Scaling Your Business Through Offshoring
Updated: Jul 19, 2020
Is your company looking to expand and move past its status as a startup?
Are you already experiencing unprecedented growth in your business and operations?
Or perhaps your organization is now at the pinnacle of your industry seeking to further dominate and maintain its market share?
Whatever the case may be, for you to maintain your competitive edge, it is imperative that you manage your costs well and keep a close eye on your operational expenses lest it eat away at your bottom line and reduce your company’s profitability. While it’s easier said than done, consider as well that there are a million other moving parts that you need to pay attention to in order to not just run your business smoothly, but at the same time achieve the objectives of your organization. The big question now is “How can you effectively scale up your business as cost-efficiently as possible without sacrificing your company’s quality and standards?”
Are there actually options available out there that can help you do this?
This is where the beauty of offshoring comes in. Offshoring, in itself, is not an entirely new concept. In fact, it has been around for a few decades now. Offshoring simply means the relocation of a company’s specific business process or processes from one country to another. One of the first industries that has successfully adopted offshoring in its business model is the manufacturing industry. For example, a lot of manufacturing companies (the likes of Intel, AMD, Toyota, etc.) have established facilities outside their home countries in locations where there is an abundance of highly skilled, highly trainable and more cost-effective workforce. This has allowed these companies to grow their bottom line giving them the ability to further strengthen their core competencies and innovate the way that they did.
And so, how can you now take advantage of the benefits of offshoring in your own business? First of all, you don’t have to be a big company to think about offshoring. Whether your company is into real estate, construction, software development, eCommerce or whether you are newcomer or an established company, chances are there are some functions that can be easily offshored. Roles that do not require face-to-face, physical interactions such as back office support, administrative assistants, social media managers and other similar positions are perfect candidates for offshoring.
Secondly, offshoring parts of your operations allows you to scale up your business in ways not possible if you kept everything in-shore. In Australia, for example, the cost of labor alone is roughly 5x to 6x more expensive as compared to someone in the Philippines having relatively the same skillset. In addition, real estate space, utilities and other expenses come out to be drastically cheaper. For an Australian company who’s looking to grow, offshoring certain processes makes a lot of sense. This would directly translate to significant cost savings, which then allows the company certain flexibilities in the way they operate.
Thirdly, partnering with offshore staffing companies reduces a lot of the administrative headaches. Screening, hiring, onboarding, and day-to-day management activities that are both time consuming and cumbersome are essentially handled by the offshore entity. Not only does this give you a good way of managing costs but it also gives you the ability to scale up your operations much faster. If you are pressed for time on a particular project or business target, offshoring certainly is a viable option to consider. A typical staff onboarding process can take anywhere between 4 to 6 weeks essentially giving you the ability to rapidly react to changing market conditions. In addition, this frees up a lot of your own resources giving you more time to focus on things that require your attention more.
However, it will be completely remiss to think that offshoring is the golden answer to everything – well, in some cases it can be but, in most cases, it is not without its own set of challenges. Understanding, recognizing, and being cognizant of all these challenges is key to making offshoring work for you. And on this aspect, it is important to not only find a reputable offshoring partner but one with a flexible management team who will take the time to truly understand your business goals and support you in achieving them. As in anything in life, communication is key. Ensure that you have an open line to the offshoring entity’s management. Make sure that you clearly define what you are looking for from the very start and that both organizations understand each other’s expectations of each other. This is the very first step in making offshoring a success for you.
Offshoring certainly has a lot of benefits. It saves you money. It saves you time. It gives you a lot more resources to work with. It essentially provides you with a vehicle to scale up your business much faster and in a more efficient way. But the question is, is it for you? Well, the honest answer is - it depends. It depends on your goals, objectives and what you’re looking for. But it also depends on the offshoring company that you are talking to and their ability to cater to your needs. So, if you are seriously considering offshoring certain aspects of your operation, I encourage you to come and talk to us and see if 1625Tech could be a right fit for you and your organization.