Spanco headcount to rise 2,000 in a month

NEW DELHI: Rising rupee and higher margins of about 18-21% in the domestic sector are forcing BPOs to change their business models. For instance, Gurgaon-based Spanco BPO services will focus largely on domestic market. The BPO company plans to increase its headcount to 5,000 by January 2008 from 3,000. The additional employee base will only be working for the domestic market. Spanco has revenues of about $107 million. It plans to close the fiscal year ending March 2008 with $170 million in revenues. About 80% of revenues comes from integration services while BPO contributes about 20% to the revenue mix. Spanco BPO currently has centres in Gurgaon and Mumbai. “We plan to invest Rs 300-400 crore in the next two to three years and become one of the largest domestic BPOs with about 25,000 employees and 15,000 seats by 2009-10,” said Sandeep Soni, ED Spanco BPO Services Ltd. The company has ambitious plans in the domestic sector but it remains to be seen whether it will be able to implement them. Many international BPOs are also looking to change their business models to cater to the domestic market in the wake of falling margins due to appreciating rupee. Spanco’s margins in domestic market stand at about 18%. The BPO handles all inbound calling for the Indian Railways. The Indian Railways Integrated Train Enquiry System (ITES) in north, east, west and south zones is serviced by Spanco. The BPO recently obtained the licence to operate the various passenger & tourism information services on behalf of railways over the next 10 years. According to sources, the BPO has also tied up with Reliance Money, Citibank and IndiaGames to offer BPO solutions. The company’s international BPO arm Respondez offers BPO solutions in the entertainment, retail, telecom and financial services sectors. It also provides technical support to gaming companies. “We are also planning to acquire about two domestic BPOs in the next three to six months,” Mr Soni added.

Source: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Infotech/ITeS/Spanco_headcount_to_rise_2000_in_a_month/articleshow/2623413.cms