Case Studies on Successful Outsourcing Ventures by Companies
In the world of industries, case studies are a staple and a solid instrument. They are actual, i.e. focused on real events, and thus serve as a great resource for people and companies alike to learn. Case studies divide things into a clear blueprint: realistic problems, personalized solutions and concrete outcomes.
In this post, we bring you the case studies of the committed remote outsourcing team every organization and outsourcing enthusiast must know about. So grab your cup of coffee and keep on reading.
Effective case studies in software outsourcing that you may benefit from
Firms and staff have been operating remotely since the COVID-19 pandemic outburst back in March last year. Around 16 million employees began to work from home inside the U.S. itself. The Gartner CFO survey found out that nearly three out of four CFOs expect to shift at least 5% of previous on-site workers to permanently remote post-COVID-19 positions. The strong visibility of the increased number of effective case studies on outsourcing has since risen. The value of remote work and outsourcing during emergencies like this has already been recognized by business owners.
Nearly 75 percent of firms outsource IT services, according to the report, while 87 percent plan to do so. Since there is a technological talent shortage, outsourcing is becoming more attractive. It also solves many problems, such as reducing the cost of software development, finding the specialists required, business intelligence, development, services centered on the cloud, website building, etc. One of the most effective outsourcing case studies is some of the businesses mentioned below. Take a look at how they expand their companies and outperform rivals by the use of remote teams on the global market.
Whatsapp
The core growth, particularly iOS development, was outsourced by the most popular messaging app with more than 1.6 billion users, outranking Facebook Messenger at 1.3 billion, and WeChat at 1.1 billion.
Ironically, Whattsapp was founded back in 2009 by Brian Acton and Jan Koum after they were rejected by Facebook. They hired a professional team from Eastern Europe to develop all the core development issues, because they wanted to minimize the costs. The project successfully took off and took them to the top ranks on App Store, Google Play.
Alibaba
In 1999, Jack Ma began, the Chinese multinational eCommerce technology conglomerate rose when businesses were increasingly using customer relations websites. The company outsourced U.S. developers to build its website that would appeal to local and international clients, especially those in English-speaking countries. The reason why Alibaba is so popular is the brilliant idea of outsourcing to an English-speaking team instead of only translating words to localize the online content. The thought took the status of Jack Ma and the global sales that they are today to Alibaba.
Slack
No one thought it would be a team collaboration tool when Slack first began its company, which attracted 10 million users as of now. Within a browser, it was like an Internet Relay Chat (IRC), and perhaps only a few people are left who know what the early version looked like. Slack turned out to be the most popular one among several similar systems. To boost the user experience, Slack hired an outsourcing team to (UX). Its unique selling point is Slack’s UX. To revamp the app, logo, and commercial website, the outsourcing team came up with the general design idea.
GITHUB
The American multinational company, which has been a Microsoft affiliate since 2018, offers software creation and version control hosting. There’s no developer of software who doesn’t know about Git. For version control, bug tracking, source code management, forty million Git users use the website. It was written in the Ruby on Rails system when it was created, but soon it became apparent that the solution was in great need of individuals who were extremely proficient in Git itself. Scott Chacon was the professional who was working as an outsourced presence behind the project. He was the perfect piece that allowed Git to be as it is now.
UNILEVER
In 2005, Unilever faced the need to combine numerous ERPs across its sphere, with approximately 200,000 workers worldwide and soon extending operations to dozens of countries. They want processes to be expanded and simplified, and they decided against outsourcing because they are a non-tech business. For a business like Unilever, an ERP system integration project is essential. If Unilever would have hired a full-time IT engineer, it would have been a waste of money and training time. It would have been counterproductive to the internal focus of the business. Implementation of the ERP solution is no simple task. As of now, thanks to the ERP system production outsourcing decision, Unilever’s operations are running smoothly.
SKYPE
Did you know that back in 2003, Skype’s creators outsourced to Estonian professionals who carried out the back-end production of the platform? What we know and use today was created by these professionals. The features of video chat, instant messaging, and file transmission make Skype one of the pioneers of telecommunications applications. Skype was acquired by eBay for $2.5 billion in just two years, and by Microsoft for $8.5 billion in 2011. This story is an inspiration for the IT talent pool in Eastern Europe and has attracted attention to it.
What have they got in common?
If you read and study similar business case studies on IT outsourcing, they all have something in common, even though they are different. You see, many businesses use IT outsourcing to address capacity problems, minimize costs while keeping a focus on their business goals, or fulfill the need for specialized expertise.
Ending-Note
A proper strategic IT partner is also the key to your success. The critical mind who knows what your company is exactly looking for because they have the same mentality and have the same strategy as you have can result in creation of not only a profitable business, but also long-term business relationships.
Web Analysis, Data Mining, Facilities for data extraction
Overview of Clients
The client is an award-winning media company which provides international real estate industry news and market information. Every month, more than 35,000 customers visit the website of their company to stay up to date with the latest news and business situation. These clients come from America, the United Kingdom, Europe, Asia, Africa and other nations.
The Challenges
The client was trying to get contact information obtained from different websites from real estate agents. The client already had an online form or request for content management with the names and addresses of UK real estate agents. They now needed the location, phone number and email address of their website obtained using web research services.
The key challenge was to find correct website of company and then cross-check the company name and address from the existing database before completing requested fields. There were about 14,000+ agents to lookup.
Solutions
As the turnaround time was the customer’s primary concern, a separate team was built comprising of web analysis experts for project completion with full precision and within time. Also a team was delegated with a Project Manager on top so that the relationship between the client and the team members could be stronger.
To ensure optimum precision, every record completed by the execution team was verified by the QA team. As a result, some duplicate agents were found in the current client database and a list was prepared of such records and sent to the client. The client truly appreciated this action.
Completion
Finally, the client acquired a database of specific records with detailed contact details for officers. The customer was very pleased with the speed of implementation. Some of the direct outsourcing benefits, such as access to specialist expertise with lower labor costs, decreased overhead costs, full operational control, improved efficiency and versatility of personnel as and where necessary, benefitted the customer the most.
Management of records, capture of data, indexing, storage and retrieval
Overview of Clients
The customer is a record management systems and services provider. They have been in the company for the last 15 years and have represented many multinational businesses or organizations of all sizes. They assist businesses by combining the record management solution with a range of applications to achieve greater productivity and competitiveness.
The Challenges
The customer has a new business opportunity to print, search and collect data from handwritten forms (uppercase in boxes, prepared for ICR). They also chose to do in-house printing and scanning of documents for better control. They approached for data capture or indexing work after completing the print and scan process. The main challenge was to process 20K documents with the highest degree of accuracy per week. The turnaround time was fixed because, for a retail network in Italy, these handwritten forms were necessary.
Solutions
As a consequence, a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) was signed before beginning the project to gain their trust. The customer was worried about data privacy and confidentiality. An experienced and trained team of data entry operators were appointed for the client’s account for efficient project execution after completion of business formalities.
The documents were received via ftp weekly in pdf (or tiff) format and the performance results were delivered to them weekly in CSV files. A checklist was prepared to minimize error rates and supplied it to each member of the team. The QA team also reviewed each file to ensure optimum quality before shipping it to the customer.
Completion
The client improved its productivity and turnaround time by using the document management services. They have also received several compliments and new company orders from their happy clients. The big advantage of outsourcing was the lower labor cost and it eliminated 60% of in-house expenses. The customer concentrated on core business operations and strengthened their virtual business by leaving behind the production headaches.
In Excel Spreadsheet Product Data Entry, Catalog Data Entry
Overview of Clients
The customer is Canada’s leading online auto parts shop with more than 10 years of experience in the retailing of car parts and more than 30 years of experience in the remanufacturing of auto parts. They aim to deliver unbeatable rates and the industry’s most friendly customer service. Provide highly tailored service to ensure fully happy customers.
The Challenges
The client wanted to enter data from digital (PDF) catalogs of various manufacturers or suppliers into spreadsheets or product information data collection. They were also looking for full graphic support before uploading them to the online store to improve, crop and resize product images. The main challenge was to match the level of pace and precision already set by the onshore team and the task was to be executed at the shortest possible time. This was particularly difficult because any project at the initial stage has a learning curve, which really takes time.
Solutions
Some of the best talent from existing departments were picked up to expedite the process at the shortest possible time and placed them on training sessions to adequately understand the customer requirements. In addition, to strengthen the liaison channel between client and the team members, an accomplished project manager was appointed. The pace and accuracy standard set matched with the onshore team of the client within 15 days. The client was very grateful with this unbelievable accomplishment in shortest time and wanted to increase team size.
Completion
A database of approximately 2,30,000 SKUs has been filled and more than one million images processed. E-commerce data entry experts have entered information related to products into excel spreadsheets and distributed in various batches through FTP. With assistance, the operating efficiency of the client improved dramatically and they moved their onshore workers to concentrate on core business operations. The sales conversion metrics of customers have improved dramatically because their online shop has extensive product details with quality images.
Image Background Elimination, Photo Cutout, Clipping Route Services
Overview of Clients
A multinational distributor of electrical parts and components is the consumer. They have been serving clients for the last 45 years with the aim of delivering high-quality goods at great prices. They have a wide range of units for the replacement markets of outdoor power, agriculture, manufacturing, on-highway vehicle, automotive, light truck, marine and power sports (motorcycle, ATV, UTV, & PWC).
The Challenges
The customer wanted to delete picture history, photo cutouts and services for the clipping route because they were clear that raw product images are not good to place directly on the online store as it could have a negative impact on consumers. Except that, they wanted to speed up the process in order to clear all available backlogs in hand. The main challenge was to reach a fast turnaround period of 24 to 48 hours. The workload determined by the client was initially 400-500 photos per day.
Solutions
For this ongoing project, a team of five dedicated photo editors were appointed to support the customers. With Photoshop tools and advanced options, all photo editors were experienced and highly trained. Also a client FTP login was setup to allow them to quickly transfer files or upload/download images without any delay.
To respond to questions, emails and tweets, a team leader regularly came into contact with the customers. With excellent customer service offered to the client, the whole project was handled with utmost precision and improved the value of product images to their satisfaction.
Completion
Because of the fast turnaround and international quality standards, and the trusted image of the outsourced company, picture cutouts and clipping route services, the client increased the daily workload to up to 1000 images per day.
Some of the direct outsourcing benefits, such as access to specialist expertise with lower labor costs, decreased overhead costs, full operational control, improved efficiency and versatility of personnel as necessary, benefitted the customer.
Enhancement of images, Photo Retouching Facilities
Overview of Clients
The client is a group of photographers who are extremely talented and imaginative. They have huge experience in photojournalism, motherhood, marriage and fashion that produces a style of imagery that is exclusive to each of their customers. To elicit emotions and catch thrilling moments and enjoyable encounters, they do photography.
The Challenges
As the client is a team of photographers, who are put up on various locations on the same day, and they also carry out the photo sessions of several individuals. The customer was very busy with photography activities and did not have time to retouch or improve the captured images. At this point, they agreed to outsource photo retouching and enhancement work so that their customers could increase their delivery time. Obviously, fast turnaround time with special care for quality was the main challenge. They also required skilled photo editors that could handle different forms of editing because each photo asked for special modifications.
Solutions
As the customer was worried about turnaround time and outcome consistency, some of the best photo editors or graphic editors were selected. The team contacted the customer directly via email and Skype to receive quick feedback on the job to be completed. They also initially requested for customer recommendations to enhance the quality of processed images. To offer enhanced or retouched images to clients, a secured FTP server was setup. In addition, some ideas were proposed by the team to enhance the quality of the processed images in front of the client. Many of the photographers working with the group loved these ideas.
Completion
With the assistance of the dedicated photo editors, the customer was able to concentrate on additional new business leads. The client received several compliments from their clients for the fast turnaround and the performance with quality results. More than 1200 images were generated for the client every day.
Via the method of outsourcing, customers successfully increased their sales conversions. By improving service standards, increasing productivity, saving on infrastructure and providing flexibility for staffing, the client also enjoyed reduction in customer complaints.
JXT- How a dedicated team built 500+ websites in just five years
In Australia, JXT is a leading digital marketing service provider for recruiters. With its custom CMS (Content Management System) for creating websites for its customers, the company leads the industry. As JXT went forward with its expansion plans, expanding its in-house team of developers was its first strategy. There were a variety of obstacles, however, that the company faced along the way.
Significant challenges
• Lack of the right talent
• With heavy investment, the right talent came in
• Increased overhead costs by in-house hires
• Freelancing lacked continuity
• Employee Retention
Solution
In just five years, a diligent and devoted remote team at Uplers was able to help JXT produce over 500 websites. JXT is now the #1 provider of digital marketing solutions for recruiters in Australia. The committed model has helped JXT scale up its business and is currently expanding its business in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada.
Racenet’s Organic Journey on Google to Top 3 Rankings
Racenet is the leading horse racing destination in Australia, offering the latest in coverage, form guides, tips, statistics and tools to help punters bring more winners back. Since its establishment in 1998, Racenet has been the premier online platform for Australian horse racing.
Racenet joined Uplers with the goal of enhancing their PA (page authority), DA (domain authority) and DRR (domain rating). The primary goal was to improve keyword rankings for targeted keywords. In order to be rated well for specific keywords, Racenet also decided to get as many authority ties as possible.
Solution
Uplers worked on a plan to target particular keywords as an anchor text for the corresponding landing pages after evaluating Racenet’s website output on various parameters. Uplers began working in the direction of improving the rankings of the targeted keywords until the keywords were rated for the respective landing pages.
Outcome
1. A whopping month-on-month spike in their website traffic of more than 400 percent.
2. Within just 12 months, more than 192 authority links were secured.
3. This caused Racenet to be noticeable and secured the first three places in the top search queries.
4. A major increase in the amount of PA (Page Authority) and DRR (Domain Rating).
