Outsource or Not?

For small companies, the answer is generally to do some of both.

How do you know what to send out and what to keep in house? Here are a few things to think about.

Like many other business decisions, the choice to outsource product development, or not, is very much dependent on your company’s specific situation, culture and needs. There is no “one size fits all” outsourcing strategy that is right for every organization.

You may want to consider the following as you develop your own outsourcing strategy.

Businesses come in different sizes and types. The type of company you are can have a big impact on your outsourcing strategy. Click here to learn more about how strategy is influenced by the type of company you are.

Better management/leadership can have a big impact on product development. Product development is a discipline that is best learned through practice. The more practice you get, the better your ability to manage and lead. Click here to learn how you can use outsourcing to leverage the management and leadership skills of those that are truly experts in their craft.

Some activities are core and some are not. Maybe it is the ability to define products for your market niche. Maybe it is a specific technology or manufacturing process. Maybe it is your ability to get the product to market. It is almost always better to focus on what you are already good at than it is to try to improve on what you’re not good at. Outsourcing to companies that have a core product development focus will allow you to focus on your core.

Outsourcing product development can reduce costs. Continue to read the full article.

Is the innovation key to your product strategy? Click here to learn more about how outsourcing can make you more innovative.

Culture may be hard to define, but that does not mean it is not important. Some cultures are not capable of being supportive of outsourcing. Go here to learn which cultural traits are supportive of outsourcing and which can be disruptive.