You’ve come up with an idea for a new product or an improvement to an existing one. The question is, who should develop it for you? If you already have an internal team, you may think the answer is simple. However, there is more to this decision than there may appear to be on the surface.

Lower Overhead

Many in-house product development teams are overextended. Not that more work is a bad thing. After all, more ideas translate into new and improved products and increased sales. The downside is that new ideas bring shifting priorities, which often lead to overtasked and frustrated employees.

Hiring new staff to spread out the load is expensive. Salary, health insurance, vacation time, sick leave, retirement benefits, and training are just a few of the many factors that go into the total cost of a new employee. Also, to do their job, additional employees need more computers, software licenses, and other equipment, which similarly drives up your overhead.

When you outsource product design services, you eliminate these added expenses and only pay for the work performed.

Decrease Time to Market

A backlog of projects, intracompany power struggles, and employee turnover are some examples of the multitude of things that can delay a project. When you outsource product design to a team dedicated to bringing your idea to life, you eliminate these concerns. Also, external resources are uniquely positioned to identify potential problems at each step of the process and to use their expertise to work through them before they can derail the project. When you outsource, the only agenda is for your product to be flawlessly designed, thoroughly tested, and capably sourced on-time and on-budget.

Get Better Results

A fresh perspective also gives you better results. External designers have diverse viewpoints and innovative ideas that can bring surprising improvements to your product design. As outsiders, they tend to ask questions that those most familiar with the product might not even consider. Seeing likely problems and finding hidden potential is a win for everyone.

Improve Accountability

Inhouse design teams have a host of internal pressures on them. Shifting priorities, company politics, and unbalanced skill levels are not always conducive to creating solid designs quickly. An overextended staff may feel pressured to rush the process. Too often, a combination of these factors negatively affects quality. They also make it harder to pinpoint the reason for any issues that arise later in the process. When you outsource product design and development, it’s clear who to hold accountable. There’s only one call to make.

Outsourcing to increase the bottom line

The savings from outsourcing product design come from a variety of areas.

• Lower overhead costs translate into higher profit margins
• A decreased time to market generates more sales, sooner
• A fresh perspective uncovers potential flaws as well as improvements that add value
• Direct accountability means tighter quality control and fewer production issues

When you’re ready to develop your next project, consider all your options including outsourcing to reduce your costs.

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