If it’s non-core; it can; and some claim should; be outsourced. But how does one really define non-core.
Recently several municipalities in Sweden have outsourced their ordering services for mobility service- and medical service transportations to call center service providers. In theory this seems just fine; municipalities should focus their activities on issues more core than just answering the phone and placing an order to a local transportation provider (such as the local cab company).
Unfortunately this non-core business is slightly more complex than it may at first appear to be:
- It’s highly dependent on local geographic knowledge, knowing where a certain street actually is located will certainly speed up the process and minimize errors
- It’s highly dependant on communication skills, both from a customer confidence angle, as well as the ability to correctly receive and process customer demands
- If something goes wrong, there needs to be a feedback possibility connecting the transportation provider with the customer to sort out any misunderstandings
Given these three preconditions, the sourcing decision to award the contract to the lowest bidder might make sense from an economic perspective, but who would have thought that call centers in Tartu, Estonia and Chisinau, Moldavia really had a fair chance to live up to any of the above mentioned preconditions. Especially given that the customers are most often elderly, disabled and in need of special services (hence the municipal involvement).
Our task is to plan cost-efficient trips of high safety and quality. We specialise in coordinating and planning trips, which allows us to handle the demands for quality and safety of our travellers.
About Samres from their corporate website
When the buyer Stockholm Läns Landsting (SLL) measured their customer satisfaction after a few months; the satisfaction level had dropped from 85 percent to 77 percent. The contract has not been renewed and SLL is currently looking for a new supplier.
What can a purchasing department learn from this: make sure to evaluate outsourcability from more than just the core/non-core aspect. Equally important is the strategic importance and the depth of stakeholder involvement as well as the impact on the customer.
