There are a number of core strategic questions which firms need to answer when entering into an outsourcing arrangement. The most significant is to what extent a firm should be prepared to outsource areas of potential competitive advantage. If one takes the view that outsourcing is driven by a desire to reduce costs, by buying into a consistent set of scalable processes which are shared across a number of organisations, then it follows that none of these areas should (or could) be sources of unique competitive advantage.