Outsourcing has been a common topic for discussion in the procurement industry in recent weeks- this is perhaps due to the mixed bag of opinions that arise when it comes to weighing up the positives and negatives of sourcing products, services and whole departmental functions from external suppliers.

Logistics software company Freightgate conducted a study on trends for 2012 which concluded that supply chain and logistics outsourcing are set to become increasingly popular over the course of the year, with an increasing demand for better collaborative business processes said to be at the heart of the predicted trend.

Peter Smith started the New Year with an article in the UK Spend Matters blog titled ‘Why the public sector needs more outsourcing’ which has since sparked a series of discussions on the whole issue of outsourcing in both the public and private sectors.

The economics of outsourcing have long been disputed among buyers; mostly because of the costs associated with obtaining products and services from external suppliers. But there are also ethical factors to consider - unsafe oil rigs, poor railway maintenance and sub-standard cleaning in hospitals have all been associated with the culture of outsourcing, problems which can generate bad publicity as well as preventing organisations from achieving their (often well-publicised) CSR policy.

While procedures and software can be implemented to help organisations effectively monitor and measure the standards and costs of external suppliers, it is important to ensure that the right balance across quality, efficiency, responsibility and costs is achieved for outsourcing to meet the original needs and organisational objectives.