Choosing an outsourced design and build partner to get your products to market faster, or to transform your IP into production-ready prototypes is like hiring a new employee. Once you have established the qualifications and qualities you are seeking and found a candidate you think can meet them, you must qualify your choice.
As with a prospective employee, checking references is a critical step to ensure that you will get what you need from the partnership. The choice of a partner who can provide the custom automation solutions you need is not a job for your gut instincts. The wrong choice can damage your company’s performance, and cost you time, money and customers.
If you’re responsible for getting your company into such a situation, it’s not going to help your career prospects. On the other hand, if you do a good job qualifying your final candidate, your company will reap benefits that include profits and market share, and you’ll share in the credit.
Ask your candidate for references that include companies who have worked with them on projects like yours. In addition to references, online research and conversations with contacts from your professional network can be useful.
Going Beyond References to find the Right Fit
For a deeper dive, a review of their website may reveal companies outside of their reference list who may be able to provide you with a deeper perspective on the advantages, and potential disadvantages, of working with them.
This is a process where investing extra time upfront can pay significant dividends in the long run. If possible, try to meet face-to-face with the companies provided as references. Come prepared with a list of questions that cover those areas of greatest risk in your project, as well as their technical expertise, their record in meeting project deadlines, their success in bringing projects in at cost and what they were like to work with.
You can also reach out to your contacts within the industry to find other companies who have worked with your potential partner. It’s likely that one or more people in your network knows someone who has been involved in a project with your potential partner. Talking to those people can provide you with valuable data on what it’s like to work with the outsourcing company you are considering.
Online professional networks liked LinkedIn can also be a good source of additional references. You can also look for industry news and publicly available financial data.
Once you’ve completed your due diligence, you can confidently turn to your gut feelings.
Ideally, you have been able to spend some time with the team that will be working with your company. Do you sense that these are people you can trust? Even when everything else checks out, it’s important to pay attention to your instincts. After all, you’re entering into a marriage of sorts. If you’ve got doubts, listen to them and take a second look.
