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Focus on frugality: Launchpad leaning on outsourcing to cut costs

Part of a special series on British Columbia's frugality reality and its implications for business
Tyler Orton
Tyler Orton
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With clients anxious about cutting costs, Launchpad has been leaning more heavily on its near-shore operations in cities such as Santiago, Chile, to reduce those costs by as much as 40 per cent | Ignacio Palacios/Stone/Getty Images

BIV reporters examined British Columbia's frugality reality – and how local businesses are navigating skills shortages, inflation, chronic COVID complications and supply chain dysfunction. 

This is one of eight articles that capture acute corporate concerns. Read on to explore different business owners' survival plans and strategies. 

Launchpad Technologies Inc.

The Vancouver-based company works with businesses to create custom platforms that integrate a variety of apps, such as Salesforce and SAP Concur.

“What we do is to break down those silos and create workflow and automations, from the sales department to the accounting department to factory floors,” said CEO Bruce Qi.

Marketplace cost challenges

The Launchpad team spent much of the past few weeks visiting clients across the U.S. and found many were uncertain about what the economy has in store in the near term. While chief financial officers see headwinds on the horizon, many chief revenue officers are seeing a spike in sales but are unsure of what the next two fiscal quarters hold.

“Overall, everyone has taken a strong cost-reduction position to preserve the cash and operations,” Qi said. “They still have commitments they have made, either internally or externally, to their customers that they need to deliver on.”

Within the local tech ecosystem, some of those similar cost-cutting measures include hundreds of layoffs at B.C. tech companies like Hootsuite Inc., Unbounce Marketing Solutions Inc. and Article (TradeMango Solutions Inc.).

While Launchpad continues to grow, Qi said the company needs to accommodate clients looking to cut costs.

Marketplace frugality solutions

Launchpad operates in 10 countries and counts 75 workers among its workforce, including 26 people in Canada. For the past three fiscal quarters, it’s been increasing its outsourcing services in Latin America aimed at supporting clients across the globe. Specifically, Launchpad is leaning on near-shore operations: outsourcing services closer to a company’s headquarters or in the same time zone rather than in countries where the sun goes down before dawn hits North America. It’s similar to how American tech giant Amazon.com Inc. (Nasdaq:AMZN) has been rapidly boosting its headcount in Vancouver, where wages for tech workers are lower than in its home city of Seattle.

“So by providing our resources, we’re able to provide our clients a 30 to 40 per cent reduction in the cost of our services and offerings,” Qi said.

Launchpad has also been looking to reduce its own costs internally by leaning more on artificial intelligence and automation, and “taking a look at where we can swap out the technology for newer better, cheaper tools,” Qi said.

“We have already seen about a seven per cent reduction in our cost measures.”

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