Let’s Start with a Scenario
Picture this, you’re sitting at your desk finalizing the Technical Progress Summary reports and your boss’s head pops-up above the cube wall; they have a request, “We need to reduce scrap rates on the turboencabulator line by 30% before year end and it needs to leverage the new flux capacitor technology everyone is talking about”. Since you’re a good engineer (and at the moment your mind is focused on the current task) you say “yep, I’ll get on it”.
Once you get a chance to actually think about the request, you realize you’re in design, not manufacturing, and no one in the company has even seen a flux capacitor or thought about how it might it work with the turboencabulator’s cosine-wave inverter. Not to mention you still need to launch the Blinkenlight Box v2.0 by Q3 so it can hit the Q1 seasonal endcap and that project is taking-up 80% of your time.
Sound familiar? Don’t worry, you’re not alone.
Deciding on a Path Forward
When faced with a new challenge involving unfamiliar technology, tight timelines, and resource constraints you have some options. You could start the new project now, in parallel with existing work, you’ve got 20% capacity and should be able to fit it in. Maybe push off the task to a different team. Since no one in the company has worked with this technology, you could hire a couple of engineers and create a new team to handle it. While all potential options, there are two problems common themes with all of the options. First, they all fall into the category of “Not Invented Here” Syndrome solutions (a topic for a future post) and second, they all come with trade-offs. This is where outsourcing can give your team and company the advantage.
What Outsourcing Can Do For You
Outsourcing specific engineering tasks or entire projects has become an increasingly popular option that help minimize project trade-offs and provides multiple benefits to your company and internal teams. Partnering with Arrow Engineered Systems, Ltd. will give your next project the advantage through:
- Increased Efficiency: Focus on your core competencies while experts handle the rest. By outsourcing non-core tasks, you can free up your in-house team to focus on strategic initiatives and innovation.
- Cost-Saving Services: Outsourcing can significantly reduce overhead costs and labor expenses. For example, you can avoid the costs of hiring and training new engineers, as well as providing benefits like health insurance and retirement plans.
- Access to Specialized Expertise: Gain access to specialized skills and knowledge that may be difficult to find in-house. We’re the expert so you don’t have to be.
- Expanded Supply Base: We have developed a large network of suppliers with a wide range of capabilities that enable us to design and build to your unique requirements.
The Bottom Line
Outsourcing your engineering work and projects will be a game-changer for your company by improving efficiency, reducing costs, and giving your company a competitive technical advantage. So the next time your boss shows up asking for the next best thing, consider partnering with Arrow Engineered Systems, Ltd. to deliver results and exceed expectations.