5 Risks to Consider Before Sending CAD Conversion Work Overseas

1. Lower-than-expected savings

One of the biggest risks of offshore CAD conversion outsourcing is inflated savings expectations. Many executives assume outsourcing will yield savings comparable to a person-to-person comparison (e.g., a full-time equivalent in India will cost 40% less) without considering hidden costs, added internal management efforts, and operation modifications. CAD outsourcing saves many companies less than expected.

2. Poor performance and accuracy

The vendor may not deliver as promised when outsourcing CAD conversion. This may be due to language barriers, cultural expectations, time zone differences, or a lack of work understanding. In India, English is an official language, but pronunciation and accents vary greatly. Religions, dress, social activities, and even question-answering styles are cultural differences. Most top vendors have cultural education programs, but executives shouldn’t assume cultural alignment is unimportant.

3. Offshore vendor unaware of US oversight/regulation

Government regulates and oversees most US businesses. Transparency is becoming more important as the USA PATRIOT Act and Sarbanes-Oxley Act place greater accountability on American corporations. Whether it’s a building code issue in a CAD drawing or required security measures for sensitive aircraft drawings, if the offshore vendor isn’t sensitive to industry-specific requirements and the vendor’s ability to: 1) comply with government regulations; and 2) provide sufficient “transparency” showing that it does comply and is accountable, this could create legal ramifications for the US corporation.

4. Key-person turnover

Rapid growth in offshore CAD outsourcing has boosted the Indian labor market. Key personnel are often sought for new, high-profile projects or recruited by offshore vendors. Offshore vendors often quote low overall turnover statistics, but key personnel turnover is more important. Common CAD specialist turnover rates are 15%-20%. High turnover affects CAD conversion quality.

5. Outsourcing

Life-threatening outsourcing Whatever the product or service, even CAD Conversion, if it’s shipped overseas to cheaper labor, it hurts American industry and personal life. Outsourcing affects American industry, whether you make low- to high-tech products, build houses, or create microprocessor chips. It will only get worse.