Business Process Operation
NOC: How It Can Help You With Your Infrastructure
03/04/2020
Information Technology Outsourcing
03/04/2020An equation of collaboration, service and adaptive solutions
Organization profile
Central Gate is the official Costa Rica high-tech services association gathering top-quality export outsourcing providers in BPO (Business Process Outsourcing), ITO (Internet Technology Outsourcing), and Digital Marketing. This is the one-stop-shot for offshore and nearshore contractors looking for trusted and proven suppliers delivering human talent, competitiveness, and added value in developing business solutions.
Since its very origins, Central Gate has been supported by CINDE (The Costa Rican Investment Promotion Company) and developed an innovative and effective public-private alliance with PROCOMER (The Foreign Trade Corporation of Costa Rica) to become a strategic cluster for attracting incoming business opportunities for its members.
Established on December 2012, it was presented internationally at the 2013 IAOP Outsourcing World Summit. Since then, the organization has been a frequent participant in international industry events, representing over 13 Costa Rican companies to dozens of potential clients in the United States, particularly in New York, Virginia, Texas, California, and Florida.
Strict membership criteria ensure that the organization enlists the best and most recognized providers in the exporting services sector. These specific standards include: being up to date with the corresponding legal responsibilities in Costa Rica, holding at least 50% bilingual resources within the company (English-Spanish), having at least one international client, reporting minimum annual sales of US$200,000 for international clients, and presenting a customized recommendation from CINDE, PROCOMER, or any other current member of Central Gate.
As a not-for-profit organization, Central Gate is a business opportunity facilitator and it does not charge any commission not does it obtain any form of revenue from the leads signed by its members; nonetheless it works as a platform for the interchange of good practices and partnerships, and it does promote specific ethical policies that guarantee impartiality, honesty, confidentiality, transparency, and avoidance of any conflict of interest.
2018 in review
- Active associations with local strategic partners: 31 business opportunities explored for the cluster during the year – 10 generated directly by Central Gate´s marketing efforts, 14 incoming from CINDE, 7 referred from PROCOMER
- Dynamic business interest: at least 32% of business opportunities kept active by the end of the year
2019 at a glance:
- Progressive increase in leads: in one semester, the amount of business opportunities almost tied the total produced during the previous year: 25 leads by July (8 generated by Central Gate, 15 incoming from CINDE, 2 referred from PROCOMER
- Growing attention in local capabilities:14 pitches aimed at ITO services, 9 at BPO, 1 emerging at Digital Marketing, 1 for a BPO-ITO mix.
- Rising business contract consideration: 65% active deal pitches by July 2019
Five certain reasons to contact Central Gate for your BPO outsourcing services:
- Diverse BPO services offering:The list of BPO capabilities services you can hire through Central Gate includes finance and accounting, payrolls, auditing, cash application, treasury and more.
- Efficient match between your business needs and required solutions: When contacting a third-party provider, you certainly need a quick but trusted reference. Why not seek it in just one reliable, supportive, businesslike cluster instead of running a long trial-and-error process with first-starters?
- Internationally suitable providers that guarantee your business continuity:Because of its adherence to Costa Rican official trading institutions, Central Gate certifies only the most recognized, recommended, current exporter providers as its members, meaning that learning curves have been clearly surpassed and that legal agreement, as well as technical and exporting processes, have become inbound settled procedures.
- Robust technical know-how and expertise: At Central Gate, you will find all your BPO services ready in the right place at the right time, thanks to compliance with relevant in-demand certifications and satisfactory delivery of complex processes and best practices. Bilingual skills and cultural affinity also stand for some of the proficient features your business requires for developing accessible, cost-effective relationships and archiving success.
- Proven relevant experience:On average, each Central Gate member has around a 10-year background experience offering its services in the USA and Canada when becoming part of the association. Thus, when contacting one of Central Gate’s members you will find a clear and straightforward business culture and a proactive approach to resolve problems, just as you need.
About this case study
The lead generated from this business opportunity involved an equation consisting of collaboration (ethical principles), service (operations and methodology), and adaptive pricing and solutions (understanding of the client’s situation):
Collaboration and transparency over competition
Originally, the client approached one of Central Gate members directly for a contract on a specific budget; however, after considering the needs and requirements, the member referred the opportunity to Central Gate in order to facilitate a more convenient proposal according to the client’s specifications and financial plan. This proves strict congruity to the organization transparency principles and respect for the Code of Ethics, fostering better chances of matching the right partner for the client.
Three ready-to-work providers in exactly just two days
Central Gate’s agile methodology and operations fast-tracked the client’s prospect providers validation. After the first approach, Central Gate arranged an immediate meeting with the client to explore the business opportunity and understand the technical needs. A business opportunity alert was submitted at once to the BPO members so they could assess their interest and participation in the provider reference list for the client’s own selection process. 48 hours after the first contact with Central Gate, the client received a list of three interested providers ready to be contacted for direct negotiations. Subsequent executive assistance by Central Gate included refined service feature suggestions by the network, and coordination of meetings, agendas, and follow-ups with the selected provider to satisfy early contracting processes. This whole pipeline reveals three key virtues of Central Gate’s methodology: proactivity, efficiency, impartiality.
Commitment to providing flexible solutions that fit the client’s needs
The member company selected by the client demonstrated a deep understanding of the business situation and offered competitive pricing with tailored solutions, moving away from the regular one-size-fits-all alternative. Continuous in-depth conversations and primary analysis made it possible for the provider to be aware of the significance of this service for the company’s development and consolidation in its market, in spite of budget specifications.
Member profile
Sapiens Development
Based in Costa Rica and with presence in Austin, Texas, and Raleigh, North Carolina, Sapiens Development specializes in Software Development, Application Integration, Mobile App Development, Application Support and Maintenance, QA and Automated Testing, CRM, CMS, Portal and ERP Solution Implementation. Since 2009, the company has provided specific, on-time, well-crafted. on-budget business solutions to a wide variety of firms, from startups to midsize to Fortune 500 companies in diverse industries, such as accounting, agriculture, automotive, aeronautics, banking and finance, e-commerce, healthcare, insurance, IT services, logistics, media, among others. Sapiens technology proficiency includes IOS, Java, JS, .NET, Android, CMS, PHP, Selenium, Xamarin, etc.
Client profile
Legaroo
Since 2016, Legaroo has been helping international travelers obtain affordable and reliable legal help through legal global coverage insurance and a credentialed network of attorneys around the world. As a multinational legal services enterprise specialized in tourism, the company’s goal is to make Travel Legal Assistance (TLA) services simple and affordable for travelers. Services offered include legal advice and consultation on immigration, criminal proceedings, traffic infractions, and legal representation.
Business situation
Legaroo’s local office in Costa Rica is offering a worldwide platform dedicated to answering legal inquiries from tourists traveling around the globe, and to connect callers with specialized attorneys for professional counseling so they can manage specific situations or make better decisions with reliable, accurate and up-to-date information. Although this is a new service within the client company, significant growth is expected in two years, hence the importance of supplying a differentiated service.
Technical situation
In order to offer a specialized service, the company requires a specially designed contact center to attend foreign customers through an effective 24/7 bilingual platform (English-Spanish.) Agents should be able to understand legal concepts, possess strong emotional intelligence skills in order to attend clients under stress conditions, and provide referred attorneys with clear identification of legal predicaments.
Solution
Upon selection, Sapiens applied the corresponding tests and analyses submitted by the contracting company, approving quality service demands. Moreover, to fulfill budget and service requirements, it demonstrated complete versatility in designing a shared solution with rotating, Legaroo method-proficient agents, and developing the corresponding CRM system. Later, this service will evolve into full-time dedicated agents with shared option as a backup.