Key Worry in Outsourcing Is Experience, Say Life Science Executives and Cutting Edge Information

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, NC--(Marketwire - January 21, 2010) - As life sciences companies kick off corporate model revamps, there has been a renewed focus on outsourcing the internal functions often regarded as non-strategic. As executives look to farm out work, many want to learn more about peer experiences in an effort to identify the benefits and limitations of outsourcing.

Business intelligence firm Cutting Edge Information (http://www.cuttingedgeinfo.com/) recently conducted a survey that invited executives overseeing outsourced functions or activities to participate and share their concerns about the subject. Close to 50 executives responded to the open questions. The more than 130 comments provided by the executives were grouped in eight categories that identified key focus areas.

The chief concern reported by all participants is the level of experience and knowledge of service providers, with 22% of comments relating to knowledge and expertise concerns. Cost is reported as being the second most restrictive factor when outsourcing activities, accounting for a little over 17% of comments. Respect for company objectives is the third most limiting factor, at over 14% of respondents' comments.

The survey also revealed the percentage of total comments for each of the four main categories of concerns by company size. Small and mid-size company executives reported being more concerned about the knowledge and expertise of service providers, whereas large company executives are concerned by costs.

"When we looked at the data to determine if differences exist among company sizes, the analysis revealed that larger companies are more concerned about the cost of using outside services," said Yanis Saradjian, director of consulting (http://www.cuttingedgeinfo.com/consulting/) at Cutting Edge Information.

"Twenty percent of all comments pointed towards cost, while only 14% of small companies' comments related to cost concerns," he added.

For large companies, training and staffing is the second-largest limiting factor when outsourcing activities. Close to 19% of comments revolved around skills, training and staffing concerns, unlike small (11.6%) and mid-size company (8.3%) levels of concerns.

Data also revealed that company objectives are a bigger challenge for small and large companies than for mid-size companies.

Cutting Edge Information's consulting division, led by Saradjian, offers customized solutions to clients' benchmarking needs through its consulting services. A full breakdown of the services provided can be found at http://www.cuttingedgeinfo.com/consulting/

Contact Information: CONTACT: Stephanie Swanson (919) 433-0212