Three most important things you need to know about outsourcing close to home

R&D Efficiency

Nearshoring means outsourcing operations to a nearby country. This is often an intelligent business strategy, but how do you take the most out of it? Etteplan Poland’s Sales Director Tomasz Badowski points out three critical things when nearshoring.

1. What is my outsourcing strategy going to be?

The host company can utilize nearshoring services through different strategies depending on e.g. how mission critical the outsourced tasks are and how much direct control the host company wants to have.

The easiest way is to outsource workforce to do basic level tasks and supervise the work yourself. You can also have a model which delegates a bit further by giving workforce supervision responsibilities to your outsourcing partner.

You can also acquire expertise to take care of the company’s core operations by e.g. establishing a competence centre. At its best, the outsourcing relationship grows into strategic cooperation where the partner takes responsibility of critical projects or tasks.

"Usually the cooperation starts with simpler and more straightforward models. When mutual trust grows, it is possible to engage in strategic cooperation," says Badowski.

2. It takes careful consideration to find the right kind of partner

Choosing the right partner is one of the most crucial factors in successful nearshoring. "For example, many Polish companies offer outsourcing services without having much experience. This can be a significant risk to the client," Badowski says.

A good partner has the right kind of processes and tools for providing outsourcing services. This is a basic requirement, without which cooperation can turn out to be a very laborious undertaking.

According to Badowski, it is also important to check that the nearshoring partner has a good local partner network of their own. This makes it easy to acquire additional local services when needed.

3. Choose the right way of working

There are many ways to engage in nearshoring cooperation. The host company may need the contribution of just one employee or engage a large team to handle a bigger chunk of operations. Badowski tells that some clients have contracted e.g. whole agile teams for projects.

Sometimes the work is defined as a blanket project where the partner oversees the whole undertaking including budget and scheduling. In some cases, the partner provides continuous services.

"One element of success is having the ability to choose the correct process and method according to the task or project at hand," Badowski advises.

Read More about Etteplan’s Nearshoring services: Nearshoring yields surprising benefits – Four advantages you may not have realized