Good Riddance, Outsourcing. It Wasn't Good Knowing You

Outsourcing's grand promise to improve bottom lines has lost its luster, among American companies, as hidden expenses mount at peril to much-needed flexibility. They seemed to have learned their lesson that not all that glitters is gold and some work just should be kept at home.

Unexpected overhead costs of shipping work overseas seem to be rearing their ugly head, prompting U.S. companies to re-think outsourcing altogether and find less expensive ways to do the same work themselves.

Said Atul Vashistha, chairman of Neo Group that advises on outsourcing, to the Wall Street Journal recently: “Companies are realizing now that they might have outsourced jobs that they never should have."

Outsourcers may cut costs but they possess little more more than general knowledge about the sectors they're servicing. This poses major challenges in certain fast-paced industries such as banking where deeper expertise is required.

While U.S. companies are unlikely to go cold turkey on outsourcing, they are expected to be more discerning about what functions they do pawn off on overseas sweatshops.

Some progress is probably better than none. In the near future, overseas sweatshops will be workplaces of the past, hopefully.

Read all about it: http://on.wsj.com/JlJ2zY.