Tag Archives: captive centers
SEO of Offshore Captive Centers, Part 2: E for Establish
After we have discussed the first phase in building your company’s offshore captive center, we will now go over the elements to be considered in the second phase of the SEO for offshore captive centers. In this next level, the strategies and plans you made out in the beginning will be put into action.
E is for “Establish,” and this is the next phase in the SEO of building your offshore captive center. In this phase, your company’s strategy from the first phase is put into fruition. Proper channels and regulations should be recognized in this plan of action. With your captive center strategy laid out, it’s time to make your plans and operations more detailed and clearer.
Assign roles and responsibilities in the management of the operations. The team for the project should employ good governance and stick to regulations for the center. With the organizational responsibilities established, there can be a solid chain of command for the operations and processes. This will allow for the smooth flow of directions and procedures. It will also minimize any mistakes or miscalculations on the project.
With the management structure in place, it’s time to go down the organizational chart and take care of other details such as the infrastructure and staffing of the offshore captive center. With the infrastructure, make a detailed plan for office space. Don’t forget to consider sufficient office space, workstations, conference rooms, etc. You may also want to think about where to put the rest rooms, and maybe also a pantry for the employees.
SEO of Offshore Captive Centers, Part 1: S For Strategize
Business models of offshore captive centers have their own SEO when venturing into this line of business. This process is practically the basis of companies when they set up their own offshore centers on foreign countries like India and the Philippines (two of the leading Asian countries when it comes to outsourcing and offshore staffing). SEO means “Strategize, Establish, and Operate.” In this article, we will discuss the first phase of SEO, which is to strategize when starting your offshore captive center.
In making your strategy for putting up your company’s offshore business, you first have to consider if this plan is the best move for your company. There are companies that have not turned to offshore businesses because they thought that it would not be a feasible move on their part. Make it a point to go over the pros and cons of putting up an offshore staff before you venture out or your own offshore captive center. When you do make the decision, then the first step you have to make is to plan out and strategize.
Part of the strategy in setting up your company’s offshore captive center is selecting the right country and city for the operations. India is one of the top countries for offshore businesses, but other Asian countries, most especially the Philippines, is also gaining a reputation in this industry. In choosing a location, it would be wise to study the country’s economic growth (especially pertaining to the telecommunications industry) and the resources available to the company (especially the manpower and competence of the offshore staff).
A Closer Look at the SEO of Offshore Captive Centers
You may have heard of SEO, and what it generally means to online businesses. For offshore captive centers, however, SEO does not generally mean search engine optimization and online business promotion. For them, SEO refers to the three high level phases in establishing the business of a captive center. Putting it more clearly, SEO is elaborated as “Strategize, Establish, and Operate.” This is practically the basis that companies use to build and grow their offshore captive center.
S for Strategize
You can relate this process to making any ordinary business plan. The priority here is whether or not an offshore staffing will be beneficial to the parent company and the formulation of the business strategy when it is proved that an offshore captive center would prove profitable for the business. In this phase of strategizing, the phrase “location, location, location” still rings significantly true. A significant part of your strategy will be affected by the country and city that you select as the place for your captive center. You have to consider the country’s economic status and its stance regarding foreign investors. You also have to consider the country’s resources (manpower, equipment, etc.) that you can use for your business.
Should you still Establish Captive Centers?
The world had witnessed many large in-house captive operations being established offshore, both in India and in other known offshore locations such as Central and Eastern Europe in the past years. But this trend has slowed over the recent years in favor of externalizing services to outsourcing service providers.
There are several factors that made outsourcing the next big thing in offshoring and these include cost savings, quality of service, more capital funds, State-of-the-art-Technology, Price Stability, and enables companies to focus more on core business activities.
As more captive centers have been closing or being sold to service providers, captives will now be less prevalent than before and the rationale for new captives will need to be considered very carefully in the future.
Problems Encountered by Captive Centers
Captive centers are now gradually fading in the offshore field because more and more businesses have been turning to outsourcing as an effective option in dealing with their non-core activities. But why have captive centers lost its way over outsourcing? Typically, captive centers are more vulnerable in facing technical and management challenges and we are going to find what are these through this article.
Management issues. Managing a captive center in an offshore area is never easy. When a company chooses to outsource their non-core activities, the management is able to concentrate on their core activities, hence giving them a competitive advantage. But in captive centers, the parent company is the one who manages the offshore business.
