Moving from BPO to KPO Part II

Business owners may be apprehensive about outsourcing knowledge-based tasks, since these are business and information related activities with higher stakes activities. For this reason, businesses looking for KPO partnerships should consider nearshore options for their KPO support. Nearshore service providers often present similar cultural values and time zones with home office employees which allow for a more involved approach to outsourcing.

Types of KPO’s include market research, data analysis, accounts payable, accounts receivable, billing, pay roll and sales support services. Additionally, KPO can also include web design, electronic marketing programs and product development.

The question then remains whether KPO is only a segment of BPO, or whether the business practice of outsourcing is becoming so commonplace that the reasons to not look abroad are no longer applicable to the small and medium sized business owner.

Over time, and especially with the advancement of automation (again, link to previous 2019 trends blog post) it will be expected for service provider companies to offer both BPO and KPO services – as with the call center example above. The draw for both will always focus on costs, but without corresponding quality, there is no competitive advantage. This means re-considering the notion of investment: as BPO and KPO service providers take over the investment of real estate, technology and other operational expenses, business clients can focus on choosing the ideal service providers as their primary investment.