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Most
imaging and document conversion vendors, including Document
Solutions, periodically subcontract elements of certain
projects to offshore data-capture service bureaus in
India, China, the Philippines, and elsewhere. There
are several types of projects wherein such subcontracting
is not appropriate, however. Reasons NOT to use an offshore
subcontractor include:
- Reliance
on local conditions for those vendors, including labor,
power, connectivity, governmental action, or other
unforeseen contingencies that can interrupt service.
If turn-rate or on-time delivery are mission critical,
offshore processing may not be indicated.
- Reduced
onshore accountability, because the onshore partner
is frequently unequipped or under-equipped to perform
rigorous quality control on deliverables prior to
delivery to the client.
- U.S.
Department of Defense (DoD) subcontracting specifications
often require all work to be performed by U.S. citizens,
or be performed within the United States.
- Non-disclosure
requirements often limit the extent to which client
data may be exposed to third parties, especially when
those parties are not subject to U.S. law.
- With
or without VPNs, many clients nonetheless prefer that
their documents not be transmitted over Internet connections.
How
does Document Solutions use offshore vendors?
While
we recognize that offshore vendors can offer certain
services at a low cost and often with high quality,
we use offshore subcontractors only if we can provide
the identical service in-house. Our subcontracting
standards are as follows:
- If
we are considering subcontracting a portion of the
work offshore, we will DISCLOSE this intent upfront,
so you don't have to ask.
- If
the client requires that their work not be subcontracted
offshore, we will honor that request in writing.
- If
we DO subcontract offshore, Document Solutions will
nonetheless be EXCLUSIVELY responsible for the quality
of the final product.
- If
we DO subcontract offshore, we will only do so if
we possess the capacity to quality-control the results
to our client's satisfaction.
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