Strong Process Orientation For Ongoing Project Sustenance

Published Date: 02 Nov 2017

The last few years have witnessed a tactical shift in engineering services outsourcing (ESO) from mere operational control to a more strategy oriented approach. ESO is radically different from typical software outsourcing engagements in that it is more complex and requires long-term time, expertise, and resource commitment. Forward looking engineering companies seek strategic partnerships to leverage domain skills, process capabilities, and quicker turnarounds to scale their operations and cater to differentiated customer requirements. Given that most engineering firms operating in the aerospace, wind energy, water, and automotive industries work on long-term contracts spread across multiple locations and disciplines, collaboration and co-partnership emerge as the hallmark in all ESO projects.

The advantages of collaborative models of outsourcing can be realized by engaging with a partner who comes with the requisite skills and expertise in product development, program and project management, and organizational strategy and approach. By entering into strategic relationships with the right partner, organizations can garner innovation and process orientation in their engineering projects and achieve tangible benefits of cost optimization, access to a wider talent pool, and business continuity leading to an improved bottom line.

This white paper attempts to establish the importance and relevance of close collaboration that is one key differentiator driving the success or failure of mission critical engineering projects. It also seeks to succinctly present the inherent capabilities and experience that QuEST as a global engineering firm brings to the table.

Engineering Services Outsourcing (ESO) - shifting paradigms towards collaborative partnering

Engineering outsourcing today has become more mature, with innovation driving the dynamics of every strategic outsourcing partnership. Newer trends in technology are impacting the way organizations are conducting their core businesses with an emphasis on highly globalized collaborative business models. Pure-play sourcing relationships are slowly transforming into strategic partnerships that offer more flexibility, process scalability, and enhanced knowledge sharing to fuel business growth.

Given the complicated nature of engineering product development and process mapping, organizations are looking for strategic support to manage business critical processes efficiently and with ease, leading to enhanced profitability and a faster time to market. While outsourcing core operational processes and complex systems to multiple vendors across geographies addresses the business need and enables organizations to speed up their delivery mechanisms, the pitfalls arising from managing multiple vendor relationships are substantial. Some of the challenges faced by organizations while trying to balance multiple vendor management strategies include:

Increased dependability on multiple providers for different processes/service lines. The existence of multiple vendors makes it difficult to define a single point of contact to document project and delivery status. Organizations need to depend on different service providers for their various outsourcing needs, leading to high complexities in vendor relationship management.

Inconsistent processes and delivery structures. With several vendors handling diverse aspects of product design and implementation, engineering organizations are faced with the difficult task of integrating multiple process frameworks into a cohesive whole to facilitate product delivery in line with their internal processes and standards. This causes inconsistencies in the final output leading to imbalanced delivery schedules.

Governance issues pertaining to reporting structure and project accountability. Vendors have their own internal processes and standards and largely define project accountability and reporting according to their company prescribed laws. Then again, laws of the land play a major factor in driving issues pertaining to governance. All this can lead to mismatched expectations and in essence, dissatisfied clients.

Short-lived engagements. Engineering outsourcing is a complex and specialized function, requiring a lot of technical and domain expertise combined with years of relevant experience on part of the outsourcing partner. As a result, engineering services need a lot of commitment in terms of time and effort involved. Short-lived vendor engagements often cause disruption to routine business operations, not to mention issues pertaining to Intellectual Property and heavy costs incurred in transferring project know-how and capabilities to another provider.

The need of the hour: a strategic partnership that centers on collaboration to drive productivity and maximize operational efficiency

Organizations need not just a technology partner, but a virtual extension of their in-house engineering teams to demonstrate collective capabilities and expertise towards solution delivery. The success of a collaborative outsourcing partnership will depend on how much specialization and innovation the partner brings in and how much agility and scalability they are willing to provide. Engineering involves a cross-functional effort optimization between core product development, R&D, marketing and sales, IT, and business strategy. A partnership that leverages in-depth understanding of primary product lines; promotes innovation right from product design through delivery; and clearly defines stakeholder responsibilities at both ends, is bound to succeed in the long run.

The benefits of a collaborative approach to engineering outsourcing go far beyond savings. Besides firing a passion for project innovation and growth, this model provides access to best-of-breed technologies and best practices, a wider talent pool, and top of the line business systems and processes. Continuous systemic improvement with enhanced knowledge transfer enables the partnership to direct strategic focus towards maximizing business value and gain competitive advantage in the long run.

Building collaborative ESO partnerships that work through the different stages of the product engineering life cycle

Engineering companies need to dig deep and ensure that their outsourcing services partner comes with the necessary domain expertise and relevant field experience backed by a strong commitment towards process orientation and maturity. By creating a self-sustaining Center of Excellence (CoE) and clearly distinguishing roles and responsibilities, organizations can ensure process and delivery consistencies within time-bound SLAs and systematically move up the value chain.

An efficient partnership that adopts collaborative models of outsourcing involves in-depth participation by both parties throughout all stages of the product engineering life cycle. Both the client and the ESO partner work together to identify project challenges and devise appropriate solutions and strategies. There is clear ownership of work, well-defined project milestones, and a seamless integration of people, process, and technology to achieve measurable business outcomes. Proactive interactions and continuous dialogue with senior managerial personnel ensure healthy top-to-bottom relationships between key stakeholders.

Organizations need to look for a partner who realizes the benefits of this collaborative approach and is willing to demonstrate an ability to understand critical pain points and address them effectively using advanced technology, robust infrastructure, and skilled resources support. Typically, an engagement that rests on feelings of empathy – the capacity and willingness on part of the partner to view the big picture and undertake a solution-oriented approach – is the one that will grow and mature over time and sustain the long haul.

Choosing a partner who can foster innovation and nurture long-term outsourcing relationships

Eventually, it is an efficient ESO partner with the requisite domain skills matched by innovative engineering processes and an expanded global delivery footprint who can steer the partnership in the right direction. Since inception, QuEST Global has been collaborating with leading engineering companies and enabling them to achieve higher economies of scale while creating capacity and ensuring faster time to market. QuEST brings in a dedicated focus on quality backed by a best-in-class global leadership team to facilitate deepened stakeholder relationships and ensure globalization of product engineering by deploying a global product development framework.

Dedicated engineering Center of Excellence for aligned services delivery

This customer leveraged QuEST’s extended engineering capabilities and deep domain expertise to create a Center of Excellence (CoE) to manage diverse aspects of its product design, manufacturing, maintenance, and support.

Result: accelerated business growth and higher return on investment.

Strong process orientation for ongoing project sustenance

QuEST put together a global team to manage this customer’s product engineering processes and ensured constant availability of skilled and trained resources at all times.

Result: Smooth business operations and resource continuity.

Thorough understanding of client business needs for structured solution delivery

This engagement began in untried territory with QuEST resources having to not only understand the customer’s industry and business processes in detail, but also devise appropriate strategies and drive business growth.

Result: Increased operational efficiency and reduced cost of operations.

QuEST deploys customized outsourcing strategies catering to the needs of individual customers. An effective reporting mechanism and a decentralized communication model facilitate seamless communication across multiple channels. Dedicated teams with critical domain and technical expertise work closely with customers to understand their primary business challenges and resolve these challenges through innovative methodologies and programs. By leveraging a proven workstream workout process, QuEST identifies efficient resource workstreams and uses a 6-step approach to build a dedicated CoE that can work along with the customer to create world-class products and services.

The QuEST 6-step approach

Conclusion

Outsourcing through a Global Delivery Model is not a unique proposition, but integrating diverse global channels through a systematic and measured approach calls for high capability on part of the outsourcing partner. QuEST Global dives deep into the complex ESO space with high process orientation and transparent operations, creating global centers with local functions and operations to address distinct industry challenges effectively. Longevity and relevance of a successful ESO partnership that stands strong on the foundational pillar of collaboration can be mapped by its position in the engineering services value chain. QuEST demonstrates this and much more.