Selection of an Engineering Services Outsourcing Partner

Selecting an ESO (Engineering Services Outsourcing) Partner is an important aspect to look upon while reviewing outsourcing strategy for the optimum growth of any business. The whole process requires substantial knowledge and diligence before being steered to finalisation of the business deal. Also, the competition in the market in almost every segment has grown exponentially over past few years. As a result, scrutiny of the business requirements and partners’ qualifications has become even more essential. Moreover, the selection of ESO partner(s) is paramount for the business sustenance and profit making.

Companies need to adopt a refined approach and should also keep in mind all the necessary business deliverables while selecting supplier(s). In particular, it becomes even more important when the option of outsourcing business to offshore companies is being considered by top bosses. In this context, before the implementation of offshore outsourcing, a number of things have to be considered minutely, such as cultural differences, language barriers and understanding of objectives. Another altogether different challenge faced by companies revolves around consideration of multiple suppliers for handling different business units. Notably, even though many suppliers offer an array of services, it is typically hard to find every solution under one umbrella. Thus, if a company wants to outsource several services, it might need to deal effectively with the management of multiple suppliers.

Engineering Services Outsourcing (ESO) has become highly fragmented as more and more companies are willing to outsource their business for profitability and efficient delivery. Such companies are eager to make a deal with supplier(s) that can handle various business units and services. Therefore, there is a requirement of dedicated approach towards integration of outsourcing functions and metric based assessment of performance. Furthermore, while deciding to outsource business, it is also very important to analyse market to find out mature and capable suppliers. Adopting such measures will help to ensure long term improvement and success of various outsourced businesses.

While choosing a supplier to handle the outsourced business, it is imperative to evaluate their qualifications, ability to provide industry expertise and past performance. For high end services, it might be even customary for the outsource service providers to have specific certifications. The supplier selection should be more oriented towards meeting business expectations, quality adherence and compliance. Companies also need to have a thorough understanding of the cost structure and ramp plan of suppliers. In this respect, the ESO partner must have ample resources and infrastructure to handle initial transition of business and subsequent timely deliveries.

To summarise, some key characteristics that organisations expect from their ESO partners include: