In January, Sitel and erstwhile ClientLogic completed their merger creating one of the largest contact centers in the world.
ClientLogic, an upstart eight-year-old firm owned by Canada-based Onex Corp, bought out Sitel. The management decided to leverage the Sitel brand as it has a much stronger legacy.
With an employee base of 65,000 spread across 145 facilities in 28 countries, the sheer size and spread of the new Sitel is formidable.Both companies have similar competencies, so what is it that made the two entities merge?
It is not about the coming together of two great companies; it is to create the world's best company, David Garner, Chairman and CEO, ClientLogic had declared at the time of the merger. The combined entity with revenues of $1.8 billion will now be the second largest contact center after Convergys. But is scale enough to help the company stay on top?
“Customers have become increasingly savvy and want more than low-cost. Discerning customers seek value and that is what we can offer now,” says Amit Shankar Dass, SVP, Global Marketing, Sitel. The new Sitel will have the breadth and depth of expertise enabling the company to upsell and cross sell to its combined base of 450 clients. For instance, while the old ClientLogic was strong in data capturing, imaging, data entry, customer service, supporting sales and retention programs, the old Sitel had competencies in outbound calls for collections, technical helpdesk, e-mail support, etc.
Second, the merger has given the company one of the best global delivery capabilities. Of the total of 145 facilities, the two companies had an overlap in only four sites. Sitel's customers can now leverage right shoring as certain functions require follow-the-sun model, while other functions are more efficiently done from specific locations. Third, contact-center customers typically work with a single provider offering horizontal functions as they outsource more functions rather than go to multiple providers for each of those activities.
|
KEY STATS
|
|
Skill set: Customer care, technical support, customer acquisitions, back-office processing, collections and receivables
|
| Industries: Financial services, travel, retail, media and entertainment, telecom, health care, auto, technology |
| Customers: Sony, ABN Amro, DIRECTV, XM Satellite Radio, Toshiba, HP, TiVo, Abril, EarthLink, Virgin Mobile , British Telecom |
| Delivery centers: 145 + in 28 countries |
| Employees: 65,000 + |
| Year founded: 1998 |
| Revenue: $1.8 billion |
| Website: www.sitel.com |
