By Gean Botha, MD at Programmed Process Outsourcing (PPO)
It happens every year. Business tends to pick up in December with customer demand increasing drastically over the festive holidays. Thanks to Covid-19, most businesses cannot afford to miss out on this profit-generating opportunity, but it can become difficult to meet the holiday demand due to inefficient business processes or staff taking annual leave. This is where Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) can play a major role in enhancing organisational flexibility and increasing revenue-generating output by making the most of available resources over the holiday season. While it’s difficult to predict exactly what consumers are going to be spending their money on this Christmas, it is possible to gain the agility to respond quickly to consumer demands, with BPO’s assistance.
A challenging time of year after a year of challenges
What does the festive season mean for most businesses? For retail and manufacturing in particular, it means longer hours and more staff to service and supply festive shoppers with their gifts and essentials over the holiday. While companies in this industry are generally prepared to handle the spike in business, there is little room for error this year, with budgets already stretched paper-thin after the lockdown of 2020. Every single business in every industry has been affected by the pandemic in some way – whether due to port closures or flight cancellations impacting the ability to import goods and services, while increasing the cost of doing so. For those businesses that rely on imported goods, a high level of planning is required, and it is necessary to watch costs closely. Although the holiday season itself is still a few weeks away, manufacturing and distribution industries are already in the thick of preparing for it. This is where BPO still has a role to play to optimise processes and maximise resources, which will be of further benefit in next year’s festive season.
Benefits of Business Process Outsourcing
Organisations that choose to outsource business processes to a specialist BPO provider, will benefit from expertise that is honed to achieve business efficiencies across the entire operational chain. Cost reductions are gained through process improvements and re-engineering so as to curb administrative and production costs. Costs move from fixed to variable as businesses pay now only for a service as it’s needed. Outsourcing non-core business processes gives teams the time and resources to focus on revenue-generating activities, such as pushing sales, developing new products and refining service offerings, all of which is aimed at higher customer service and satisfaction levels.
Some of the processes that are suitable for outsourcing to a third-party specialist company include accounting and payroll, marketing, sales, IT management, administrative tasks, customer service, manufacturing, and shipping and logistics. Businesses in the retail and e-commerce space can optimise their non-core functions and increase flexibility while lowering operating costs through a combination of business process and functional outsourcing, particularly when it comes to shipping and logistics over the festive season. Physical retail stores will require flexibility on the floor in terms of human resources and with the right outsourcing partner, stores gain the ability to bring on seasonal workers that are effectively trained in customer service and product knowledge.
The right BPO partner is everything
The key to a successful outsourcing project is to work with a partner who is experienced and qualified to do the job – a partner who is reliable, market relevant and is driven to achieve your goals. Having a reliable BPO partner at this time of year can make all the difference between panic and productivity, because companies can rest assured that their peak demand will be met. A trusted partner aligns with the business, which translates ultimately to customer satisfaction. Companies can outsource operational processes in addition to human resource management at the same time, either as a holistic solution or with a focus on individual systems, depending on the business need. In doing so, key role players in the company can disengage from time and resource intensive day-to-day management responsibilities and focus on growing the business.
The value of a partnership with a trusted BPO provider will be visible in the flexibility and efficiencies with which the business is equipped. This materialises through the provision of human resources that will bolster and enhance the business’ marketing strategies. The BPO provider takes on the responsibility for the planning, organisation and control of the outsourced function entirely, giving the business sufficient time and resources to plan for and maximise their revenue-generating opportunities over the next festive season.
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