BPO stands for Business Process Outsourcing, which refers to the process of subcontracting various business-related operations to third-party vendors. The primary goal of BPO is to cut costs, free up time, and focus on core aspects of the business. Two types of BPO are front-office and back-office. Back-office BPO entails the internal aspects of a business, such as payroll, inventory purchasing, and billing. BPO can lower a companys costs, increase efficiency, and provide flexibility. Companies of all sizes and at all stages of their journey may use BPO. For example, a startup might not have the budget to hire an entire in-house department, or an established company may want to reduce complexity and improve flexibility. BPO can make a business more flexible by outsourcing areas outside of its core competencies, freeing up time, costs, and resources to focus on other aspects of the business.