European chamber to develop 12 SMEs in BPO industry

Business Mirror
Feb 14, 2006

European chamber to develop 12 SMEs in BPO industry

THE European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines (ECCP) has secured a P43-million fund that will be used to develop 12 small and medium-scale business process outsourcing (BPO) firms and get them ready to service the needs of European companies.

Through the P43-million Common Quality Language project, the ECCP hopes to create a select group of SMEs in the BPO industry that will be compatible with European companies' outsourcing requirements.

The SMEs to be selected will not be made to pay the cost that would be allotted for their development. Funding for the project came from the European Commission. "There is a good potential for creating a consortium of highly qualified information technology SMEs from which European companies can choose to do business with," ECCP executive vice president Henry Schumacher said.

ECCP is looking toward initially tapping Metro Manila-based BPO SMEs with at least two-year operational history, capitalization of at least P5 million, and a willingness to conform and be trained to the total quality management standards of Europe. The SMEs will then be matched with European companies that have outsourcing requirements for some of their operations and those that are willing to explore new service providers that can offer world-class service at a competitive market rate.

BPO involves the outsourcing of management of noncore business processes systems, including payroll, finance and accounting, logistics, sales and marketing, and administration to third-party providers as part of cost- cutting strategy.

"We believe the Philippines ' BPO sector is growing at a faster pace than its competitors, including India .  It is competitive enough to provide the specific needs and requirements of European companies," Schumacher said.   The high growth of the BPO sector over the last five years has industry analysts estimating it to have posted $2 billion in revenues in 2005 as compared with only $150 million in 2000.

Established in 1978, ECCP has been aggressively promoting trade and investments between the Philippines and Europe by looking at new opportunities in the service sector.

http://www.businessmirror.com.ph/2006/0214/14%20econ%20european.php