What is co-sourcing, who is it for and what are the benefits?

Co-sourcing is a way of partnering with an expert provider to share the location, support, maintenance and risk of business infrastructure technology and services, leaving you to focus on your core business activity. 

By partnering with a co-sourcing provider, you retain control and input rather than  that to a fully outsourced service. 

“Co-sourcing combines the advantages of outsourcing and insourcing as it provides access to external expertise without having to completely give up internal control over processes”

(Gross 2006)

Who is co-sourcing for?

You’re running a successful growing business, your staff numbers have expanded, your product or service has developed and been refined, and you’ve got the next growth phase in your sights. 

In order to succeed in achieving this growth, your business infrastructure needs to meet the unique requirements of your organisation at the exact stage of your business journey.

Accounts, HR and IT are the supporting foundation of a growing business.  But knowing how much time and the volume and type of resource to invest in each of these areas is like trying to find the right combination code for a padlock that has literally thousands of options.

Finding the right combination is critical to achieving your growth targets.  Get this wrong and you could jeopardise the entire future of your business. 

Co-sourcing is a balancing act, extracting the best of in-sourced and outsourced support and combining them in a way that’s bespoke to your business.  Experts with extensive experience calculate the balance of support that’s right for your specific circumstances. 

What are the benefits of co-sourcing? 

• Improve operational efficiency and reduce unnecessary cost
  Drawing on the experience of an expert, to identify and prioritise support and advise on the exact combination of in-sourced and outsourced support required.

• An agile approach to business infrastructure
  Upscale or downscale support at any point in response to internal or external changes.

• Improve business focus
  Remove the distraction of business infrastructure and focus on what you do best, your core offering.

• Access capabilities and technology you don’t have
  Remove the need to invest in expensive technology and new capabilities, as well as the inevitable time pressure to role out new initiatives by accessing relevant capabilities and technology via your co-sourcing provider.