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Software to manage outsourcers and outsourced projects

by pyrotechno
11 replies
I would imagine a lot of internet marketers out there do a lot of outsourcing for their projects, what kind of software tools do you use besides the manual way of using Excel to keep track of your current orders? (e.g. info like client contact, outsourcer contact, status of the project, financial transactions involved, project details, etc.)

I found a free tool called Outsourcing Collaboration Tool

Outsourcing Collaboration Tool: Manage Outsourcing Projects | Free Software

which is kind of what I was looking for but it's a rather basic tool. Was wondering if there's a demand for more powerful software that could let you organize/manage your outsourcing tasks and more
#manage #outsourced #outsourcers #projects #software
  • Profile picture of the author RemingtonSteele
    Originally Posted by pyrotechno View Post

    Was wondering if there's a demand for more powerful software that could let you organize/manage your outsourcing tasks and more
    There's certainly a demand for this type of software. However, I think you'd need to create something that's highly customizable because everybody's business is different. For example, a software company that outsources their development work will likely have different project management requirements than a writing company that outsources article creation.
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    • Profile picture of the author pyrotechno
      Originally Posted by RemingtonSteele View Post

      There's certainly a demand for this type of software. However, I think you'd need to create something that's highly customizable because everybody's business is different. For example, a software company that outsources their development work will likely have different project management requirements than a writing company that outsources article creation.
      You definitely bring up a good point. I was thinking of whether it's better to have a software that's more of a "one size fits all" that allows any niche to use or to concentrate on one subset of outsourcing (e.g. managing the outsourcing of software dev, graphics, SEO, these are all large niches that have common "patterns" of tasks that need to be done)

      For example I do a lot of graphics work outsourcing and I have a list of like 200 designers that I've come across online from forums and freelance sites, I was thinking a software tool that intelligently "matches" the best designers for a particular job (e.g. logo design, or ebook cover design etc.) , along with keeping track of vital stats like time zones, email correspondence and maybe even letting your own employees communicate with the outsourced guys (collaborative outsourcing). I'm just pondering how useful people would find this and any features they'd like to see in such a software

      Going back to the example of graphics outsourcing, the whole process more or less involves something like this:

      1) Find a good quality designer (outsourced guy), research his credentials/reputation, look at his portfolio, etc
      2) Explain design requirements (potentially lots of emails back and forth or instant messages)
      3) Pay up front fees
      4) Receive design work, request revisions
      5) Pay remaining amount
      6) Write a feedback review for him if applicable

      I'm thinking of software that automates or speeds up as much of the above steps as possible.
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      • Profile picture of the author RemingtonSteele
        Originally Posted by pyrotechno View Post

        I'm thinking of software that automates or speeds up as much of the above steps as possible.
        In my opinion, this type of software (or a web application) would be very useful to people who are doing "service brokering" as a business, where they're involved in several markets (video/audio transcription, writing, graphics, web design, etc.) at once. While I'm not doing any brokering myself, I can see how scaling the business could become an administrative nightmare without an efficient way to manage contacts, tasks, and billing.

        As Mike Grant said, there's Basecamp, which is very popular. ActiveCollab is another one for you to research.
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        • Profile picture of the author pyrotechno
          Originally Posted by RemingtonSteele View Post

          In my opinion, this type of software (or a web application) would be very useful to people who are doing "service brokering" as a business, where they're involved in several markets (video/audio transcription, writing, graphics, web design, etc.) at once. While I'm not doing any brokering myself, I can see how scaling the business could become an administrative nightmare without an efficient way to manage contacts, tasks, and billing.

          As Mike Grant said, there's Basecamp, which is very popular. ActiveCollab is another one for you to research.
          I have used Basecamp before, it is a great tool but it's more geared towards internal project management involving teams under the same company.

          You seem to have read my mind, I was thinking the guys who do brokering of internet marketing services would love to have something that shaves time off their administrative tasks associated with monitoring project status as well as finding the right outsourcers for the job. It's more of a question of how many there are out there, if there's sufficient demand I would consider developing a web application charging either a subscription fee or making it free if there's a better monetizing strategy. Would love to hear other opinions/feedback too

          Information consolidation into one source is one goal as the software could keep track of worker portfolios, past orders, feedback on work, current workload of the outsourcer (to avoid overwhelming a single person with tasks), and other vital stats. Also, there's the intelligent assigning of tasks to the best qualified workers that saves time in manually finding the best person to take on a new task
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          • Profile picture of the author pyrotechno
            Another question is: would anyone here pay for software like this?
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          • Profile picture of the author RemingtonSteele
            Originally Posted by pyrotechno View Post

            It's more of a question of how many there are out there, if there's sufficient demand I would consider developing a web application charging either a subscription fee or making it free if there's a better monetizing strategy.
            Service brokering appears to be a popular topic for WSOs, and a lot of people are interested in this business model, but I question how many of them are actually involved in it. I've looked into it before, and while brokering is a simple model, I wouldn't say that it's easy to implement, at least not on a large scale by a one-person show.

            I must admit that about a month ago, I had considered developing a web application along the lines of what you're suggesting, but like I said, I'm not sure how many people are actually doing service brokering, as opposed to having a passing interest in it. So, I haven't pursued it.

            The large-scale model has some inherent flaws that would be difficult to overcome without a technological solution, which, at this point, doesn't exist, so maybe if there were an easier way to go about service brokering, the demand for a product could be created. Does that make sense?
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            • Profile picture of the author pyrotechno
              Originally Posted by RemingtonSteele View Post

              Service brokering appears to be a popular topic for WSOs, and a lot of people are interested in this business model, but I question how many of them are actually involved in it. I've looked into it before, and while brokering is a simple model, I wouldn't say that it's easy to implement, at least not on a large scale by a one-person show.

              I must admit that about a month ago, I had considered developing a web application along the lines of what you're suggesting, but like I said, I'm not sure how many people are actually doing service brokering, as opposed to having a passing interest in it. So, I haven't pursued it.

              The large-scale model has some inherent flaws that would be difficult to overcome without a technological solution, which, at this point, doesn't exist, so maybe if there were an easier way to go about service brokering, the demand for a product could be created. Does that make sense?
              Indeed, I understand what you're saying. I know there are people who do brokering as more of an income supplement vs. running it as a full blown IM business (although there are some who do, I'm just not convinced that it's widespread enough though as you suggested).

              I'm thinking whether it's better to market the software to companies that do the brokering instead of individuals. I'm sure there's many web social media marketing / graphics & web design firms (among many other niches) that engage in outsourcing and brokering. After all, brokering/outsourcing is a fundamental business concept that's used all the time.
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  • Profile picture of the author Mike Grant
    Basecamp...
    Signature
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  • Profile picture of the author dvduval
    We built our own sofware over at phpLD, but we also use a number of other tools to help us collaborate from screen sharing to videos to skype. I find that each customers goals are different and sometimes you can't just make everyone fit the same mold.
    Signature
    It is okay to contact me! I have been developing software since 1999, creating many popular products like phpLD.
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  • Profile picture of the author Toby Couchman
    One of my businesses is Outsourced Web Development. I began by getting clients and then using elance or odesk to outsource the work too. I found after a while that this just wasn't reliable enough for me. Due to guys disapearing, low quality work, timezone weirdness etc.

    So I have partnered with a guy over in India where we are working together to build a team of highly skilled dev guys. We're up to four at the moment

    We have played around with many of the collaboration tools that are out there and they just don't fit to the way we like to work. So guess what we're building our own.

    After all gotta have your own product right?

    I read your post above and you sound like you have alot of experience in the outsourcing field. Would you mind if I sent you a pm with some questions? It would really help me out to speak with someone who manages loads of staff remotely and find out how they overcome the hurdles I mentioned above.

    Cheers
    MB
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    • Profile picture of the author pyrotechno
      Originally Posted by m0nk3yb0y View Post

      One of my businesses is Outsourced Web Development. I began by getting clients and then using elance or odesk to outsource the work too. I found after a while that this just wasn't reliable enough for me. Due to guys disapearing, low quality work, timezone weirdness etc.

      So I have partnered with a guy over in India where we are working together to build a team of highly skilled dev guys. We're up to four at the moment

      We have played around with many of the collaboration tools that are out there and they just don't fit to the way we like to work. So guess what we're building our own.

      After all gotta have your own product right?

      I read your post above and you sound like you have alot of experience in the outsourcing field. Would you mind if I sent you a pm with some questions? It would really help me out to speak with someone who manages loads of staff remotely and find out how they overcome the hurdles I mentioned above.

      Cheers
      MB
      Go for it, I sent you my contact details via PM
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