Before Lehman Brothers disintegrated in September 2008, investment banks and wealth management firms enjoyed returns on equity of as high as 20 percent. The cost of capital is typically around 10 percent. “It was a very profitable business based on the leverage those companies used,” explains Sud, Wipro’s head of financial services, BPO, for the US.
Today, however, the cost of capital is basically the same. But these firms have struggled to get their profitability to match that percentage, according to Sud.
One huge cost center is back office operations. Sud estimates that large banking conglomerates have up to 7,000… Read the rest
During the last two decades, we have witnessed many technology advancements that have allowed various levels of automation providing HR executives access to vast amounts of data—all which essentially made our lives easier.
For example, in the 1990′s it was common practice for organizations to license software to manage their businesses. These licenses required costly efforts to customize the software to accommodate the individual business needs as well as accumulated the expense of huge amounts of infrastructure and human capital required to operate it.
During the early 2000′s service providers entered the picture, enabling organizations to outsource portions of (or… Read the rest
Wipro has long recognized the synergies between cloud computing and BPO.
Customers are quickly acknowledging the benefits of a cloud- based environment because they realize it can be a competitive advantage. As a result, transitioning to a cloud-based environment is gaining momentum.
Indeed, the cloud is fast gaining mainstream acceptance as companies, especially small and mid-sized businesses, find it an attractive alternative to maintaining complex systems in-house. In addition, they no longer have to support and maintain the processes or install frequent upgrades.
A cloud-based environment promises new levels of flexibility, faster time-to-market and more efficient resource utilization; this enables… Read the rest
To me, it’s always good business to do well by doing good. That’s the spirit in which Wipro established its rural BPO program in Manjakuddi, a village with a population of 2500. A large percentage of the 54 employees live in a house with a thatched roof. The village is six hours by car from Chennai.
The mover and shaker behind this project is Puneet Chandra, global head and vice president, Corporate Business Services, who was moved by the work of two institutions:
- The Azim Premji Foundation, whose goal is to educate the girl child in rural India
- Swami
Manish Dugar is the new head of Wipro BPO. Dugar takes over at a watershed moment. “The near future features a volatile and dynamic economy. Thanks to technology and scientific advances, geography is history. Now, what happens in one part of the world impacts the whole world,” he observes.
The senior vice president has had a front seat for the growth of offshoring. He was there when it was all about labor arbitrage. His goal: to lead Wipro BPO through the next phase: producing business-based outcomes. Wipro calls this Business Function Outsourcing (BFO). “We are no longer a commodity player,”… Read the rest
In tracking what’s been pulsating through the outsourcing world recently, two items rose to the top of my list of developments that buyers of outsourcing services should keep on their radar screens.
First is the launch of OPInvoice, Outsource Partners International’s new on-demand end-to-end solution for the Source-to-Pay cycle. This is important not only because of the solution’s capabilities to reduce costs and provide visibility into the process but also because it is OPI’s entry into the world of Platform BPO offerings.
It’s part of a significant trend in providing more predictable value in outsourced services. Look… Read the rest
Win-win approach. Collaborative relationship. These buzz words are tossed out frequently as a hallmark when executives describe their outsourcing relationships. But the terms are apt to be misused. I’ve had some interesting conversations about winning and collaborating in outsourcing relationships. One executive summarized an event in his company’s relationship this way:
“When we identified the root cause of the issue, we collaborated to determine the solution that would meet our needs and be a win-win.”
Despite the fact that a lot of companies use the buzz words and label this kind of situation as a win-win approach and as collaborating,… Read the rest
TalentFusion, a Leading Recruitment Process Outsourcing provider, has acquired Fulbright Executive Search, a premiere executive search firm. All Fulbright employees and clients will migrate over to the TalentFusion RPO platform.
Even if your business is not already a client of TalentFusion or Fulbright Executive Search, this is important news in the outsourcing world. Pamela Fulbright, founder of Fulbright Executive Search, explains why:
“The industry is migrating towards an RPO model for most recruitment business.”
Fulbright has been in business for over twenty years, delivering executive level retained search services to Fortune 1000 firms around the world, with a focus on the US… Read the rest
An article in a leading Indian magazine, Business Today, highlights strategies of Genpact and a few other firms on the leading edge of tweaking their work cultures to align with the needs of GenNow, the new-generation workforce. The article also quotes HR provider, Mercer India, on the driving needs of the GenNow workers:
… the new workforce is driven by four needs: To acquire recognition and prestige, to bond, to comprehend and seek knowledge, and to defend themselves. This generation likes to seek novelty, push frontiers and they seek to be trusted.
I believe wise buyers of outsourcing services — those that seek to… Read the rest
Everyone’s doing it. Touting the numbers. Researchers get paid to find the percentages and totals, and writers and analysts get paid to put a spin on them. But I think that research studies and advice about the outsourcing market often miss the boat.
For evidence, look no further than a report yesterday (written by CRM Management editors) about the findings in Op2i’s recent Outsourcing 2010 survey. Here’s their anemic conclusion from their data:
While interest in outsourcing has increased, focus has yet again shifted to cost reduction, with suppliers pressured to deliver more for less – the U turn
Recent Comments
“Great interview with a top professional! Shared. Mel, alldayPA ”
“I like your orchestra analogy. I would like to start a discussion on knowledge transfer as a focus group for my ...”
“I am a university student studying alliance collaborations that involve sourcing of work internationally and would like to start a ...”
“Yes I totally agree with you price benchmark every year would be a great idea to keep up. ”
“nice share liked this article ”
“definitely cloud is there and its there to stay and also providing so many opportunities in it outsourcing ”
“Cloud computing is surely the new way of outsourcing. With IAAS, its takes the burden off the small and middle ...”
“I don't even understand how I stopped up right here, however I assumed this publish used to be great. I ...”