onsourcing

On sourcing, also written as onsourcing, is a term used in business and information technology management to describe a sourcing arrangement in which an organization contracts external providers to deliver services, but the execution occurs on the client’s premises or within the same country or region. The term is not standardized and can be used in different ways; in many cases it is described as a form of onshore or on-site outsourcing.

Common variants include on-site outsourcing, where vendor staff work at the client site; and nearshore or domestic on-sourcing, where teams operate from within the same country or a nearby region. On-sourcing emphasizes proximity, close collaboration, and joint governance, aiming to combine external expertise with the advantages of local oversight and access to client facilities.

Benefits often cited include improved collaboration and communication, easier access to sensitive data and facilities, faster issue resolution, and greater alignment with regulatory or business requirements. It can also simplify knowledge transfer and transition management and reduce cultural or time-zone frictions when nearshoring is involved.

Challenges encompass higher total cost compared with traditional offshore outsourcing, increased management overhead, and potential security or intellectual property risks associated with on-site teams. Dependency on external staff operating on the client’s premises may also raise continuity concerns during staff churn or vendor changes.

On-sourcing is commonly applied in IT services, engineering, manufacturing, and other professional services where proximity to the client enables tighter integration, real-time collaboration, and governance.

See also: outsourcing, insourcing, onshore outsourcing, nearshoring.