Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) is the practice of contracting out specific business processes to a third-party service provider. Originally, BPO was associated with manufacturing firms, such as Coca-Cola, that outsourced large segments of their supply chain. However, BPO has now grown to include all sorts of sectors, including services companies. BPO is typically categorized into back-office outsourcing, which includes internal business functions such as human resources or finance and accounting, and front-office outsourcing, which includes customer-related services such as contact center (customer care) services. BPO that is contracted outside a companys country is called offshore outsourcing, while BPO that is contracted to a companys neighboring (or nearby) country is called nearshore outsourcing.
BPO services and functions can include customer service, accounting, payroll, and human resources management. Companies benefit from BPO by achieving more flexibility and cost efficiency. By outsourcing a dedicated task such as payroll to a specialized BPO company, they may make cost savings that can be passed on to clients. BPO can also include outsourcing back-office or front-office functions.
A BPO call center is a team of outsourced agents who handle incoming and outgoing customer calls for other businesses. BPO call centers handle more than just calls, and can also handle customer service, technical support, and other customer-related services.
