Posts Tagged offshore outsourcing
Offshore Outsourcing Services – Becoming Increasingly Customer-Oriented
Offshore outsourcing services may continue to be associated with conventional concepts such as cost-savings, but if we analyze properly, we can easily see that the applicability of such concepts has witnessed constant erosion over the past few years. One of the main reasons for that has been the growing awareness that outsourcing services are not just a means to reduce operational costs. And that they play a more important role, i.e. acting as a vital link between businesses and their present and potential customers. This becomes evident when we look at recent customer survey results that clearly indicate that around 70% of customers move over to a new product or service if they are dissatisfied with the customer support services offered by their existing product manufacturer or service provider.
This is why businesses nowadays are not satisfied with mere cost savings. They expect outsourcing firms to deliver much more, focusing increasingly on maximizing customer satisfaction levels. In this context, it would be worth mentioning that outsourcing firms are living up to the expectations. It’s because they too know that until and unless efforts are made to improve customer satisfaction, sustaining growth and development will not be possible. Offshore outsourcing services providers that have already realized the importance of customer-oriented services are presently witnessing great demand for their offered BPO services.
Add comment May 8, 2008
Why Its Better To Choose Small & Medium Sized Offshore Outsourcing Services Providers?
Well, answering that is quite easy, because there are plenty of reasons that support the fact that small & medium sized offshore outsourcing services providers are a better choice as compared to their larger counterparts. To start with, it would be worth mentioning that in today’s fast changing business environment what’s needed is the ability to offer operational flexibility, something that can best be provided by small & medium sized outsourcing firms. Most of these firms are in the mode of constant growth and expansion and as such flexibility is something that comes naturally to them. Based on specific client needs and requirements, these firms can easily alter their service delivery systems, thereby paving the way for increased efficiency and quality of offered services.
The other prominent reason is that most of these small & medium sized outsourcing firms have a greater appetite for growth and development, something that naturally impels them to provide the best possible outsourcing services to their clients. Since they are well aware that future growth depends a lot on client satisfaction levels, they never compromise on the quality and efficiency of offered services. They work hard to ensure that everything gets done exactly as the client has stipulated. And all of these are reason enough for choosing small & medium sized offshore outsourcing services providers
Add comment May 8, 2008
Business Process Outsourcing Services – Moving From Cost-Centric To Customer-Centric
When the basic blueprint of the concept of business process outsourcing was being designed, it was mainly intended as a means to reduce operational costs by outsourcing non-core business processes to offshore outsourcing firms. The insistence on achieving and delivering cost-savings may still remain one of the primary demands of clients, but if we analyze current trends in the outsourcing services industry, we can easily see that most clients now demand much more then just cost-savings.
Newer demands focus on the need to achieve maximum customer satisfaction, because it has become common knowledge that views and opinions of customers in relation to a product or service depends a lot on the quality of offered customer support services. With recent reports indicating that around 70% of customers change their preferences based on customer support services, achieving the demanded customer satisfaction levels has become all the more important for outsourcing firms.
As customers become more concerned about the quality of services being offered to them, it would be correct to assume that the pace of moving from cost-centric to customer-centric will increase dramatically in the near future. When that happens, it will benefit both clients and business process outsourcing firms.
Add comment May 8, 2008
Technology – The Differentiating Factor For Business Process Outsourcing Services Providers
A huge English speaking population and affordable human resource procurement rates may be the natural advantages available to all outsourcing firms located in India, but when it comes to being the best business process outsourcing services provider, way above the rest in terms of quality and cost-effectiveness, it can be said that it’s none other than technology that ultimately makes all the difference. So how exactly does technology help in making it to the top? Well, there are actually many ways in which technology helps outsourcing firms to achieve the distinction of being the best in the industry. To make it more clear, some of these reasons have been discussed in the following paragraphs.
The first thing technology does is that it streamlines existing customer service processes and channels in an offshore outsourcing company. And when this is achieved, it becomes easier for customer service professionals to improve the quality of deliverables, which can be everything from a phone call to an email help request, online chat, document scanning services, financial services, accounting services, back office services, payroll processing services, web promotion services, content development services etc. When quality is improved, it automatically increases client satisfaction levels, which in turn brings in more business for the outsourcing company. It also results in referrals, a proven method for adding new clients and increasing the annual sales.
Newer technology has almost always made things easier for employees and this is exactly what has happened for those who work in the BPO India industry. BPO professionals have gained a lot because now they have to put in a lot less effort for achieving the same results that earlier took them a lot more time and effort. This is something that keeps them motivated and more committed towards achieving their predefined goals and targets. It also helps in improving the surrounding work environment, something that automatically boosts employee morale. This in turn makes it easier for outsourcing firms to satisfy employee needs and expectations, thereby reducing attrition levels.
Introduction of advanced technological tools and systems in the Indian call center industry has also helped in augmenting operational efficiencies of outsourcing firms. When this is achieved, it automatically results in faster turnaround times and faster completion of ongoing outsourcing projects. This implies that by using advanced technology tools and systems, outsourcing firms can successfully execute more projects in a given financial year. This is necessary because the long-term success of any business enterprise depends on its ability to keep increasing its growth rate, year after year.
As in the past, it is likely that technology will continue to play an important role in determining the success of outsourcing firms in the future. In the near future, only those business process outsourcing services providers who are quick to embrace the latest technological tools and systems will be able to deliver world-class outsourcing services.
Add comment April 17, 2008
Is The Business Process Outsourcing Services Industry Losing Out to Competitors?
Well, questions like these have certainly started popping up, probably due to the subprime crisis that some in the outsourcing industry say can adversely affect business process outsourcing services . However, this is highly unlikely simply because the more businesses feel the heat of the ongoing crisis, the more they will be impelled to reduce costs and improve efficiencies, something that can only be derived through outsourcing non-core business processes.
It’s not that competition has not increased in the offshore outsourcing industry; it certainly has due to the emergence of other low-cost outsourcing destinations such as Philippines, Vietnam, China, Brazil, Argentina, Srilanka, Brazil and others. However, that hardly proves anything simply because competition exists in every industry and it never implies that it will lead to the downfall of a particular sector of the industry.
In the same way, increasing competition in the outsourcing industry would never imply that it will lead to the downfall of the BPO India industry that is currently the market leader. It can imply an increase in the amount of effort put in by the industry, but apart from that it does not imply anything else in the real sense.
The call center India industry is well aware of this and this is why it is still following the same aggressive approach as earlier. Expecting more demand in the future, the industry is currently in the process of upgrading its infrastructure and reassessing manpower needs and requirements. This is proof enough of things to come because if the industry was not too sure about emerging trends, it would never have gone for infrastructure upgrades and fresh recruitments.
As such, experts who often claim that the days are over for the outsourcing industry in India, need to do a rethink of their preconceived notions and try to face the reality. The reality is that the business process outsourcing services industry in India has always outperformed popular expectations and is most likely to continue doing the same in the future as well.
Add comment April 15, 2008
The Changing Face Of Business Process Outsourcing Services
Whoever said that change was the only constant may have never dreamed about the emergence of the business process outsourcing services industry, but even then he turned out to be quite right, obviously because the world as we know it has continuously kept transforming itself, right in front of our eyes. Be it the world population, economy, technology, society, space exploration, IQ levels, or for that matter anything that we humans are aware of has changed and continues to change with every passing hour. We all may be aware of this, but when it comes to realizing the real essence of such developments, nobody understands it better than the outsourcing industry in India. It’s probably because the outsourcing industry is one of the most dynamic industries and changes in this industry happen a lot faster in comparison to other industries.
So what exactly are the changes that the offshore outsourcing industry in India is currently experiencing? Well, there are quite a lot of them, but if we were to identify only the most prominent ones, it would certainly include the introduction of newer, more effective customer service management concepts, techniques, methodologies, and systems such as those available through BPO 2.0. And what exactly is BPO 2.0.? Well, in layman’s terms, it can simply be defined as a new approach to customer service management, which is designed to help outsourcing firms in making the best possible utilization of available resources. When this is achieved, it becomes easier for outsourcing firms to develop competencies, something that is necessary for overcoming current and long-term competitive challenges.
But what about the clients of the BPO India industry, who should have been the beneficiaries of BPO 2.0 in the first place? The clients of the outsourcing industry are actually the top beneficiaries of BPO 2.0. Clients benefit because the outsourcing industry never forgets to pass on to them the derived benefits that come in the form of substantial cost savings, increased efficiencies, and of course enhanced accuracy and reliability. All this becomes a possibility because BPO 2.0 stresses the use of advanced yet cost effective technological systems and processes. Outsourcing firms that implement these can easily achieve the targeted goals and objectives.
The pace of change in the call center India industry may out pace other industries, but when one considers the wide ranging benefits that are available through BPO 2.0, it seems likely that this new customer service management concept will continue to be used for many years to come. Additions and exclusions may continue, but the basic concept as it is, may not change too much in the near future. This is certainly good news for both clients and the business process outsourcing services industry in India, obviously because both entities will continue to derive the benefits associated with BPO.2.0.
1 comment April 14, 2008
The Future Of Business Process Outsourcing Services
Just a few years back, most industry experts and businesses seemed quite enthusiastic about the future prospects of business process outsourcing services. Things however have changed dramatically over the last few years, especially after the US subprime crisis. Decreasing profit margins and increasing operational costs have started taking their toll on the outsourcing industry, so much so that today not many foresee a bright future for this industry. The situation may not actually force the downing of shutters for this industry, but one thing is quite certain that the ride ahead wont be as smooth as it used to be earlier.
The most worrying issue for the offshore outsourcing industry today is that future growth prospects no longer seem promising enough. Businesses may still be planning to allocate billions of dollars for hiring outsourcing services, but that wont be enough simply because sustaining double-digit growth rates as was the case earlier, will require even larger budgets. Moreover, since the Dollar has depreciated significantly against most of the major world currencies including the Rupee, it means that in real terms, the budgets have not actually increased and may even have come down in some cases. These factors are eroding the cost competencies of outsourcing firms and that’s exactly what they are worried about.
Apart from decreasing profit margins and rising operational costs, the BPO India industry has also become a victim of racial targeting. It started soon after the very first of work processes were outsourced and it still continues to haunt the Indian outsourcing industry. Off late, there have been plenty of protests against outsourcing and it seems likely that sooner or later, the US government will have no other option but to look into the matter in detail. This might result in new legislations that may not turn out to be all that favorable for the Indian outsourcing industry.
So, what exactly is the call center India industry doing to overcome these newest of challenges that are restricting its growth? Well, there are quite many things that the industry is currently involved with, but it we were to talk about the most promising of these activities, it would certainly include the increasing reliance on newer, more efficient and more cost-effective customer management concepts such as BPO 2.0. These emerging concepts lay stress on the use of advanced, yet cost-effective technologies and systems, something that enables outsourcing firms to achieve the desired level of cost and operational efficiencies.
New challenges and issues have certainly made their presence felt in the outsourcing industry, but there is still hope, especially with the availability of newer systems such as BPO 2.0 that have plenty in their arsenal for combating the emerging threats. However, this does not mean that the industry can afford to relax, obviously because a lot also depends on how well BPO 2.0 concepts are actually used. In effect, we can say that although the requisite tools and techniques are available, the industry will have to pitch in with its efforts and resources, if the future of business process outsourcing services is to be secured.
Add comment April 8, 2008
What’s The Future Growth Potential Of Business Process Outsourcing Services?
Well, not many are aware of this, but what is likely to become a reality is that the business process outsourcing services industry will witness tremendous growth in the near future. Some experts oppose this view saying that the existing subprime crisis in the US will affect the bottom lines of outsourcing companies, but what they probably fail to account for is the fact that every industry has its ups and downs from time to time and that such cyclical events do not determine the fate of the industry concerned. The same applies to the outsourcing industry in India, but some experts, it seems, just fail to realize this.
More evidence in support of the above reasoning is available when we look at recent reports that clearly state that the maximum recovery time for the US economy will be a maximum of 12 months. Now, that does not seem too long a time especially after considering the fact that the outsourcing industry has been in business for quite sometime now and that it is anticipated to carry on its business for many years to come. So, it wont be wrong to say that when the US economy finally recovers, the roadblocks will automatically be removed and the offshore outsourcing industry will already be set to achieve even greater goals, objectives and milestones.
Demand will rise along with competition when the subprime woes are finally left behind. The Indian BPO industry may still be doing quite good in the face of the ongoing crisis, but when the crisis is finally over, it will prove to be a turning point for the industry. The industry will benefit because then it is likely to get more work orders and better service rates. US based businesses will themselves feel the need to make up for the lost growth potential, something that would require them to outsource more of their non-core business processes to outsourcing companies in India.
The likelihood of the Indian call center industry achieving tremendous growth in the near future is also supported by the fact that India has all the necessary resources to achieve and sustain double-digit growth rates. A virtually limitless pool of English-speaking professionals along with the availability of advanced Information Technology and Telecommunications infrastructure, makes India the best option for businesses planning to outsource their non-core work processes. World-class managerial talent and skills are also easily available in India, something that makes Indian outsourcing firms a lot more competitive than those located in other developing countries.
Leaving aside some bad phases, the Indian business process outsourcing services industry has always outperformed popular expectations and looking at the projections, its likely that the trend will continue in the future as well.
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1 comment April 8, 2008
