Co-Sourcing is a process wherein a function or a task is not completely outsourced, but is instead kept partially within the domain of the company & partially handed over to an external vendor. Every company seeks today a certain control of all its departments & functions so as to keep a check on the performance levels & also retain the knowledge & experience gained by carrying out those functions. As a result, thee quality of the performance, transparency of the process are much monitored than in the case of out sourcing where the entire function is being offered to the business partner.
Another important facet of co-sourcing is the retention of the knowledge within the company in spite of involving a third party in the operations. It therefore paves the way for innovations & improvisations which are in the sync with the organisations's philosophy & culture.The quality of the output is more under control in a co-sourcing environment.
It is equally importance to understand the co-sourcing is not a magic solution & cannot work out in all cases.
Co-sourcing is always a preferred option if a customer has cost fixed time projects or developments. In this case, the culture, processes, team performance etc would be controlled by In-house team. Once the project is over, teams are thereby dismantled.
In comparison, out sourcing is more long term in approach. Here the customer can avail benefits of not having to invest i new infrastructure, people etc. Out sourcing is considered moreover of a cost saving measure & a long term strategy of a buyer organisations as they save on price arbitrage for their highly technology intensive work.