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Is it worth outsourcing? And how? : Sometimes a company needs to subcontract to increase its financial or organisational capacity, or to find specialists who are not part of the company. We suggest that you take a look at the advantages and disadvantages of this practice to help you manage your business.

What is outsourcing?

Subcontracting is an operation in which a company, as a subcontractor, entrusts a third party, called a subcontractor, with the execution of all or part of a contract while remaining responsible.

The advantages of subcontracting

The first advantage of subcontracting for a company comes from the very definition of a subcontract. By delegating part of its tasks, it allows itself greater flexibility and access to elements that it may not have in-house, such as

•  Equipment ;
•  Skills ;
•  Technologies ;
•  Space;
•  Human resources.

As an example, let’s take a company that wins a large contract. It will therefore need more resources from time to time in order to fulfil the contract. The first choice is to hire more employees. But this may cost more than she will ultimately earn. Her second option is to outsource and thus have the required human resources at her disposal at a negotiable price. This will not put its profitability at risk in any way.

The disadvantages of subcontracting

However, subcontracting is not a miracle solution to a company’s problems. Indeed, a company that subcontracts regularly risks becoming dependent on its subcontractors. This can also affect the quality of the production or service delivered by the third party. Let us not forget that by entrusting part of its projects, a company also entrusts part of its image to its customers.

The solution here seems simple: introduce quality control and effective communication. However, there can always be shortcomings, as the company cannot always be at the bedside of its subcontractors. As the saying goes, you only get what you pay for.

To sum up, note that subcontracting presents the following risks:

•  Dependence on the subcontractor to a greater or lesser extent;
•  Lack of coordination;
•  Lack of sharing of know-how;
•  Lack of motivation on the part of the subcontractor to perform better;
•  The subcontractor bears full responsibility for any shortcomings or failures.

In conclusion, subcontracting remains a very advantageous option, but it must be used wisely by studying the issue each time and weighing up the advantages and disadvantages.