Outsourcing vs. Sourcing — What's the Difference?

Outsourcing is an agreement in which one company hires another company to be responsible for a planned or existing activity that is or could be done internally and sometimes involves transferring employees and assets from one firm to another. The term outsourcing, which came from the phrase outside resourcing, originated no later than 1981.

A person or thing from which something comes into being or is derived or obtained

To delegate (a task, function, or responsibility) to an independent provider

The point of origin of a stream or river.

To relocate or transfer (jobs) to another labor market

One, such as a person or document, that supplies information

Inflection of outsource

(Physics) The point or part of a system where energy or mass is added to the system.

The transfer of a business function to an external service provider.

To specify the origin of (a communication); document

To obtain (materials or parts) from another business, country, or locale for manufacture

To outsource or insource (tasks or jobs, for example).

Present participle of source

The process by which something is sourced, or obtained from another place.

The supply of resources needed by a business process.