In Part I we went through the first 3 benefits generated by outsourcing of supply chain activities:

–          Competency

–          Value-added service

–          Economy of scale

In Part II we shall look through other three benefits, applicable in supply chain.

4. Short-term project

When a company identifies an opportunity for growth or change, it starts a project to grasp this opportunity. Sometimes short-term projects lead to significant improvements in the organization. And usually the company does not have human resources to accomplish such projects as they require maximum efforts in short time. Having outsourced agent helps the company to grow.

Every industry is specific but the supply chain rules are identical. The outsourced agent can give fresh ideas and can fulfill the project with better results because he/she has passed through other companies’ projects and has the experience and knowledge for successful achievements.

5. Temporary replacement in supply chain

Life is colorful and when it’s shiny for the employee (like maternity) it appears a problem for the employer. The outsourced agent can easily and fast get into your employees’ shoes and can deliver results faster than if you hire a new person, train him/her and after that release him/her because the titular has come back to work. Or if an employee is ill for longer period, it’s difficult to allocate all his/her tasks to the rest employees and these tasks to be completed with excellent quality. Here the outsourced agent can help by fully replacing your employee until he/she recovers.

6. Tough decisions

Sometimes employers are in a situation when they are not happy with the performance of Supply chain department but they are afraid to make changes because they think that:

a)      Industry is very specific and it’s impossible to find replacement

b)      The company is in a region with limited qualified personnel

c)      There is nothing to be done for improvement of the situation

In order to get out of these traps, the easiest way is to hire an outsourced agent who will:

a)      Bring knowledge to your company

b)      Bring experience to your company

c)      Bring supply chain process optimization

d)      Show you that there are no irreplaceable people

e)     Show you options how Supply chain department should be lead in order to achieve the company requirement

f)      Train your employees

As summary, there are plenty of options to outsource supply chain activities. There are plenty reasons why to do it – here we listed only the 6 most important.

It’s worth to try – the results will amaze you.