Åke (the picture) says that when you are about to start off-shore operations, you should not rush. You must be very careful in choosing partners and do not let price be the only determining factor.
You should take culture and language into account, therefore, Åke has chosen to work with India since people there have good knowledge in English.
What companies often forget is to do research first before they start the process. To go through their own activities and the careful
preparation of personnel at home is incredibly important. It is therefore important to anchor the offshore project internally before the new services will be mediated on to the final customer.
Åke also recognizes the importance of documenting
procedures and processes and to follow them. All records must have an Internet-based platform that makes documentation available to everyone, regardless of which time zone applies. This facilitates the process enormously and is timesaving.
When our meeting is over, it strikes me how important it is to absorb knowledge and not just rush with the hope of making money. If you do the whole process properly, you will make money but there are a lot of obstacles.
Obstacles
The own staff and offshore company do not have the same view on which part of the activities should be carried out by which unit. Here, you will have to work out clear and documented limits.
Inadequate language may create false perceptions of what should be implemented and how.
Documentation and contracts have shortages that come up when the activity is started. To carry out a professional "Due Diligence" on contracts, agreements and service descriptions is often a good investment, before services are delivered to the final customer.
Inadequate purchasing functions may cause trouble when a product or service does not live up to expectations on delivery and production rates.
Cultural clashes are always present, but still manageable if one is inclined to changes and understand that there are different ways to implement the same thing.
Finally, to hire an experienced consultant in the field can be a very good investment. It should be a resource that has experience in both the area and the new country.
Cecilia Helland