Primary vs support processes: which ones can move out?

Key takeaways

Primary vs support processes is the oldest way to sort business work. Primary processes create and deliver what customers pay for. Support processes keep the business running: finance, HR, IT and admin. Management processes set direction. Support processes are usually the easiest to outsource, but the line is not absolute in either direction.

• Primary: make, sell and deliver what customers pay for.
• Support: finance, HR, IT, procurement and admin.
• Management: strategy, planning and oversight. These stay in-house.
• Parts of primary processes can still be outsourced.

What are primary, support and management processes?

The distinction comes from Michael Porter's value chain (1985), which split a firm's activities into primary and support. Primary processes are the ones a customer would recognise: winning orders, delivering the service, fulfilling the product, after-sales support. Support processes enable them. Management processes, a later addition in process frameworks, cover strategy, planning, risk and performance review.

• Which business processes should you outsource?
• What is a business process? A plain guide for SMEs

Why are support processes easier to outsource?

Support processes tend to follow common rules, use standard systems and look much the same from one business to the next. A provider that runs payroll or supplier payments for many firms already knows the method. Customers rarely see support processes, so a change in who runs them carries less risk to the relationship.

• Core vs non-core activities: what to keep in-house
• Does this process win you customers? The differentiation test

Can you outsource part of a primary process?

Yes, and many SMEs do. Customer service, order processing and after-sales admin are primary processes, yet their routine stages outsource well. What matters is the stage, not the label: the routine handling of an order can move, while the relationship with a key customer and the decision on a disputed order stay with you.

• Customer-facing processes: outsource with care, not fear
• Outsource, split, fix or keep: four process verdicts

Which support processes should stay in-house?

A support process should stay in-house when it carries personal accountability or sensitive judgement. Final payment approval, disciplinary decisions and hiring choices are support processes that stay with the employer, even when the admin around them moves.

• Disciplinary and grievance: what you can hand over
• Supplier payment runs: outsource the prep, keep approval

What does this look like in practice?

A pattern we see: firms start with support processes, gain confidence, then move the routine stages of a primary process such as order handling. The second move often saves more time than the first, because primary processes run in higher volume.

• See client work
• BPO Solutions for UK businesses

Sorting checklist

Use these questions to sort each process.

• Would a customer recognise this process?
• Does it directly create or deliver what they pay for?
• Does it set direction or allocate resources?
• Which stages are routine and which need judgement?
• Who is personally accountable for the outcome?

• A list of business processes most small firms run
• The process selection score: outsource, split or keep?

Next step

Sort your process list into primary, support and management, then send us the support processes with the most hours. We will tell you which are ready to move.