It seems that the 777 wasn’t BIG enough for Boeing. Rolling off the line this week is the very first mammoth Boeing 787. Dubbed the “Dreamliner” it has already sold 584 copies as of June which makes it the fastest-selling new plane in the history of commercial aviation.
For decades, Boeing has outsourced a portion of the work on its planes, and its reliance on sub-contractors has risen with each succeeding generation of aircraft. But with the Dreamliner program, the aerospace giant has reached a point where its role has changed. It now functions less as a manufacturer than as a project manager, supervising its first and second tier subcontractors, each of which may rely on scores of more specialized subcontractors. A recent article in CNN Money and FSB Magazine outlines the commitment that Boeing has made to outsourcing. In fact it states that Boeing has utilized 900-plus contractors to develop and build the aircraft. Boeing’s new manufacturing template has captured the imagination of the aerospace industry. Recently officials from Airbus announced that it will be relying more heavily on outsourcing to become more competitive.
I have said this before: “Corporate America is DEAD!” In fact, I believe those organizations that elect NOT to commit heavily to outsourcing will cease to exist in the next decade.When you consider today’s shorter product life-cycles, outsourcing provides a far more cost-effective strategy to product development. It eliminates ongoing capital investments required to constantly retool. In addition, outsourcing permits the experts in every area of endeavor to focus on mastering their technology. It satisfies a marketplace demanding ever-increasing levels of performance. And outsourcing is good for the business economy. It promotes competition, holds vendors accountable and lowers the effective cost of deliverables.So think about how you may be able to use outsourcing to improve the performance of your business. This can be accomplished for small businesses as well as larger ones. Outsourcing has helped me to deliver a better service to my customers and our entire organization is based on the outsourcing “network” concept. Maybe outsourcing can help you to achieve your dream for your business.