Definition

Relocating business operations or manufacturing to another country to reduce costs, typically labor expenses. A euphemism for 'we found people who'll do your job for less money in a different time zone.'

Example Usage

The company is offshoring its customer service operations to reduce overhead costs by 40%.

Origin

Globalization terminology that became prominent in the 1980s-90s with increased international trade

Fun Fact

Offshoring is distinct from 'outsourcing'—you can offshore while keeping operations in-house, though most companies do both simultaneously for maximum complexity.

Source: International business and operations terminology

Related Terms

Beginner

firm

A fancy way to say "business" that makes your three-person startup sound like it has mahogany desks and a lobby receptionist. Whether you're a law firm, consulting firm, or accounting firm, slapping this word on your letterhead instantly adds 47% more gravitas. Fun fact: British hooligans also use it to describe their football gangs, because apparently violence needs branding too.

💼 Corporate / Business
Intermediate

risks

All the things that could possibly go wrong with a decision, quantified and documented so someone can be blamed later. In corporate settings, they're identified, assessed, mitigated, and then ignored until they become actual problems. Finance professionals love calculating them with impressive formulas that provide false precision about fundamentally unknowable futures.

💼 Corporate / Business
Intermediate

organic growth

Business expansion through internal development rather than acquisitions or mergers—the slow, sustainable way to grow that executives hate explaining to impatient shareholders. Building instead of buying.

💼 Corporate / Business
Beginner

pricing

The dark art of slapping dollar signs on products in a way that maximizes profit while making customers feel like they're getting a deal. It involves complex strategies like psychological pricing ($9.99 instead of $10), competitive analysis, and occasionally just throwing darts at a board. Get it wrong and you're either leaving money on the table or watching customers flee to your competitors.

💼 Corporate / Business
Intermediate

compartmentalization

The art of mentally shoving problems into separate boxes so you can function like a normal human being, or in business, dividing complex projects into smaller chunks that mere mortals can understand. In espionage, it's ensuring no single person knows enough to spill all the beans when captured. Psychologists love it, project managers abuse it, and spies depend on it for survival.

💼 Corporate / Business
Intermediate

convene

The formal way of saying "let's all get together for a meeting," typically used when someone wants to sound official about assembling a group. It's what happens when calling everyone into a conference room needs gravitas, usually for government bodies, boards, or people who love Robert's Rules of Order. Basically, it's corporate speak for "everyone get in here."

💼 Corporate / Business

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