Many ideas, such as the following, trigger a start up

• New Products
• New Services
• New Markets
• New ways to sell
• Innovative Technologies
• Scientific Breakthroughs
• Other innovative ideas.

The optimal time for a startup to consider outsourcing is when a business is at its formative stages.

Thinking Lean

Outsource is generally more effective for keeping costs low in the first than it is to cut costs caused by a bloated infrastructure.  Doing things right before turning on the engine yields better results than adjusting  while in motion.

Advantages to outsourcing for a start-up

Keeps costs down from day 1

Outsourcing processes when they’re small is easy to implement and yields fast results.  Early outsourcing enables savings to grow quickly and frees up  capital for the core competencies.  Start-up is the most expensive capital to most entrepreneurs.

Best practices implemented immediately

By moving non-core functions to those experienced in handling them, start-ups can take advantage of best practices immediately instead of learning from mistakes.

Focus Focus Focus

Driven by capital constraints and, frequently, by the competitive environment, start-ups are under tremendous pressure to get their stuff to market, the end the cash burn, and take market share.  This requires intense focus on the technological, market, and product issues inherent in the strategy for starting the business.  No start-up has the human or cash resources necessary to oversee all core and non-core functions effectively and  simultaneously.  The core functions drive the business.  Everything else should be managed elsewhere.

Implementing an outsourcing program from the get-go

If you are starting a company, or are part of a relatively new business, you should consider the following ideas as part of your ongoing plan, with respect to outsourcing

• Identify core and non-core processes as part of the business plan.
• Partner with an outsourcing vendor immediately.
• Develop, with your vendor, a set of realistic expectations with respect to budget and deliverables.
• Articulate a lean-management philosophy from the top.
• When there is a shortage of manpower for a specific task, consider the strategic benefit of the in-house hire vs, the cost savings from moving the work out.

WTI Outsourcing is happy to work with fledgling companies, recognizing the potential future value of each relationship.  Contact us to speak to one of our consultants.  You may look at a business in a different way.