The market for outsourcing software manufacturing and content
management has evolved as companies have increasingly sought to outsource critical non-core
functions so that they can focus on their core competencies. In the early phase of
outsourcing, companies contracted with third-party manufacturers to perform basic production
and fulfillment processes. More recently, market demands for increased productivity and
responsiveness to complex customer needs have led companies to outsource additional business
processes to external providers whose core competencies include those processes.
Technology companies, in particular, have begun to see the outsource provider
as a partner who is involved in the solution from design through supply chain management,
fulfillment, and customer care. This extended supply chain includes e-Commerce support
services and order management at the front end and customer care, financial transaction
management, and reporting at the back end. The goal is to link supply and demand as closely
as possible in order to reduce costs, minimize business risk, and better meet client
expectations for performance and quality. In performing multiple steps of the extended
supply chain for its clients, the outsource provider can expand its role from that of a
contractor supplying products on a transactional basis to that of a business partner whose
services help the client achieve its strategic objectives.
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