June 2012
Address: Viktor Igo 4A 1000 Skopje, Macedonia Phone Number: +389 2 2700101 Website: www.targetcomm.com.mk
BUSINES PROCESS OUTSOURCE
Chapter 1, Part 1:
Contact/Call Center Opportunities in Macedonia
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Contents
Introduction 2
Problem Statement 3
Options – Worldwide market trends 3
Solution 3
Summary 4
Introduction
In the present economic climate, it is appropriate that Corporations or Companies consider all cost-‐ saving strategies as a mean of dealing with budget constraints. Outsourcing presents an attractive option that can be tremendously cost-‐effective if done selectively. Leaders should consider both the risks and rewards when doing so, stressing the unique needs and culture of their institution. In doing so, efforts should be made to safeguard the strategic needs of the organization while off-‐loading commodity services that can be done more cheaply and efficiently by outside vendors.
Call centers in Macedonia as outsource solution are still not developed and competition is not high. There is a significant market potential and development opportunities.
On the Macedonian market at the moment only large telecom companies (T-‐Home, T-‐Mobile, One and VIP), Banks (Stopanska Banka, Komercijalna Banka, Tutunska Banka, etc.) and Utility company (EVN) have their in-‐source call centers for customer services and technical support. Insurance companies have very small call centers.
However, these companies also use outsourced call centers mainly for collection purposes.
Ministry of Interior is the most extensive user of an outsourced domestic call center, which is engaged for making schedules for identification documents: IDs, passports, driving licenses, birth certificates, etc.
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Problem Statement
The success of any vendor relationship is tied to how diligently it is managed. To ensure expectations are met, it is prudent to identify a series of metrics that can be objectively monitored throughout the outsourced engagement. Tracking metrics will help guarantee agreed upon service levels are never compromised.
Currently, there is no directory for this service category or official data for complete services offered,
languages and capacities. Statistics and types of calls are also not available as standard reporting trend. Call center operations are not regulated with the AEK regulation, and reports and trends are not available. As a result of an ad hoc market research initiated by Target Communication it was concluded that on the Macedonian market beside already mentioned companies, exist several companies that provide call center services for foreign companies and outside markets including USA which core business is certainly not rendering outsource services.
Options – Worldwide market trends
What’s Being Outsourced Today?
Outsourcing is growing within the recent years. Top 10 activities that are outsourced are:
Why Companies Outsource?
Below are most common reasons why companies use partner companies for outsource:
Solution
Macedonia can offer many benefits:
• With over 45% of the population under 30 years of age Macedonia offers a young, educated and skilled workforce due to well developed education system
• Variety of languages that can be supported: English, German, Italian, Albanian, Serbian, Croatian, Greek, French, Spanish, Polish, Russian
• Beneficial Government Support (see below) • Sufficient office space
• Highly reliable telecommunication services1: o 3 mobile operators (T-‐Mobile, One, VIP), o 81 ISP’s active on the market,
o 29 active public fixed voice telephony service providers that include cable
operators providing public voice telephony as well as managed VoIP operators.
• Strong and reliable ICT support
• Lower labor costs compared to most EU countries as well as USA, with average Call Center agent gross monthly salary 350 EURO
1 20111219_Cullen Int-Annex-1-november-2011
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%
Real Estate/Facility Management TransportaOon Sales/MarkeOng HR Manufacturing Contact/Call Centers DistribuOon & LogisOcs Finance AdministraOon InformaOon Technology
0% 20% 40% 60%
FuncOon Difficult to Manage or Out of Control Share Risks Accelerate Reengineering Benefits Reduce Time to Market Take Advantage of Off Shore CapabiliOes Resources Not Available Internaly Gain Access to World -‐ Class CapabiliOes Free Resources for Other Purposes Reduce and Control OperaOng Costs Improve Company Focus
4 | P a g e Strong Government Support
Investors can enjoy special benefits
• 0% tax on profits in the first 10 years (further 10%, only to distributed profits)
• Up to 10 years exemption from income tax payment
• Exemption from the obligations for Value Added Tax and customs duties on exported products except for products considered as final consumption products
• 99 years land concession with minimal annual fees
• free connection to water supply, sewage and electricity infrastructure
• Macedonia is in the Central European Time Zone (GMT +1), and it is a good destination for outsourcing of services for the European and USA companies. The time zone enables simple communication with the staff from the country of origin.
• The developed banking sector and the presence of banks providing electronic payment allows easy management of transactions in a short period of time
• The estimated collaterals in case of using a real estate mortgage provides a high level of security for the assets
Macedonian Market Potential:
-‐ Identification of all prepaid customers (~ 1,5 mill.)
-‐ Medical exams scheduling
-‐ Customer loyalty – after sales calls, invoice clarification and explanation
-‐ Updates on customer data for banks, insurance companies
Market Potential for Macedonian and Foreign Companies
There are opportunities for following activities: • Inbound calls (ex. For telco operators
treatment of prepaid customers, for insurance companies inquiries regarding insurance opportunities)
• Outbound (ex. For telco operators: dunning calls, setup of internet equipment, problems with connections, contract renewals;
Insurance companies: dunning calls; Banks: dunning calls)
• Sales (cross-‐sale and up-‐sale) • Lead generation
• Order taking
• Back Office Processing (Data Entry, Transcription, Research, etc…) • Technical support • Help desk • Surveys • Customer Service • Appointment settings • Market researches Summary
This white paper has shown several areas where interested parties need a deeper, more granular analysis of contact/call center opportunities, since it is a fact that generally companies try to maximize their revenues, using cost cutting.
5 | P a g e Such cost cuttings create opportunities to enter new
markets that can provide high quality service, but more cost effective.
Doing business in Macedonia is less than a simple task. Transferring the best practices in the regional business environment and local and regional markets in many cases does not guarantee commercial or any other success. We are here to make your life easier and help you translate the global know-‐how into local reality. We offer our clients the opportunity to use bundled services and get the right directions in business ever since Day 1 of their business venture in Macedonia. Our excellent communication and understanding with local institutions and government, as well as many other competent organs, provides us with the unique market position that ensures that our clients are continuously and permanently provided with quality service.
We offer:
Legal Consulting Financial Consulting Real Estate Consulting Business processes mapping HR
Market Analysis
Marketing Strategies and implementation plans PR
To find out more about Business Process Outsource Opportunities, feel free to contact us at:
Managing Director [email protected] Senior Consultant [email protected] http://www.targetcomm.com.mk