Subcontracting must be considered as an industrial strategy
How to subcontract efficiently ?
Now this is an interesting case of Collective Intelligence! How can you develop Collective Intelligence between two legally distinct entities – especially without interfering – while managing to create optimal efficiency to achieve deliverables, respect timelines, and exercise everyone’s accountability?
This topic is often key, particularly in large companies who frequently act as the “ordering customer.” Unfortunately, subcontracting as a strategy is often neglected in favor of subcontracting in a piecemeal fashion, insufficiently integrated in a global industrial strategy (no deep or global reflection on “make or buy”). For example:
- Subcontracting due to a spike in workload that lasts forever: the workload surge becomes a plateau!
- Subcontracted activities are too fragmented to afford autonomy to the third-party contractor, which should be the guardian of its responsibility to the deliverable and to the respect of the law;
- Obligatory subcontracting quotas that do not consider make or buy and the consequences of its evolution;
- And so on.
Too often, these insufficiencies lead to inefficiency, involuntary skill loss, and interference.
Subcontracting requires rigor if we hope to reach a good level of Collective Intelligence between the ordering customer and the third-party contractor. To that end, if we want to subcontract, there are a few points to focus on:
- Knowledge of legal elements: what do we have the right to do? What is forbidden?
- How can we combine legal requirements and industrial efficiency? Contrary to what you might think, the law supports this search for efficiency. How?
- Subcontracting and company strategy: asking the right questions, knowing the right criteria, and making good decisions.
- How do you formalize the specifications? What are the criteria for choosing the right third-party contractor? How do you formalize a subcontracting contract?
- How do you manage a subcontracted activity efficiently? How can you optimize the quality of interactions?
- How do you develop leadership with the third-party contractor/the ordering customer?
The question of subcontracting is fascinating because it is a real challenge for Collective Intelligence both prior to the action of subcontracting and during the execution of the outsourced activity. There is also one surprising aspect: contrary to what you might think at first glance, strict adherence for law encourages business efficiency!