Press Release

April 25, 2006

Indian CAD Drafting Service Provider Blames Outsourcers

Outsourced CAD drafting projects can fail just like any other outsourced project. However, in the CAD press, the blame is more often than not placed squarely on the shoulders of the CAD drafting service provider. The fact is that very often the outsourcer is at fault. Here are the reasons why, along with a guide for successful outsourcing.

In any given year, thousands of engineering, architectural and publishing firms in the Western hemisphere send their assignments to CAD drafting service providers in Asian countries not knowing whether they will ever see the assignments again. Stories circulate about how some of these CAD assignments mysteriously disappeared overseas or about how they went so wrong at the hands of the service providers that they had to be quietly buried on return. Primitive drafting methods and an underdeveloped CAD workforce are often ascribed to the service provider country. Interestingly, it is not the service provider who is always to blame.

“In our experience, many prospective clients have very little idea of how to participate in a CAD outsourcing exercise,” says Lucky Balaraman, Executive Director of The Magnum Group (http://themagnumgroup.net), one of India’s best-known CAD drafting service providers. “The methodologies for outsourcing CAD are not as well entrenched as those for outsourcing IT or CRM.”

The Magnum Group has been a CAD drafting service provider since 1999 and has engaged with many types of outsourcers over the years. Through the sizeable experience thus gathered, it has developed a thoughtful overview of the CAD outsourcing process, and is therefore qualified to make meaningful observations on the subject.

Mr. Balaraman describes typical outsourcer shortcomings. “Frequently, enamored by accounts of how assignments sent at the close of the US business day are completed and sent back by the start of the next day, many outsourcers expect this to happen from the first day onwards. They are unaware that the CAD drafting service provider must ascend a learning curve before attaining cruising speed.”

Commenting on the specifics of the learning curve, Mr. Balaraman says, “For one thing, the learning curve is required for becoming proficient in the elements of the outsourcer’s CAD style. Examples of style elements are the colors and thickness of drawn lines, the appearance of dimensions and the assignment of layers.”

In addition, he says, “there might be design knowledge specific to the domain that has to be absorbed. Examples of such knowledge are the meaning of various sketched symbols and the formulas for calculating sizes of engineering components.”

Mr. Balaraman mentioned how all the lasting, mutually beneficial customer relationships of The Magnum Group started off with a carefully planned training course. This course lasted anything from a few days in the case of architectural CAD to several weeks in the case of HVAC design and drafting.

Mr. Balaraman suggests that any company trying to outsource CAD for the first time should download and read The Magnum Group’s free guide on the subject, "The Twelve Magical Steps for Successful Outsourcing" from http://themagnumgroup.net/12MagicalSteps.pdf . With the insights gained from reading this guide, he says, outsourcers will develop a realistic overview of what to expect (and not expect) of outsourcing CAD, as well as gain an awareness of the exact process steps required to guarantee a successful CAD outsourcing result.

The Magnum Group specializes in engineering drafting and architectural drafting in 2D and 3D. It is one of the few CAD drafting service providers with engineers and architects on the staff and currently serves customers in Europe and the US. Samples of its work are available on its website, http://themagnumgroup.net

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