Ventus and Business Process Outsourcing

Chapter Seventeen Case

Case 17-1
Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall

The Philippine Call Center Industry

While India has had the hub for call center outsourcing, the Philippines has quietly emerged as a leading provider in the call center industry Prior to 2000, the companies that primarily outsourced to the Philippines were shared services operations of multinational companies The rapid expansion of call-center outsourcing in the Philippines is projected to continue into the next decade
Case 17-2
Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall

Background on Ventus
In general, customers sign up with Ventus because of the potential savings that they could generate Ventus views its business as providing high value voice services to customers

Case 17-3
Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall

Success Factors
Ventus success could be attributed to several factors:
Ventus has benefited from the explosive growth of international outsourcing Ventus has smartly leveraged the resources of the PLDT group of companies Ventus is arguably one of the best-led companies in the call center industry in the Philippines
Case 17-4
Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall

Growing the Business

Growth in the call-center outsourcing industry in the Philippines is expected to be robust for the next three to five years, if they address:
Expansion into data business process outsourcing Market, Customer, and Geographic Diversification
Case 17-5
Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall

Emerging Challenges
The prospect of a tightening labor market, making it more challenging for Ventus and other companies in the Philippines to attract and retain high-quality customer service representatives Since Ventus invoices customers in dollars, and the Philippine peso (PHP) has appreciated by about 8% during the first half of 200, it is likely that this will compress the companys profit margins The development of more companies entering the call centre industry, means increased competition for Ventus, both in the recruitment of employees and new customers

Case 17-6
Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall

Questions
What factors explain the growth of the Philippine call center industry in general and ePLDT Ventus in particular? What current role(s) do business process outsourcers including call centers like Ventus play in the global supply chain for services? What additional roles can these outsourcers play in the future? What will be the best path for growth for Ventus? Evaluate the various options discussed in the case. What path would you recommend Ventus take? Why? How should Ventus address the emerging challenges that could potentially derail its growth? What other challenges are likely to emerge? How should Ventus deal with these additional challenges? It would be helpful to use the Five Forces model discussed in Chapter 11 to analyze their strengths and weaknesses.

Case 17-7
Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall