Outsourcing as Party Braker

Outsourcing is usually contracting out of a business function – sales, production…, that was previously performed in company to an external provider. The idea of outsourcing is to help the firms to perform well where they are the best – in their core business, and to dislocate business areas where they are not the best. In other words outsourcing is often used by many companies for profit maximization, staying concentrated on core business, to make business more efficient and etc.

One aspect of outsourcing is very often neglected. Information flow!

Have you included reporting discipline and quality in contract? What kind of information feed will be provided to your core business if you outsource certain competencies.

Have you provided specification for reporting quality to your vendors?

Vendors are obligated usually to processes in contract but not to reports.  They are only nominally reporting to contractor. Vendors might even engage their subcontractors; subcontractors hire their subcontractors and so on. They are all concentrated on actions but how shall this actions be recorded in satisfying way for ordering partner? It will be poorly recorded. Reports will not be detailed and if reporting is not explicitly defined and placed in contract… do not expect quality feed for your Data Warehouse and Business Intelligence.

An example, if company core business is production of gadgets and providing services of equipment (gadgets) and if local area provider does not send on time reports about sold, serviced or implemented gadgets but sends periodical reports with doubtful quality… How can be made new marketing product for specific niche? Only by estimation, not through business intelligence. 

Outsourcing is absolutely the best way to stay without reports and performance monitoring, to stay without quality information and competitive intelligence.

Sorry, I did not here you, what does your marketing need for new products and for monitoring of current reports? Detailed reports?