The difference between Joy and Happiness in Engineering Partnerships

With the focus on partnership and long-term goals, a German Machinery manufacturer plans its Engineering outsourcing.

Many business analytics across companies in different segments show that their main bottleneck is Engineering, especially in an uprising economy phase!

Engineering outsourcing as a solution is sought mostly with a limited view of Flexibility & Costs. The ‘reality’ is disappointment due to:

Experiences over the last 20 years have proven, that short term project-based savings & results are not a realistic option. The reputation is ‘using offshore engineering in midsized companies is not worth’. In fact, engineering outsourcing is often associated with a feeling of hesitation on both sides – The Client & The Service Provider.

This hesitation arises due to focus only on short term. The ‘Engineering task’ may get done and you may be happy but there exactly is the difference between ‘Happiness’ and ‘Joy’. Happiness is momentary whereas Joy is longer-stay.

The following steps lead to successful outsourcing

1. Consulting for ‘Success of Outsourcing’
   1. Why does a customer want to outsource - Evolving long term goals
   2. Evolving plan - Plan towards these goals based on customer readiness
   3. What are the targets – in terms of areas of engagement, level of work, quality, landed costs, etc.
   4. How to sell this idea internally within the customer team
2. Building team & process for project work
   1. Executing projects/tasks
3. Monitoring the progress of the plan – leading to larger benefits

These steps transform engineering outsourcing into ‘engineering partnerships’ with a long-term strategic impact & larger benefit.

An example of this transformation journey is the German company OPTIMA Packaging, which designs and builds packaging equipment for pharmaceutical, consumer, nonwoven and life science products. The agreed process and goals with OPTIMA can be summarised as below: