Woodworking Business Advice - Outsourcing

 

Despite the numerous advantages, ,there are downsides to outsourcing your own cabinet doors however. You are potentially giving away to another company the profits that you could be putting in your pocket. Normally you should be making a profit off the work any employee does for you. By subcontracting, you are losing this extra potential income.

In addition, when you outsource, you still have to give that order to the other company: calling it in or faxing paperwork, etc. This adds a source of potential errors. One that you may not catch until days later when the shipment of doors arrives in your shop. Then you get to spend time discussing with the subcontractor whose fault it was. In the meantime the shipment of your job may now be delayed as the doors are remade, which means that you must call the client and spend more time in addition to looking bad because the installation is later than you originally planned.

Other issues concerning outsourcing of wooden doors is that the wood they choose may not match the color and/or grain that you are using for the rest of the job. This adds time for the finishing department.

Although the subcontractor may be specialized and would be much more efficient than you at building those doors, the cost of the doors may still be high. There is alot of non value added cost such as packaging and delivery charges. You also get to spend time unwrapping and measuring each door to verify the dimensions.

Ultimately, you are losing control over the doors as you subcontract them out. You put in the order, and hope that when they arrive they fit your cabinets properly. Outsourcing is a great way to keep your shop specialized, however a reliable subcontractor, one taht delivers the quality you desire in a timely manner is of utmost important. Sometimes it takes time to find and develop this relationship.