LONDON — Outsourcing has caught on and the majority of businesses use it to cut costs, according to management and consulting firm Accenture. A recent report shows that few businesses have embraced it as a strategic business need, however.

The Accenture study surveyed more than 150 executives at Fortune 1000 companies in automotive, transportation, industrial equipment, retail and consumer goods.

Ninety percent of companies outsource at least one business function. Information technology and logistics/distribution were the most common outsourced business aspects, said Accenture product operating group partner Greg Caster. Customer service, technical support and accounting functions are also widely outsourced.

Industrial Distribution's56th Annual Survey of Distributor Operations shows that nearly half of distributors outsource their Web site maintenance. Many distributors commonly outsource other IT functions, as well.

Two-thirds of the companies surveyed by Accenture have no plans to expand outsourcing to other business areas. Nearly half of the executives said fear of losing operational control was the most significant barrier to expanding outsourcing initiatives.

"Most businesses approach it from an internal, cost-cutting perspective," said Caster. "The broader perspective is to look externally as well and find where the value is."

Some companies are using outsourcing in a transformational way, added Caster. These companies are aligning with others to increase their offerings and broaden the services they bring to bear.

"Rather than simply handing over a function of the business, the best firms are concentrating on outsourcing as a means to increase both top and bottom line growth," said Caster. "We were surprised that procurement wasn't more commonly outsourced with services like integrated supply and vendor managed inventory programs."