Linked processes: outsource them together or apart?

Key takeaways

When outsourcing interdependent processes, move them together if they share data, timing and people, such as billing and cash allocation. Keep them apart if one is routine and the other needs judgement. Every link between an outsourced process and an in-house one becomes a handoff, so the question is where handoffs cost least.

• Tightly linked and routine: move together.
• Linked but one needs judgement: split at the judgement point.
• Loosely linked: move one at a time.
• Agree format and timing for every handoff.

When should linked processes move together?

When they pass work back and forth many times a day, use the same systems and data, and are both routine. Billing and cash allocation, order entry and dispatch notification, or recruitment admin and new starter set-up often fit. Moving one alone would create a busy handoff between your team and the provider.

• Which business processes should you outsource?
• Order-to-cash process: shorten the road from sale to cash

When should linked processes stay apart?

When one process is routine and the next needs judgement, the natural split is between them. Payment run preparation and payment approval are linked, but approval stays in-house. The handoff sits at a point where work pauses anyway, so it adds little delay.

• Supplier payment runs: outsource the prep, keep approval
• Outsource, split, fix or keep: four process verdicts

How do you manage handoffs between processes?

Map the dependencies, then agree for each handoff what passes, in what format, by when and who owns it. Measure the time work waits at each handoff. A queue that grows at one handoff is the earliest sign the split is in the wrong place.

• Map dependencies first.
• Agree format and timing per handoff.
• Name an owner on each side.
• Measure waiting time at handoffs.

• Process dependencies: map them before you hand over
• Process handoffs: why every extra handover adds cost

What about TUPE when several processes move?

Moving several linked processes can make it more likely that an organised group of employees mainly did that work, which is when TUPE may apply. Check before moving a bundle of processes that was largely one team's job, and take advice where needed.

• TUPE and outsourcing
• How to tell your team you are outsourcing

What does this look like in practice?

A pattern we see: a firm outsources billing but keeps cash allocation, and unallocated payments pile up because the two teams work on different days. Moving them together, or aligning their timetables, clears it.

• See client work
• BPO Solutions for UK businesses

Linked process checklist

Answer these for every pair of linked processes.

• How many times does work pass between them?
• Do they share systems and data?
• Is either one judgement-heavy?
• Where does work naturally pause?
• Would moving both together trigger TUPE?

• The process selection score: outsource, split or keep?
• An outsourcing roadmap: which process comes next

Next step

Tell us which two processes you are considering. We will tell you whether we would move them together, apart or split at a decision point.