Two call center firms bare expansion plans

TWO COMPANIES engaged in call center operations are eyeing expansion in the Philippines, with one planning to hike its workforce while the other choosing the country to jump-start its regional growth target.

The local arm of US-based Expert Global Solutions, Inc. (EGS), the firm that born after the merger of NCO Group. Inc. and APAC Customer Network, Inc., is looking to increase its manpower by 20%, EGS Philippines President Rainerio “Bong” M. Borja said.

“We are hiring 5,000 folks but most of them are for seasonal ranks,” Mr. Borja told reporters on the sidelines of Contact Center Association of Philippines press conference yesterday.

Mr. Borja said that the company is poised to increase its work force from 12,000 at present to more than 15,000 by the end of the year, which represents “a third of the total global work force of the EGS.”

PROVINCIAL LOCATIONS

Aside form the increasing its manpower, the company is also looking at expanding in the provinces.
“We are also looking at other locations... in Mindanao and Northern Luzon,” he said.

EGS currently have seven offices in Metro Manila, and one in Leyte and another one in Clark, Pampanga.
Mr. Borja said the NCO Group acquired APAC last April, with NCO being the surviving entity after the merger.

Prior to the union of the two companies, APAC had more than 5,000 employees while the rest are with NCO Group, he added.
Mr. Borja said the merger is expected to boost the new brand’s service portfolio.

“You have to understand the core strengths of the two companies: APAC is very strong in customer relations management, [while] NCO is traditionally strong in the accounts receivable management business,” Mr. Borja claimed.
He went on to say that the company will spend “a couple of million dollars” for the rest of the year while it will “spend more” for next year, with bulk of the investments will be for the company’s infrastructure projects.

MOST COMPETITIVE

Meanwhile, Russian software solution company Noda has chosen the Philippines to jump-start its Asia-Pacific expansion to take advantage of the country’s growing call center industry.

Slava Varlamov, Noda’s regional representative, said the company chosen the Philippine since its is the most competitive market in the region.
“Because it is the completive market in all countries in the Asia-Pacific,” Mr. Varlamov said on the sidelines of a briefing yesterday.
He said the company has positive outlook for the Philippine market, but declined to cite specific revenue targets.

Prior to the expansion, the Russian firm, which specializes in call center software solutions, has operations Eastern Europe and Central Asia.
Established in 2001, Noda (with the trade name Naumen) now has more than 800 projects under its belt.

It has built over 300 contact centers in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, and acquired more than 50 partners in Russia and in the said regions.
Revenues of the local call center sector, which was touted to have overtaken India as the primary destination for outsourced voice services, grew by 21% to $7.4 billion last year, the Business Processing Association of the Philippines said in April.

article source: http://www.bworldonline.com/content.php?section=Corporate&title=Two-call-center-firms-bare-expansion-plans&id=58359