11 Oct Famous examples of outsourcing – and what businesses can learn from them
There is no denying that outsourcing across the globe continues to grow as businesses realise the benefits of making use of top talent across the globe. According to Statista, the 2019 global outsourcing industry was worth about US$92.5 billion, and more recently, studies indicate a possible growth of up to US$114 billion by 2025!
This trend of making global talent part of projects and tasks not only saves companies on the cost of hiring additional in-house team members, but also gives them access to incredible talent that fit their business goals. From human resources, IT and copywriting to even industrial design, businesses today can truly cherry-pick their desired external contractors from worldwide professionals.
In today’s blog, we will be looking at some of the most famous examples of outsourcing across the globe – and what businesses can learn from them to scale their growth and stay competitive in their respective market.
Let’s take a look first at one of the largest companies in the world that has proven successful results by using outsourcing.
Google: A leading search engine in modern times
Google needs almost no introduction – just ask someone a question they do not know, and they will likely call up Google on their browser to find the information that they need. This incredible search engine is used by billions every day – in fact, it is estimated that there are about 5.6 billion searches performed daily on this platform.
So, how has outsourcing worked in this industry giant’s favour?
The answer is quite simple: as the business grew, it looked to cost-effective options to outsource tasks that didn’t need to be in-house necessarily. Some of these tasks that Google outsource include IT, Ad Words support and even temps.
A key lesson to learn from this world-famous business is that outsourcing can provide solutions to stay competitive through the use of global talent, while also saving on funds and making use of top talent to continue to deliver results that are expected from users. And considering the magnitude of searches and usages every day, Google definitely has the winning formula for its business.
Alibaba: A success story started with outsourcing
Another tech giant, Alibaba, showed how outsourcing can benefit companies during the early phases of getting a business started and market-ready. Initially, Alibaba founder, Jack Ma, outsourced his business’s website developments to American developers, as the skills he was looking for were not readily available in his country.
Today, Alibaba is a leading eCommerce provider, with a market share of 8.4% recorded in 2020.
What businesses can learn from Alibaba, is that outsourcing in the initial, start-up phases of a business can ensure that valuable time is not wasted trying to find talent. When there is a global talent pool that can provide the services needed to get your business off the ground, it is important to tap into that – it can provide the best foundation to help you build a solid business venture.
WhatsApp: Creating opportunities for connection
From family groups, live chats and image sharing to doing business, WhatsApp is a popular private messaging, instant interaction platform used by people across the globe.
This successful business – which by 2014 had over 600 million users and was acquired by Facebook that year for US$19 billion – also made use of outsourcing in their early phases by reaching out to top developers in Russia.
This allowed them to save costs while also focusing on their core tasks and growing their business.
A key learning in the WhatsApp story, is that when you have an exceptional digital product idea that will fit in with the needs of your specific target audience, you can turn it into a successful business venture when you bring in global skills to create a world-quality product.
Just imagine the possibilities: from small beginnings to world leader!
Upwork: A hub of freelancer activity
Looking at outsourcing providers, it is no secret that Upwork has made incredible inroads in enabling talent across the world to connect with top businesses, and vice versa.
Upwork is a phenomenal platform when it comes to providing professionals with the opportunity to work on projects for clients across the globe. On the other hand, it is a prime source for business owners to find contractors for long- or short-term projects, depending on their business goals.
The number of freelancers on Upwork was estimated in 2017 to be around 12 million, and the number of clients was about 5 million.
What businesses can learn from Upwork’s success is that outsourcing via a trusted partner can put you in touch with amazing talent and help you to grow your business by finding eager talent in the freelancer space. Thanks to rating, real-life reviews and proven expertise, companies can quickly discover the contractors that they need – and possibly build long-term relationships too.
Outsourcing: A global success story
The above examples of top businesses using outsourcing models show that whether businesses used these avenues to grow, build or enhance the scope of other businesses, they demonstrated how success can be achieved with global teams.
Considering how outsourcing can provide a cost-effective solution to business processes, it is truly a modern approach that will continue to benefit companies as they have more room to expand their business and create incredible value for their customers.
Are you considering outsourcing your product manufacturing to reduce costs, improve quality, and scale your business? Learn more about how Paraform can help you achieve your manufacturing outsourcing goals.