Planet Outsourcing

Shortage of skilled accounting staff is leading the companies towards outsourcing. Some state that bringing down costs is one of the reasons behind finance and accounting outsourcing followed by the shortage of accounting staff. A number of companies have started to move towards accounting outsourcing. Some of them even state that they are outsourcing for improving the quality of the financial and accounting services.

Due to this a number of local CPA firms are launching their rent a CFO services. It does not mean that everybody is going for accounting outsourcing, there are still a number of middle market companies which are not sure about accounting outsourcing and some of them feel that they might lose control over the outsourced process and are not even sure about the security too.

Though there is some skepticism but it is expected that in the coming years accounting outsourcing would blossom like anything.

Via accountingweb

It is being said that UK companies are losing out £55 million yearly during contact centre outsourcing. As per Exony, better management of outsourcing providers can help the companies to save this money and bring about overall improvement. Exony has highlighted ten areas where the companies could seek improvement and hence savings to the tune of 4.5% per annum. The areas highlighted are accurate forecasting and resource administration so that service level agreements are met and optimum billing methods.

Here are some statistics which would make the picture more clear to you:

Industry statistics show that 14 per cent of the UK’s 5,935 contact centres and 581,000 agent positions are outsourced[1]. Exony calculates that improving organisations’ ability to measure and manage their outsourcing providers would save £675 per annum for each of these 81,340 outsourced agents, making an annual total saving of £54.9 million in the UK alone. This would pay for an additional 3,660 customer service agents[2], dramatically improving efficiency and cutting call waiting times.

Certainly if proper steps are taken then companies could save this big amount and result in further improvements for their company and the customers in the long run.

Via crm2day

Around 105,000 people in Philippines are working in the arena of outsourcing and another million is expected to join this booming industry by 2010. Though economically it is proving to be beneficial but its culture has started to suffer. These people barely get to see the light of the day since they are working in nocturnal shifts, adjusting their sleeping hours has become really difficult and with the new American accent they feel out of place. Still a number of youngsters are flocking to call centers for work since the average salary in this industry is much higher as compared to the national average.

Coupled with abuse by the American customers this has led to frustration among the young working population. Abnormal working hours has started to have effect their health and has made them a caffeine addict in order to stay awake coupled with ENT problems. Lack of a proper family and social life has also left them frustrated but since there is a lot of poverty in this country therefore they seem to be continuing with the suffering. How far is this justified? It’s rightly said money can’t buy you all the happiness in the world.

Via nysun

A number of companies have outsourced their customer services to India which is being regarded as a favored destination for availing cost effective services. Companies opting for outsourcing are fully aware of the hard costs on paper but probably they might not be aware of the soft costs. You must be wondering what are soft costs - let me give you an example to make it easy for you to understand. Soft costs are measurable and this can include the English language nuances and American slangs to name a few. Companies not aware of these may cause severe frustration for their customers and may even lose out on business.

Here are some of the problems which are encountered by the customers:

Can’t understand the problem

Can’t effectively communicate in a way I can understand

Has no empathy for my problem linger on and on

Though one cannot say that customers are unhappy but there are certain people who are not happy with all this and companies need to make sure that the problems need to be solved at hand before they take a shape which cannot be controlled and cause long term problems for the companies.

Via bloggingstocks

RPO or recruitment process outsourcing has started to gain steam in India. RPO is generating revenues worth $92 billion in India and this figure is only expected to go north. The people involved in this work look for clients worldwide and handle the task of finding talent for various jobs.

Overseas companies find it quite suitable since the cost of recruiting a candidate works out to $100,000 per year in U.S. By 2008 RPO is expected to generate revenues worth $ 30 billion. The companies are able to bring down their recruitment costs by more than one third with RPO.

RPO involves work ranging from candidate searching, corporate intelligence research to market trend analyses and market recruiting. The RPO model is proving out to be a big hit therefore it is being regarded as the next big thing in the world of outsourcing.

Via hindustantimes

It is expected that logistics services spending would increase across the pharma, automotive, consumer and technology industries over a period of five years as the outsourced logistics market is expected to grow by nearly thirty three percent. Experts are warning that third party logistics providers must themselves make a greater effort for benefiting from this opportunity since it would now not be possible to rely on greater outsourcing penetration and sustaining margins for recognizing growth.

If outsourcing companies would like to benefit from this industry then they must be associated with their customer in a close manner and develop a better understanding of the variations in the national cultures and regional market characteristics. Growth will be witnessed in retail markets due to consumer demand and supply chain trends. The major growth is expected in online shopping and recycling of electrical products.

Via prweb

Deborah Moggach who is a known screenwriter and novelist has made a very exciting proposition that the U.K elderly should be outsourced to India since the weather is not that pleasant out there, pensions are reducing and it is easier to go on a holiday to Goa rather than catch a train from London to Edinburgh. The elderly would surely enjoy basking in India, the respect for elders prevalent in the Indian culture and low costs out there.

The idea seems pretty good since India is the land of outsourcing but I am not pretty sure whether the elderly would like to leave their motherland permanently and shift to India since emotional attachment to their soil might stop them from leaving their native land but the idea seems to be really good and it might make some entrepreneurs think about starting an old age home for outsourced elderly.

Via thehindubusinessline

Outsourcing is being labeled as a culprit at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center. Local veterans are putting the blame on outsourcing for neglect of veterans’ contribution to the substandard care for wounded soldiers at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center. Competitive outsourcing is being blamed by the lawmakers. For bringing down the costs private companies are being allowed to compete for jobs which were earlier held by federal employees at Walter Reed. It is being said that the staff reductions were so high that they came down from the figures of three hundred to sixty.

One of the veterans stated that if care facilities were to be outsourced they should go to the best providers and not one which is cheap. They say the situation would worsen since American forces are engaged in varied conflicts worldwide. Whatever be the case it has certainly left the veterans high and dry.

Via postbulletin

Convergys is regarded as one of the world’s best outsourcing service providers and in order to honor its commitment to the outsourcing industry International Association of Outsourcing Professionals’ has selected the company as one of the world’s best outsourcing service providers. The list has some of the biggest names serving the outsourcing industry.

Dave Dougherty, President and Chief Operating Officer, Convergys stated:

We are honored to be named to this select list of global outsourcing companies. This distinction is a true reflection of the emphasis we place on providing exceptional solutions for our clients, helping them keep their customer relationships positive and profitable.

Convergys was judged on the basis of the following criteria:

The depth and breadth of the company’s competencies demonstrated through industrial recognition and investment in development of people.

The value it brings to its clients’ customer experience.

The accomplishments and experience of the executive team of Convergys and investment in management system which ensures outsourcing success.

Congratulations to you Convergys!!

Via crm2day

The outsourcing bug has bitten Mudra which is considered to be the fourth largest advertising agency in India and the company is now looking forward to setting up a strategic business unit which would be focusing on outsourcing business.

Madhukar Kamath, Managing director & CEO, Mudra, told Business Standard stated:

There is a lot of back-end work that can be outsourced. We are on the verge of bagging a large outsourcing project.

It seems now the Indian advertising companies are looking forward to get a slice of the advertising outsourcing business but this path will be tough to follow since this area is highly competitive and there are a number of companies which are looking forward to create a mark in this arena. Probably India will play the cost card in order to beat everybody else in this game.

Via agencyfaqs