Aftersales services BPO: Tapping into the Strategic Value of Service After the Sale

30 Jun 2015

Executive Summary

For most organizations, their supply chain is both the life blood of the company and a complex maze of many players and many processes. Against this background, Supply Chain Management (SCM) BPO is fast emerging as a strategic choice for organizations to efficiently manage their supply chain processes. This has resulted in a market with around US$1-1.2 billion in annual spend and growing at 20-25%. SCM BPO can further be divided into four segments – manufacture, deliver, aftersales, and Master Data Management (MDM).

Among these, aftersales services (AS) is especially interesting. While it is not the largest component of SCM BPO, it is growing the fastest with signficant upside potential. Aftersales is the “front-office” of supply chain - this is how end customers experience the product and the way the brand is perceived and valued. However, it is also an area with inherent complexities in terms of dealing with multiple stakeholders (both internal and external), multiple products and SKUs, sporadic and unpredictable service demands, and need to balance cost-to-serve (efficiency) with customer satisfaction (effectiveness).

Given the increasing interest in this space, this research paper explores how AS BPO targets the dual objectives of enhanced business outcomes and better cost management. The key themes covered in this research are:

  • Market drivers of AS BPO and the underlying value proposition
  • Market definition, overview, and outsourcing adoption trends
  • Challenges and BPO value proposition
  • Role of technology and analytics in aftersales services BPO solutions
  • Aftersales services BPO service provider landscape
 

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