Industry news

Prime Minister, Theresa May, will be unveiling a more interventionist business strategy today to help the UK economy as negotiations begin on Brexit. The plan is expected to include information on topics such as investing in science, research and innovation, encouraging trade and inward investment, developing skills and upgrading infrastructure. The hope is that the plan will help new technologies such as smart energy, robotics, artificial intelligence and 5G mobile network technology. To read more, click here.

Information Services Group (ISG), a leading global technology research and advisory firm, released its Q4 2016 EMEA ISG Index, which reveals that growth in as-a-service sourcing accelerated across the region in 2016, driven by the increasing demand for digital solutions. The EMEA ISG Index, which measures commercial outsourcing contracts with an annual contract value of €4 million or more, shows that combined ACV in the (EMEA) market reached €11.8 billion in 2016, up 2 percent on 2015 totals. While traditional sourcing value in the region slumped to its lowest point since 2009, as-a-service ACV climbed to just over €3 billion, up 33 percent over the previous year.

Symphony and Celaton announced a global partnership to offer enterprises an end-to-end solution for implementing and managing core automation processes. Celaton, which is an artificial intelligence (AI) software company, will join Symphony’s Digital Ecosystem, a platform that enables customers to construct comprehensive automation solutions using best-in-class tools and methodologies. As part of Symphony’s Digital Ecosystem, Celaton’s AI solutions will expand the scope of business automation to handle complex, unstructured processes. This addition complements existing tools such as robotic process automation (RPA). To read the full report, click here.

Reaction continues to pour in after Prime Minister May’s speech on the future of the UK after Brexit earlier this week. CEO of Houghton International (a high voltage coil manufacturer), Michael Mitten, said “Regardless of the UK’s position in the EU, we will continue to be, open for business internationally. Nothing has changed yet and it’s unlikely that it will for at least a few years – at the moment it is very much business as usual for us.”

Robert Barbus, Operations Director of Soitron Group said “Brexit has brought upon many uncertainties, and the potential IT skills gap is a very important one. Ultimately, it depends on what trade and immigration agreements are made between the UK and other EU countries. If they remain similar to the current EU agreements, then the level of skills provided by non-UK EU workers will remain broadly the same. However, if EU workers have to re-apply for visas or are limited in numbers, this is when we will see a skills gap develop.

More on Brexit by sourcingfocus.com

WNS (Holdings) Limited (WNS), a leading provider of global Business Process Management (BPM) services, today announced results for the fiscal 2017 third quarter ended December 31, 2016. Revenue crept up to $145.4 million, up 0.7% from $144.4 million in Q3 of last year leading to a profit of $18.0 million, compared to $15.7 million in Q3 of last year. WNS added 7 new clients in the quarter, expanded 6 existing relationships and has a global headcount of 32,184 as of the 31st of December 2016. For the full release, please click here.

After receiving some confirmation of plans to leave the EU single market earlier in the week, business and world leaders can now develop a clear strategy on Brexit. Already, financial companies such as HSBC and UBS have announced that 1000’s of jobs will be moved from London to continental Europe. Christine Lagarde, head of the International Monetary Fund has warned that the UK economy will face huge risks in leaving the EU single market. Our industry is aware of the challenges but welcomes clarity. Milan Panchmatia, Managing Partner of 4C Associates, a leading procurement consultancy, says “We believe that the vast majority of the procurement community, both in the UK as well as in the wider world will welcome the increased clarity now offered. The hope remains that the UK government is true to the wishes of the people and negotiates the best possible trading deals it can with the EU and elsewhere.”

At the World Economic Forum in Davos, a panel discussion has highlighted the lack of diversity in the developer skills pool. Computerweekly.com report on how the problem could lead to gaps in the industry as programmes only reflect their developers view of the problem. The need to develop a diversified talent pool is important as AI becomes a greater part of the world economy.

John Manzoni, the chief executive of the civil service has noted in a special edition of the Civil Service Quarterly magazine, that the increase in data availability and quality, along the shift towards digital services, was changing “the whole fabric of government”.

The scale of the data available to government offers huge potential to improve public services, but Whitehall needs to change the way it works if it wants to make the most of this by embracing new policies, tools and techniques. You can read more here.

The GSA will be hosting two Trade Missions in February; one to India to attend the 25th NASSCOM Indian Leadership Conference in Mumbai, and the other to take a closer look at South Africa. Places on these Trade Missions are at an absolute premium so contact the GSA immediately if you are interested in attending. You can learn more about the trade missions at the GSA website. If you are new to sourcing, or already very active in the market and simply seeking an update on the benefits of offshoring or how it is transforming lives globally, then this is a fantastic opportunity for you.

Outsourcing partnerships and projects have the potential to create outstanding customer experience (CX) - because they bring together complementary experts and specialists. When buyers and suppliers work in harmony, and when creative vision is delivered through technical implementation, customers are the winners.

One of the biggest outsourcing challenges for 2017 will be creating seamless and connected customer experiences. If this can be achieved, it won't just satisfy increasingly demanding customers, it will also boost bottom lines.

Forrester has 6 years of data showing that CX leaders grow revenue faster than laggards. But where should effort be focussed to deliver the greatest CX impact? Below are four cornerstones of creating best-in-class customer experience.

1. Fit-For-Purpose Measurement

Quantifying customer experience is critical - until you know what’s underperforming, you don't know where to invest.

Creating a truly holistic view of CX

To report on true customer experience, organisations should be measuring customer service channels and offline/in-store experience as well as multi-channel activity on key digital properties.

Current methods don’t work

The bad news is that current methods such as Net Promoter Score (NPS) are flawed. Single score metrics such as NPS work well if you want a snapshot of brand perception, but are too simplistic and emotionally-focussed to measure the real complexities of digital customer experience.

Organisations with the ambition to create great CX (and prove they have) need to use performance indicators fit for 2017 and beyond.

2. People And Platforms Pulling Together

The ability for outsourcing projects to deliver great CX requires teams and technologies working together to facilitate the easy flow of data and rapid creation of new content.

People

Projects teams made of buyers and suppliers need to be connected and in regular or real-time contact with each other, ensuring that both sides understand the impact their actions have on the customer experience. And these working groups must be incentivised to share insights and openly collaborate on customer-centric solutions.

Platforms

As we move to a data-driven future, technology platforms need to be better integrated. Only when this happens can the true potential be realised for customer engagement across multiple channels.

3. Give Customers Consistency

As customers effortlessly hop between devices and try new communications tools, they expect brands to provide a consistent, joined-up experiences.

Create a Single Customer View (SCV)

The unprecedented levels of data available, plus the interoperability of CRM and CMS systems, and increasing power of on-site optimisation mean that creating (and taking advantage of) a true SCV is now possible.

Having this capability will make it easier for organisations (working with their technology partners) to create content that is personal and highly relevant. This means customers can be offered experiences based on the context of their engagement - past, present and future. Increasingly savvy consumers are already turning their backs on organisations that aren't using this data to enhance experiences.

A number of smaller, nimbler alternatives to the enterprise set emerged in 2016. These are enabling CMOs to build the future at a fraction of the cost and implementation time.

4. Rich And Rewarding Relationships

The world’s leading service brands have raised the bar to unprecedented levels, and customers now expect interactions to be surprising, rewarding and innovative. They’re also extremely fickle - one in four Brits deletes apps on the same day - so organisations need a laser focus on ensuring content is engaging and experiences areremarkable.

Personal, relevant and timely

Unsurprisingly, personalised content encourages users to stay longer on a brand’s website, whilst weaker content results in higher drop off rates. Recent research we completed found that ecommerce retailers who published stronger content experienced 21% lower bounce rates than those with weaker content.

And the longer a customer stays on your site, the longer they have to browse and the more likely they are to convert to a sale. In the same study, simple product recommendation functions saw brands reap the rewards of 140% more page views.

Product innovation unlock incomes

A Gartner study found that 83% of customers are willing to pay more for innovative products. That’s why brands are creating accelerator programmes and investing in startup technologies that they hope will become game-changers in their industries. One recent example is Dazzle - the winners of the latest Marriott ‘Test Bed’ accelerator – which will be trialling its voice-activated personal assistants in one early adopter hotel.

Experiments like this that combine IoT devices, new digital interfaces and cognitive technologies have the potential to reinvent customer interaction. The challenge to reach the market first is now greater than ever, and first movers benefit by generating PR “buzz” and the ability to charge premium prices.

Conclusion

In today's increasingly complex digital and omni-channel world, CX has become a battleground for competitive advantage. How the outsourcing world meets this challenge will have a significant effect on perceived project success in 2017.

As ex-Mercedes Benz USA President and CEO Steve Cannon put it, “Customer experience is the new marketing.”.

Find out more at EXCELLENCE IN CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE with CXScore on Thursday 16th February 2017.