Most chemical industry business people know their business. Many even know their chemistry. But one of the key challenges facing chemical business management is how to combine business know-how with chemical know-how. The business side of the company wants to cut costs by simplifying sales tasks and outsourcing call centre teams. The chemical side of the company knows that chemical sales are technical and call centre teams need to know chemical products well.

Can a Business Trading in Chemical Products ever Outsource?

The chemical industry is one of the most modern and cutting edge on the planet. But as it becomes increasingly advanced, so do the technical specifications of chemical products. New products that enter the market are ever more specialised, sometimes even individualised for a specific project.

Such detail can be a struggle for chemical engineers. For the rest of mankind the specifications are unintelligible. So it is possible to ask non-technical salespeople to sell such high-spec products? Can a call centre without a chemistry background understand the subtle but crucial differences between products? Can a chemical business even outsource research?

Can Technical Support Ever be Handed Over to an Outsourcing Company?

Well the Royal Chemical Society said that chemical research technical support was easy, and that we should all be doing it. However, that was back in December 1996, at the height of the outsourcing business climate. Hasn’t the chemical market changed since then?

Well, if your business is pharmaceutical chemicals, then much research outsourcing can be done by firms such as ParChem. Furthermore, if you want to shop around, then take a look at the list of attendees for the PharmaChemOutsourcing conference that was held at the Parsippany Hilton in New Jersey in Sept 2015.

If you want to increase your sales, then you can also employ chemical industry sales specialists. Firms like Spotchemi (vested interest alert; I am writing as a paid consultant for Spotchemi), have formed sales teams with chemical industry know-how, so that they are better able to find a buyer for your chemical products. Plus, as they are able to speak English, Russian, Chinese, German, Spanish and Czech, they are well placed to find new markets for you.

If your business is industrial chemicals, then your logistics can also be outsourced, through firms such as InboundLogistics who state that they are happy to safely ship your chemical products far and wide; for a fee.

For now, there are few choices for chemical companies that would like support with sales, logistics or research. However, as the industry grows, these specialist services are likely to be more widely used. Not only do they give greater control over expenditure, but they also share their experience and contacts, leaving you free to get on with running the business.

What experience have you had with outsourcing services in the chemical industry? Was it positive?

Would you outsource part of your chemicals business? Or is the industry simply too technical?