Am I improving my supply chain through this partnership?
- Will this partnership help me enter new markets?
- Will I be able to pacify factors like geographic recessions, seasonality in product life cycle, etc.?
- Will this partnership help me innovate and stay ahead in market?
- Will this partner provide great tech support, maintenance and enhancements in our growth phase?
When you outsource a function of your business, especially a product, you are not deploying tasks. You are letting an outside organization enter into your overall vision of how you want to grow. You have to trust them enough to be a part of your value delivery system.
Undoubtedly, in outsourcing a lot rides on the partner you choose to develop the outsourced product.
Choosing a Right Outsourcing Partner:
Clearly there are two major yardsticks to choose the right outsourcing partner: Fit and Trust. No partnership can be formed without the foundation of trust and you also need a partner who fits your outsourcing related business objectives and philosophies.
In the next part, we will get into a detailed analysis of Fit and Trust factors. Read Part 3 here.
