Large pharmaceutical companies, as well as smaller biotechs clearly face increasing pressure to deliver molecules to R&D labs as well as the mass market under tight deadlines. Whilst outsourcing may be the only option for "virtual" small biotechs, outsourcing is becoming increasingly important for big pharma too who are looking to become leaner, lower-cost, faster and more efficient. However, managing, monitoring and motivating third-party vendors creates a whole lot of issues and hurdles, especially in terms of agreeing to contracts, standard operating procedures and standards, joint project management, clear communication, minimizing risk and ensuring high-quality.