Outsourcing 3.0
Over the last few years small businesses have been engaged primarily in two forms of over seas outsourcing. The first type of outsourcing to hit the seen in a big way was the outsourcing of programming and web development. Initially India was the destination of choice but soon after countries like Russia, Pakistan, Ukraine, Romania and others began to offer competition in the bottom dollar programming market.
The next advance in outsourcing has been the outsourcing of products to factories in China. Medium and Large sized companies have been outsourcing there products to China for years. Companies like Wal-Mart depend on China for the majority of their products. For these reasons China has become known as “the world’s factory.”
Small businesses are now learning that there are advantages of following in the footsteps of the big boys and more and more American entrepreneurs are catching flights to China to shop factories for the best possible deal.
The latest development in outsourcing is the development of engineering projects, and once again Indian firms have been the first to land on the scene in a big way. So if you have an idea for a doohickey the requires electrical, mechanical, or some other form of engineering, one option is to outsource the prototype design oversees. Once you have a working prototype you’ll have to consider your options and figure out the best location to mass produce you’re your masterpiece.
Beware that while outsourcing can offer cost saving advantages it can also offer significant pitfalls. Before you attempt to outsource any work oversees you owe it to yourself to do your research before hand, and to watch your step through every step of the production cycle.
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