|
|
 |
Case Studies
Customer Care Center outsourcing transaction improves customer service and saves client a projected $1.6 Billion during the 8-year term of the contract.
Problem
A major domestic wireless carrier was looking to reduce its customer service costs while simultaneously improving the experience of its customers, which had been consistently rated in the lower half of its peer group. The carrier was open to considering all available options in developing a solution.
Approach
Working directly for both the Chief Operating Officer and the Chief Services Officer, Pace Harmon practitioners were engaged to perform an initial situation analysis, subsequently followed by a project to outsource all call center operations. The following approach was executed:
- The team performed an initial analysis of internal costs and performance, and benchmarked these costs against other wireless carriers (including both insourced and outsourced models). The analysis demonstrated that the client's costs were considerably greater than those that could be achieved by utilizing an outsourced solution, while confirming that current performance was not market-competitive
- Following a decision to explore outsourcing, the team developed a comprehensive service catalog of activities, an rigorous financial model for current operations, an assessment of service levels, and a detailed characterization of call volumes and patterns
- The team developed and implemented an integrated communications strategy for identified stakeholder groups to proactively identify and mitigate potential issues and maximize the chances of success for the anticipated outsource decision
- The team led the development of a detailed RFP for call center outsourcing services, including the accumulation, consolidation, and prioritization of requirements along Functional, Operational, Technology, Implementation, Quality Assurance, Contractual, and Financial dimensions
- Following the response from the vendors, the team evaluated each of the proposals, including clarification and response normalization to ensure a fair vendor comparison
- Our practitioners facilitated a series of workshops with the leading vendors, and held several rounds of term-sheet negotiations to resolve as many major issues as possible ahead of a down-select decision
- Based on the quality of each vendor's overall response, the team provided a vendor analysis and down-select recommendation to senior client leadership, and facilitated several executive review sessions to achieve consensus
- In simultaneous negotiations with the two leading contenders, our team developed negotiation strategies, co-led negotiation sessions with the client, and drove the agreement to conclusion, including the drafting of specific contract exhibits for the final agreement
- The team developed an implementation plan and deployed robust contract management processes to enable a smooth transition to the new model
Outcome
The resulting outsourced service exceeded the client's requirements for enhanced service at a dramatically reduced overall cost, vaulting the carrier into a market-leading customer satisfaction position while simultaneously reducing operational costs by over $200 million dollars per year:
- From strategy formulation to final agreement, the project was completed in under 4 months
- Achieved a relatively seamless transition of over 4,000 employees and 6 call center locations to the outsourced vendor
- Obtained exceptional commitments from the vendor to maintain and rapidly improve existing service levels with extensive financial and process-based incentives
- Required the vendor's aggressive implementation of automation tools and "self service" technologies to reduce service costs, supported by a robust performance target and gain-sharing structure
- Developed a related technology alliance program, resulting in a joint go-to-market strategy that yielded significant incremental revenue for the carrier
- Established excellent relations between the vendor and client that has led to an effective partnership approach to deal with ongoing service and contract amendments
|
|
| Customer Care Center outsourcing transaction improves customer service and saves client a projected $1.6 Billion during the 8-year term of the contract: |
|
