Corporations started outsourcing to reduce their costs from having too many workforces in-house. Now, outsourcing has evolved and has become accessible to small businesses and startups as well.
Enterprises benefit from business process outsourcing the same way small businesses do.
First, it helps them save a lot on labour costs while getting the same, even higher, quality of services from their employees.
Second, the time zone differences between the West and their outsourcing country ensures business continuity. It allows them to give extensive service any time to their local and international customers.
Last, outsourcing helps them with innovation strategies for their products. They also help improve new innovations such as artificial intelligence (AI) and automation.
Corporate outsourcing
From the time Eastman Kodak started outsourcing to IBM up to today, outsourcing is still popular even in large companies. Though they can set up their teams in-house, business process outsourcing helps them maintain within the global market by providing globalized services to customers from different countries. It also helps them get to know their audience in a different location and customise their offerings to keep them relevant.
Company outsourcing examples
Until now, large companies still practise outsourcing to flexibly expand their operations. Some of them are well-known brands such as:
Alibaba
Alibaba is China’s counterpart to Amazon and one of the largest e-commerce websites in the world. In his book, Jack Ma, its founder, revealed that they outsource most of their services. They found difficulty in hiring web developers, so they started outsourcing web development in the US. They grew their business from there, and the rest is history.
Google, the leading search engine company, runs a distributed workforce. They have a mix of in-house and remote employees and outsource most back-office services to 60 different countries. Based on data from 2011, Google phone reps handle 10,000 calls a week from these countries.
Amazon
Amazon, one of the largest marketplace based in the US, outsource their customer service and inventory management. Their teams are operated by Concentrix, a call centre company with an office in the Philippines. This, according to founder Jeff Bezos, is part of their “customer obsession” by providing speedy and painless customer service.
Microsoft
Even Microsoft, one of the leading tech companies, continues to outsource their services. In 2010, they signed a deal with India-based Infosys to outsource their IT operations and tech support. This helps them cut costs and provide better service for their clients through their help desk and 24/7 solutions.
What do companies outsource
Most enterprises that outsource their services usually start with a few tasks with concrete processes. When they see success in their operations, they add more teams to help the business grow. Some of their common outsourced services are the following.
Customer service
Enterprises mostly start with outsourcing customer service for different reasons. It allows them to give 24/7 support to customers. They hire the best representatives that provide the best services to their clients. Also, through outsourcing, they can extend their services in different languages and localities.
Administrative
Administrative duties are some of the most outsourced tasks by enterprises. Virtual assistants often assist with their in-house assistants to provide extensive service to the business owner. They do several tasks from schedule management to order taking for meetings and appointments.
IT and development
Most enterprises, though capable of setting up their IT and development teams, outsource this as a strategy. They take advantage of outsourcing to improve their internal and external services to serve their international clients better.
Tax preparation
Companies with international branches also need to comply with different requirements for their operation, including tax preparation and payment. Outsourcing this to accounting and bookkeeping firms help them keep up with compliance requirements of the country their branch is located.
Payroll
It is normal for an enterprise to have a thousand employees in different locations, especially for multinational companies. This is why they outsource their payroll efforts for both local and overseas branches. This helps them manage their payroll better and more efficiently.
BPO companies for enterprises
Outsource Accelerator provides solutions for businesses of all sizes, from small businesses to enterprises. They also have comprehensive guides on outsourcing and a directory of the companies they can hire for their operations. For first-timers, they also provide advisory and co-managed solutions to help them try outsourcing and see what fits or them. To learn more, visit the Top 40 BPO companies guide.