Outsourcing is a prime tool for business efficiency.  The term simply means “to procure (as some goods or services needed by a business or organization) under contract with an outside supplier.”  In practice it provides a common, cost-effective way for companies to achieve better use of their assets and improve productivity in the face of shrinking staffs and operating budgets. 

Consider also that all printers owe their very existence to outsourcing:  other businesses outsource their printing and print management to printers because these functions aren’t among their core activities.  So it only makes sense for printers to follow suit and consider outsourcing activities that are not their core functions.  Outsourcing or subcontracting is not new to the printing industry.  In particular, in recent times printers have strived to become single-source business-communications service providers, and this impetus has already translated into an increase in their subcontracting activities and strategic alliances. 

Furthermore, PrintLink believes that a distinct outcome of our current challenging economy will be that printers will rely on outsourcing more and more.  On the production front, we predict the industry will see a growth of business volumes for trade printers and finishers as well as niche providers of other production-related services. Yet another growing form of outsourcing will be business process outsourcing, which simply means “contracting the operations and responsibilities of a specific business function to a third-party service provider.”