What Is Outsourcing?

Outsourcing refers to a relationship in which an organisation contracts another company or person to perform a particular function which is usually regarded as a non-core business process or function.

As the market matures so more and more functions are being outsourced. Organisations are increasingly reviewing functions that can be performed more efficiently and therefore cost effectively by other providers specialising in that particular activity.

Outsourcing can take many forms, the most common of these include:

  • Accounting & finance functions
  • Payroll
  • Human resources  
  • IT outsourcing

Outsourcing can be delivered by suppliers operating in the country in which their client trades or can alternatively be provided by suppliers overseas, this is commonly referred to as off shoring. A variation on this is the recent move towards near shoring, which simply means sourcing to an overseas country that is geographically closer and similar in language and protocols, to the country in which the client trades for example, the Channel Islands near shore to the UK.

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