Remember the saying? Don't fix what's not broken? Well, when it comes to Outsourcing, that saying certainly applies but only partially. That's because Outsourcing may not be needed to fix a broken process or methodogy at your company, but it may be needed to save operational costs. So although something is not broken, the need has changed where a lower-cost option may be necessary for your business to be viable.

Having said that, companies considering outsourcing still need to know what they should outsource and why they are considering outsourcing before they go about outsourcing. That's because knowing your goals will help determine the success or failure your outsourcing venture.

More than 50% of outsourcing projects are deemed a failure because they either never achieve what they set out to or because they weren't fully defined and given the correct care, before and after.

So here are the why, what, hows to keep in mind when considering outsourcing:

• The Why: Why are you outsourcing? Are you outsourcing to get speed to market? Or is it that you need scalability and additional expertise that is not currently available in-house? Is it because you need globalization? Or is it simply just a cost savings initiative?
  
  
• The What: Are you outsourcing a particular department? Or is it that you are only outsourcing certain tasks from within one department. Is it a complete outsourced business unit? Is it an additional line of business that you will begin offering prospective customers and instead of developing it in-house, you are outsourcing it and buying it just to resell? 
  
  
• The How: How will you handle the day to day management of the outsourced relationship? How will you ensure communication channels remain open and processes are followed? Do you have service level agreements (SLA's) to manage performance? Will supplier provide monthly reports?
   
  

Once these are understood, understand one more thing. Outsourcing negotiations are important but have you negotiated a good deal which helps your vendor remain viable and still allows you to meet your financial objectives? Remember, you don't want your vendor going out of business because you were a tough negotiator.
 
The above reasons make it almost imperative that you have a third-party Outsourcing Advisor to help you with your project. These Third-Party Outsourcing Advisors can help you not only create a good relationship but also manage it and provide oversight to it over the long-term.
 
Outsourcing Advisors create a more level playing field between the outsourcing client and the outsourcing vendor. They also focus on keeping your company's interests at the forefront while keeping both parties honest.