Vinay Gupta, President and CEO of Janeeva, which sells software to help companies manage outsourcing relationships, gave this advice (Bloomberg Businessweek, 2013):

“I would strongly encourage business owners to visit the vendor’s facilities. There are a lot of fly-by-night operators, so you want to make sure you have touched and seen the facility before you hand them your business—I would do at least a 30-day free pilot with the provider. You want to see if it is a good fit and find out who you will be interacting with on a day-to-day basis.”

Not all companies follow this advice.

a. Discuss why companies would take these precautions when setting up an outsourcing relationship.

b. Discuss why companies would not take these precautions when setting up an outsourcing relationship.