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Offshoring Solutions in the Philippines
October 31, 2006


The Philippines' Steep BPO Development

As competition increases, cutting costs is no longer the only reason why companies outsource. Offshore outsourcing is a strategic shift to a business model that is driven by the high quality of work that can be delivered through a diverse human capital available in an increasing number of countries. The question is not whether or not to move your core business processes offshore, but when and how.-- Martin Conboy

The main motivation for offshoring solutions in the Philippines was to minimize production cost and maximize profits. While costs are lower from the point of view of the U.S. companies, the skilled and knowledge workers in the developing countries are benefited by the increase in their incomes since their current salaries for local work are still lower compared to the workers of the developed countries.
Other BPO services include higher value added professional services such as software development, engineering and architectural design, human resource management services, and other professional services like finance and accountancy, management consultancy, etc. These inshore and offshore services can be developed further by the country.

But right now, the contact center industry is still the biggest component of all offshoring solutions in the Philippines. And, according to the Philippine Call Center Industry study of 2003, it is projected to grow by 100% annually. This positive growth outlook is higher than that of other Asian competitor countries led by India at 65%, China at 41% and Thailand and Malaysia at 15%. The Philippines has a comparative advantage in the industry (cantres.net 2004).

The Philippines has some advantages over competitor countries where the BPO industry is concerned. Among these is the large pool of 380,000 to 450,000 college graduates entering the labor force every year with American English communication skills and knowledge in ICT. The country also has a reliable and reasonably priced ICT infrastructure and, most importantly, relatively lower salaries for qualified personnel. An added plus is the generally friendly and hospitable atmosphere and western-oriented values.

Compared with 10 other countries, the Philippines has the second lowest hourly wage for professionals at 13% of the US level. With the Philippines ranking third in the knowledge and information-based jobs in the 2002 Global Technology Index research of the META Group, the Philippines is confident that the country will be the world’s contact center hub specializing in customer service support.

With the accelerating growth of the outsourcing industry over the medium term and the limited ability of the available workforce to increase with the trend, concerns are raised about the low cost of labor as a competitive advantage of the Philippines. The predicted upward movement in labor cost, however, is not at all disadvantageous because it may even keep the sector “lean and mean” and further improve the quality of the output. True enough, the “third wave” or electronic revolution further redefined work requirement in the IT era as to include the highly specialized skills.

As call centers have gained prominence in the country as the primary IT sector, the majority of the work focuses on the high end and more complicated aspect of the business such as level-three help desk, financial work and technical support which require highly skilled well-educated agents.

Offshoring, Inc, an American owned and operated staff leasing company headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia and based in the Philippines, provides businesses and employers with a simple, no-hassle solution to offshoring business processes, in response to the influx of demand for outsourced products and/or services.

Offshoring, Inc provides offshoring solutions in the Philippines and is the foremost offshore staff leasing company that offers the best professionals in the labor pool, such as advanced degree holders and competently trained writers, graphic designers, programmers, media managers, quality assurance representatives, data entry clerks and contact center agents all who have practical experience in the workforce. The company helps international employers significantly reduce searching, training, and operating costs while maintaining complete control over the process. Offshoring, Inc’s edge among other staff leasing companies is the highly qualified skilled professionals that occupy their seats. The company also provides state-of-the-art hardware and facilities for the professionals’ efficient operations.

Providing US-based confidentiality and non-compete agreements, Offshoring, Inc values the client’s intellectual property and trade secrets in top priority. The company assures clients that the staff they hire are their exclusive employees until the contract expires. All potential staff are extensively reviewed with background checks and constant stern supervision. Offshoring, Inc dutifully protects their clients’ security.

Stimulated by these factors and a growing awareness of the cost advantages and the abundant availability of skilled labor in the Philippines, offshore business process outsourcing firms made their first business endeavors to promote themselves into first world companies. A handful of Asian-based providers, seeing opportunity in extending their service offering and aware of first world companies growing appetite for cost reduction, began to extend their service offering beyond information technology into the same areas of work and processes that big companies were engaged in. Along the way, their investments in systems and scale began to pay off, and the case for BPO grew to encompass not just cost advantage but also increased quality and effectiveness.

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