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THE
business-process outsourcing (BPO) sector may revise its
2010 target of getting a 10-percent share in the
$130-billion global outsourcing revenues so it could
factor in the effects of the financial turmoil in the
United States. The adjustment will be known in six
months.
Danilo
Sebastian Reyes, president of the Business Processing
Association of the Philippines, said the crisis in the
US is not a factor in the 2010 Road Map that the sector
formulated last year, when they projected to rake in at
least $13 billion in revenues and employ 940,000
individuals.
From
what they are seeing now, Reyes said gains and losses
will come out of the US situation. On the positive side,
Reyes said some American companies are already
accelerating their cost-reduction programs and
negotiating more contracts with outsourcing firms in the
Philippines.
It will
be a good indicator for the Philippines, he said, if the
troubled companies will continue to reduce jobs in the
US and then transfer them here to save on cost.
“That is
the opportunity we can take, a lower-cost alternative at
the same quality, but provided out of the Philippines.
So if that will be the trend, the net effect would be
positive,” he said at the sidelines of the National
Competitiveness Council forum for local government units
at the Asian Institute of Management Conference Center
in Makati on Wednesday.
The
downside, however, is this: certain financial companies
in the US have BPO operations in the country and their
conditions create uncertainties.
Also,
with US consumer spending declining, there could be
lesser calls for customer assistance for Philippine BPO
firms to process.
The next
two quarters, he said, will be critical.
Reyes
said the last quarter of the year is usually the season
when outsourcing jobs pick up.
The
first quarter of the year, on the other hand, is when
the companies decide whether to expand or outsource more
operations because it is the start of their new budget
season.
“More or
less, within those periods, we will see if we will
adjust our forecasts,” he said.
As of
now, Reyes said they are keeping their $6.8-billion
revenue forecast for the year.
If there
is a sharp increase in revenues in the last quarter of
the year, he said, they would probably readjust starting
with their 2009 forecast. |
