"Outsourcing" is a relatively new word used to describe what is essentially an old concept: one company contracts with another company to perform some type of service.  What is new today is the depth and range of activities a company will consider outsourcing.  This centers on how a company defines the "core elements" of their business. In extreme cases that could mean just marketing a product that is designed, created and distributed by other businesses.  Most companies in today's market will define their "core elements" in a much broader sense but will still examine the activities needed to run their business and where economy of scale or depth of expertise indicate a better return on investment, they consider outsourcing. The traditional concept, however, is that you outsource the overflow created by peak requirements or special projects.  ICC Services is prepared to work with you on whatever approach is right for your company and asks you to consider the following circumstances.

PEAKS & VALLEYS

"Just In Time" - a revolutionary concept that has saved millions of dollars and more than a few businesses. Works well with many types of resources - including, under the right circumstances, people. The right people at just the right time, what a concept!  When it comes to the paper work flow central to this age of information, the problem is the way that flow fluctuates.There are a number of ways companies can deal with these wide swings in the people resources required. They can, for example, absorb the cost of downtime when there is too little work. (Paying people not to work!) And, at the other extreme, pay for the overtime when there is too much. But "getting the job done, whatever it takes" can have "hidden" costs.

THE HIDDEN COST OF OVERTIME
	The problem with overtime is that the people working it are usually less productive than they normally would be and you are paying a premium price for that lower performance. And it won't take long for that overtime to lead to a fatigue factor where productivity goes down across the entire day. You pay more and more to get less and less.

TEMPORARY HELP

Okay, so you decide to bring in the "temps"; that can be useful in many situations but production data entry may not be one of them. These people may be very good operators but keyboarding skill is just one factor in what should be considered.  There will be the expense of training them on your equipment; your software and your particular applications.  Plus the cost of the time it will take them to reach their best level of performance.  Those hidden cost factors will add at least 25% to the hourly rate you pay the agency - and that assumes you have an effective production control system.  Ask us about our "virtual temps". You train us once and we are available any time you need a temporary operator without worrying about someone showing up or being the same operator or operators you first trained.

THE BROKER

And so, having considered all of these issues, you decide to try a data entry service bureau. As we said at the top, some companies define their company's "core element" to be marketing.  There are more than a few companies calling themselves "service bureaus" but who have no actual operators of their own. In reality, these "companies" are really just "Brokers". They may or may not have any data entry expertise of their own but they do know what country has the lowest price. Their profit comes in between the price they charge you and what they actually have to pay. How comfortable does that make you feel?

THE SOLUTION

Whether you are managing your staffing requirements or considering outsourcing all of your data conversion needs to a specialist, make sure that the data going into your computers will result in the accurate information you need to run your business. Contact ICC Services for a complete needs assessment.  If you would like to make some preliminary cost comparisons, go to our Cost Calculator page.  Several "fill-in-the-blanks" forms are available.  You can get a look at the cost effectivness of hiring just one operator compared to contracting with ICC Services; consider the true cost of bringing in a "temp".  Or examine the detailed budget of a total department.  We're sure you'll find ICC Services to be your best solution.