The Retail BPO Market Landscape and Service Provider FormGuide

The retail industry has been experiencing many fundamental changes over the last three decades, for example mass globalization of markets and volatile changes to consumer spending behaviors.  However, the very essence of this industry is still the same – organizations focused on inventory management and supply chain optimization, maintaining operating margins and accurately predicting demand. To them, outsourcing has always been an option, and has been readily explored over the years to find more pennies to save.

Moreover, retail businesses are typically reactive to market conditions and often radical long-termism doesn’t fit as well with their mentality, especially when faced with uncertain times ahead. In addition, many of them have already shaved their operating costs to the bone, hence digging out new productivity benefits via outsourcing is often challenging – and mistakes can prove fatal in a low-margin business. Hence, it is vital for retailers to explore their outsourcing opportunities with diligence, ensure they fully understand the capabilities of providers and experiences of their peers before making tough decisions that cold prove very hard to reverse if not well executed.