What Is Business Process Outsourcing (BPO)?

Business process outsourcing (BPO) can get complicated if you're not careful. We have a simple formula for saving you time and money. Move any non-primary business activities or functions to a third-party provider company; enjoy the extra time you've gained by not having to do those things in-house! Business process outsourcing is when you outsource your business processes to someone else. It is a great thing to save money but also a way to lose money. To understand why BPO could be bad for your business, first, we need to look at what it involves. Business process outsourcing (BPO) consists in using a third-party provider company for any business process that could otherwise be done in-house, especially those considered "non-primary" business activities and functions. For example, suppose you have an internal IT department that handles all your technology needs. In that case, consider outsourcing them to another company so they can focus on their core responsibilities instead of getting distracted by the many other things that can go wrong with computers and software. However, this is only sometimes the best option for everyone! Some companies find it easier and more cost-effective (and stress-free!) if they do everything in-house instead of hiring outside contractors or consultants whenever something breaks down or needs fixing quickly before a big presentation or meeting with clients. You might ask yourself: "How is this BPO different from what I do at work?" Well, it's not so much what you do as how you do it. Business process outsourcing (BPO) is a separate category of business consulting services from knowledge process outsourcing (KPO). You see, KPO involves the work of mining business data for insights and looking at dashboards to support top-level decisions. In some people's minds, this may fall outside the category of BPO.