Multisourcing is an approach to outsourcing that involves determination of what range of activities within a given area are kept in-house and which are outsourced to various services. This strategy often creates a hybrid method of dealing with such important business functions as accounting, IT services and even customer care. Sometimes referred to as selective sourcing, multisourcing makes it possible to identify the ideal combination of utilizing resources within the company while also having access to key resources outside the business.
One common approach to multisourcing can be found with financial functions relevant to the company operation. In this application, a business may choose to outsource payroll and the accompanying tax reporting functions to a service, while choosing to keep customer invoicing and the receipt and posting of payments on those invoices in the hand of a smaller accounting team. This combination makes it possible to keep the expenses associated with all the functions within a range considered equitable by the company, while still making sure that all tasks associated with those functions are completed in a timely manner.
Another approach to multisourcing may involve the creation of a more comprehensive sales approach. For example, the company may choose to outsource telemarketing tasks to a professional service, which in turn generates qualified leads for in-house salespeople to pursue. This model allows full-time salespeople to focus attention on leads that are already verified rather than engaging in cold-calling and other methods used to generate leads, increasing the opportunity to close new deals and create additional revenue streams for the company. The company enjoys the benefits of lead generation at a lower cost, while the internal sales team gets to focus on what they do best rather than devoting time and resources to laying the groundwork for the sales effort.
In any application, the idea behind successfully using multisourcing is to create a balance between business tasks that are performed in house and those that are outsourced to qualified providers. Creating the right mix involves assessing the costs associated with each function, weighing the benefits of outsourcing versus keeping those functions in house, and ultimately selecting for outsourcing any function that can be managed efficiently by an outside provider and trim the costs of operation for the business. This approach may take some trial and error to identify the ideal combination, but ultimately can mean lower operating costs without sacrificing quality and efficiency.
