Outsourcing: Effective Communication

Communication can be in many forms from a phone call, a meeting, an email, to a direct secure link into your server. This communication should always go through an assigned program manager or CSR (customer service representative) on the CM side to usually the purchasing agent or buyer on the startup business side (POC or point-of-contact you choose).

Having a regular (weekly, monthly) face-to-face meeting with someone documenting the meeting minutes and action items is an excellent way to keep everyone in sync, review current or open issues, plan for future and prevent problems. Once the meeting is adjourned, the meeting minutes should be summarized and published as soon as possible so that everyone has time to review his or her action items, take appropriate action and make ready for the next meeting. Having these types of meetings between you and your outsource provider or CM will also help strengthen the relationship because everyone will be working as a unified team.

It is acceptable to communicate directly with an engineer to solve a technical issue or a production control person to find a missing part but always keep the program manager on the CM side as well as your buyer or POC in the loop so that they are not caught off guard by not having this information as this could impact many functional areas or current commitments. Email is a great medium to perform this type of task and is a written record of what transpired.

At one company, our CM had a link into our PLM (Product Lifecycle Management) system so that they had access to all BOMs, Drawings, Files, ECOs etc. and was on CCB distribution. This saved time and greatly reduced mistakes as they were in sync with us at all times.

Use of the phone should be followed up with written confirmation to assure that all details were understood and will be acted upon. Return to Outsourcing