Skills that provide the main competitive differentiation and overall base of knowledge for an organization. They may be the result of enhanced performance in a given department, such as engineering or marketing, or cross- functional such as the ability of a company to efficiently assemble the multiple skill sets needed to bid and complete large projects. Systems and departments that do not form a core competency are often candidates for outsourcing (ex.- a firm with exceptional semiconductor design engineering skills that chooses to outsource all production to a fab facility).