Knowledge Process Outsourcing is the way forward, industry officials say
View(s):By Duruthu Edirimuni Chandrasekera
The appetite for Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) in Sri Lanka will saturate in time and the country should thus look towards more value addition (in this sector) in a bid to attract foreign investors, according to industry officials
“Over time, Sri Lanka’s cost advantage (in terms of low labour) will rise. We need to go for high value addition in the outsourcing chain such as Knowledge Process Outsourcing (KPO),” Dr. Arul Sivagananathan, Treasurer International Association of Outsourcing Professionals (IAOP) told the Business Times. He said this on the sidelines of the IAOP Sri Lanka chapter launch recently. IAOP has more than 200,000 professional members with 60 chapters and is a global standard setting organisation and advocate for the outsourcing profession. It is the first, and only global professional membership-based organisation to establish standards for users, providers and advisors of outsourced services, as well as advance and advocate outsourcing as an industry, according to Sujiva Dewaraja, President IAOP. He said that KPO can rely less on the human resource cost. He said that KPO is the outsourcing of high-end business functions carried out by skilled workers and KPO firms provide expertise in the processes they perform and often make low level business decisions. He also added that electricity and broadband costs are a concern. “Basic Internet connectivity is good, but broadband isn’t,” he said, noting that Sri Lanka needs better broadband at lower cost. IAOP helps organisations increase their outsourcing success rate, improve their outsourcing return on investments and expand their outsourcing opportunities.
Outsourcing is expected to increase dramatically in the years to come, Mr. Dewaraja said, noting that few, if any, companies are going to be able to meet their challenges by relying solely on their own internal resources. Working with partners and getting the most out of those relationships may be the most effective way for businesses to leverage what they are best at to compete successfully in an increasingly diverse, dynamics and competitive global marketplace, according to IAOP.
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