Industry news

WNS (Holdings) Limited (WNS), a leading provider of global Business Process Management (BPM) services announced that the company entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Denali Sourcing Services, a leading provider of strategic procurement BPM solutions. Denali delivers high-end global sourcing and procurement services to some of the world’s leading brands in the High-Tech, Retail/CPG, Banking and Financial Services, Utilities, and Healthcare verticals. Focused solely on procurement, Denali has pioneered “sourcing as a service” in a technology-agnostic capacity, and currently manages over $30 billion in spend on behalf of over 25 clients via a multi-location global delivery network. Over 90% of Denali’s revenue is recurring in nature, and over 95% of revenue is derived from clients in the United States. “The acquisition of Denali Sourcing Services adds a strategic procurement capability to our existing Finance and Accounting solutions. Denali is a unique asset which we believe helps position WNS as an industry leader in F&A, and enhances our Industry Specific Solutions,” said Keshav Murugesh, WNS’ Chief Executive Officer.

To read more, click here.

Every time the government starts talking about Brexit plans, the Pound takes a beating on international markets as investors and speculators try to price in the cost of a hard Brexit on the UK economy. Prime Minister May is expected to announce plans for the future of the UK on the 17th of January, many think the plans will detail a hard Brexit. As the Pound falls, the worry will be its effect on UK consumers, who may find themselves squeezed due to rising prices, which could lead to a challenging year for UK retail. You can read more here.

The Economist briefing this week explains the evolution of the manufacturing industry, from hammer and steel, to computers and consultancy. It is an interesting read for those involved in the sourcing industry as the article details how jobs changed and evolved and how the sourcing industry facilitated improving production and how changing technology has meant that the jobs offshored in the industry are very different to those that were originally in rich countries. If you want to read the article, please click here.

The World Economic Forum in Davos will welcome Xi Jinping this week as a star attraction, signalling China’s growing role in the global economy. However, the big talking point may be the effect of new technology on the future of work and jobs, as AI and machine learning threaten jobs across all sectors. As ComputerWeekly.com notes in this article, technology is affecting the way we work and may be causing the big political changes we have seen in 2016. How the world adapts to these new technologies will define the coming decades.

Chinese exports fell by 7.7% in 2016, figures not witnessed since the global recession in 2009. It’s the second year in a row that exports have fallen, with analysts worried that the election of President Trump, who pledged to label China a currency manipulator, will dampen Chinese trading prospects further in 2017. China’s trade surplus with the US was above $350 billion in 2015 which could bring China to the negotiating table to find common ground with the new President. Read more about China's trade figures here.

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Energy UK has reported that nearly 5 million people changed energy suppliers in the UK in 2016. The upward trend in switching providers has continued for the past two years. The introduction of the Energy Switch Guarantee last year helped make switching easier and provided greater confidence for customers when switching supplier. New research for the Guarantee also reveals nine in ten (89 percent) people were satisfied with the overall switching process. To read the report, click here.

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Better mobile customer experience is driving m-commerce

By Alastair Cole, Chief Innovation Officer at Partners Andrews Aldridge

It was always on the cards, so it shouldn’t come as a surprise – but the time is now. Customer experience on mobiles has eclipsed desktop. M-commerce has finally taken over from ecommerce.

For several years, we’ve seen a gradual shift towards mobile becoming the primary channel for retail sales. It was predicted that there would be an eventual tipping point, where online retail commerce would take place primarily on mobile devices as opposed to desktops. 2016 has proved to be that moment.

In a recent study of fashion Ecommerce customer experience, users were found to be 2.6% more likely to successfully complete a transaction on a mobile than on a desktop. The result is close, with 82% for desktop and 84.6% for mobile, but it’s a clear indication that change is happening - right now.

Changing shopping behaviours

The prevalence of downtime browsing on mobile devices can’t be ignored as a factor. Whether it’s on the Tube or on the sofa during an ad-break, people are increasingly using their free time to have a look at what’s out there. Say you’re browsing outfit inspiration for the summer. You’ve likely got a board on Pinterest dedicated to your new season wardrobe. And when you’ve added a product you like, it takes just one click to get you to the product’s website.

The retailer websites which provide the best customer experiences are taking the lead in converting browsers to buyers. Generating retail sales requires understanding how customers use popular browsing sites like Pinterest and Instagram, and providing click-through content that brings them directly to your site.

Customers are also using their devices for on-the-go browsing. With retailer websites so readily accessible, consumers are frequently using their devices to look for deals, research products, and compare prices. The immediacy of mobile browsing means the transition from ‘want’ to ‘buy’ can be shorter than ever.

M-commerce vs. the real world

So, which brands need to think about m-commerce? We know how easily mobile browsing can convert to sales, and brands need to recognise that an increasing number of consumers are using their devices to shop and to buy.

Mobile customer experience is absolutely vital for online-only retailers whose traffic will primarily come from online browsing. For these brands, it’s crucial that the transaction process on a mobile is as quick and seamless as possible. How often do we put an item in a basket on a mobile, get to the ‘checkout’, and give up once it’s asked for the 3rd line of your address? An online-only brand cannot afford to lose the customer at any point in the purchasing process.

Interacting with a brand through your device is just one of the multiple touchpoints which all brands now have available to them. It is now almost impossible for a consumer to solely engage with a brand through one point of contact, making it even more important that m-commerce is optimised to drive sales.

The net is wider, but the holes are bigger. So whilst a far-reaching approach may create more ways to engage and communicate with customers, it can also generate more ways to lose them.

What are customers looking for?

As more and more brands invest in mobile friendly sites, it’s becoming clearer what consumers are looking for and what exactly has pushed m-commerce to take the lead over ecommerce on sales. Best-in-class customer experience requires clean design with simple navigation, minimal clicks and form fields, and pop-up free browsing. No one wants to think their personal details are at risk thanks to a load of spammy pop-ups and hundreds of pages to work through.

So what’s the future? We know that too much complexity alienates customers and that great customer experience had a direct impact on the bottom line. The potential for m-commerce to help simplify and streamline the retail process is constantly growing. Seamless payment services such as Apple Pay make the physical transaction quicker than ever, while devices like beacons are merging the physical and digital world to mean m-commerce will also become the most enjoyable retail experience.

And quantifying customer experience on mobile is critical — until you know what’s underperforming, you don’t know where to invest. To report on this, organisations should also be measuring the channels that intersect with mobile, namely the offline/in-store experience and customer service channels. Only then can brands really understand the impact of their mobile customer experience on m-commerce.

To find out more about transforming customer experience, contact alastair.cole@enginegroup.com

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

The sourcing world is changing fast, embracing new technology and ideas while transforming business models. 2017 will be another twelve months of evolution in the industry. Sourcingfocus.com has been asking what people predict for the industry in 2017.

“Organisations will be forced to think more radically about how they source services for their organisations. The blistering pace of technologically driven change means that the status quo that has been accepted for many years will now be challenged. The digital and automation revolution will continue to accelerate and impact more organisations in more significant ways.

In practice this means long standing outsourcing arrangements changing – outsource to in-house, in-house to outsource, changes in 3rd party supplier – with a view to transforming the capability of organisations. Decision makers who in the past often extended contracts as the most risk averse choice will now need to bite the bullet and change to alternative suppliers. The will expose poor Exit planning and inadequate knowledge management processes and systems.

For some organisations 2017 will be a year where that take off, for others it will be the year they start their terminal decline.” said Chris Halward, Global Standards Director of the Global Sourcing Association.

With that in mind it may be time to upskill with a GSA workshop, you can find out more here.

“2017 will continue to see an expansion of cloud and digital transformation initiatives. Many deals which might historically have been done as a form of outsourcing transaction will instead be recrafted as a cloud services arrangement” says Kit Burden of law firm DLA Piper.

Movement towards the cloud and digital services will continue to transform not just business life but home life as well. The introduction of technologies that utilise the cloud into all aspects of our lives is on the rise with devices such as Amazon’s Alexa a key example.

“Process standardisation through the cloud may be the single most important element for CFOs to put into action. The agility, dynamism and standardisation of cloud-based applications give companies the means to continually innovate, a competitive necessity in a business world that is constantly changing” says Andy Bottrill, Regional Vice President of BlackLine.

Benson Schliesser of Brocade says “Research into machine learning (ML) algorithms has been advancing for many years, but in 2016 we saw it storm onto the mainstream stage. ML algorithms can now be trained on all sorts of data, thanks to the availability of high-powered processors, “big data” collection architectures, and open source software implementations. And in 2017 we will continue to see ML expand in importance as a fundamental technology driving innovation in every industry.”

Robotics and AI also feature heavily in predictions for the industry in 2017. “AI has gradually been creeping into the business landscape for a couple of years now. In 2017 there will be a noticeable shift towards a broader incorporation of the technology. The latest robots have the ability to learn how to complete multiple jobs, so they can be plugged in practically anywhere along the supply chain” says Wendy Kent, COO at Matrix.

“The impact that Robotic Process Automation (RPA) will have on sourcing in 2017 should not be underestimated. According to intelligence firm, Research and Markets, the global RPA market is expected to reach $8.75 billion by 2024 (up from $0.183 billion in 2013), as companies increasingly scramble to take advantage of the enhanced accuracy, cost savings and scalability that RPA promises to deliver” notes Laurie Padua, Director of Technology and Operations Consulting, Alexander Mann Solutions.

The GSA is running a ‘How to make RPA and AI work’ workshop in London on 22/02/2017. Click here to find out more.

“Customer service has become an integral part of creating a successful brand and, as a result, many companies are placing customer experience at the heart of their business. This means that we have seen a shift in the relationship between brands and third-party BPOs. Rather than acting as an external service provider, BPOs now work closely with their customers to becoming a truly collaborative partner - one that can transform business processes and introduce innovation to better serve the company and customers. It is likely that this close collaboration will continue in 2017 and beyond.” says David Potter, SVP – Business Development at Firstsource Solutions.

You can learn more on how to improve the customer experience your organisation offers at ‘Excellence in Customer Experience’.

Tom Kemp, CEO of Centrify notes how cyber security will change over 2017. “In 2017, we’ll see a renewed effort by government regulators to accelerate the implementation of security technologies. Ignoring the regulations or inching toward adherence will no longer be acceptable. Extensive progress will be expected – and required.”

“Brexit has brought upon many uncertainties to European outsourcing, especially in relation to IT staff augmentation. 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 massive skills gap develop” says Robert Barbus, Operations Director of Soitron Group on the future of Britain outside the EU.

Britain’s trade deficit widened to £4.2 billion in November as imports grew rapidly before the Christmas period. The weaker pound meant imports were priced higher however retailers have so far managed to shield consumers from the price rises. 2017 is likely to see a squeeze on consumer spending, as pointed out by retail giant Next last week. Exports grew by £700 million providing some relief to the government ahead of Brexit negotiations. Click here to find out more.

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Trustmarque Solutions Limited (part of Capita PLC) have announced an expansion to its multi-million-pound managed services contract with learndirect, the UK’s largest provider of skills, training and employment services. This second phase of the contract will see Trustmarque transform and deliver learndirect’s technology architecture, property IT services, software development and testing, project management and service management over the next five years. You can learn more here.

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