Recent market trends indicate that the business process outsourcing (BPO) industry is expected to increase dramatically over the next few years, with revenues expected to reach $127.9 billion this year in response to growing demands for labor and services. One of the key trends in the BPO industry is an increase in the number of U.S. businesses that are turning to BPOs to help meet increasing labor demands and the demand for high-quality customer experiences.

The key to managing this increased demand is in onshoring and reshoring.

Onshoring and Reshoring

Companies looking to outsource their labor generally have 2 options: onshoring and reshoring.

• Onshoring is when companies hire BPOs that operate within their country. In this case, the U.S. company would partner with a BPO that operates within the U.S.
• Reshoring is when companies have operations outside their country and then return those operations to their country. In this case, if a U.S. company has operations in South America, it would bring those operations back to the U.S. using a domestic BPO.

Both onshoring and reshoring offer distinct advantages in bringing operations closer to a company’s headquarters. Historically, much of the conversations around outsourcing have focused on business operations outside of the U.S., which is generally an expensive country with high labor costs.

For several industries, however, changing business environments and improved technological capabilities are leading to a renewed interest in outsourcing closer to home.

Advantages of Onshoring and Reshoring in the U.S.

Outsourcing often generates significant savings while providing businesses access to highly productive talent with specialized knowledge that is either unavailable or difficult to scale in-house. Organizations that choose to outsource within the U.S. are responding to changing business needs and evolving market environments.

Here are a few reasons why many organizations are turning to onshoring and reshoring.

1. Greater emphasis on sales and marketing expertise. Businesses looking to increase their sales and marketing efforts benefit from basing these processes in the U.S. while targeting U.S. consumers.
2. Improved quality control measures. For some organizations, the best opportunities come from bringing together outsourcing and local operations. Outsourcing completed “close to home” can simplify quality control measures.
3. Increased customer satisfaction. Completing customer-facing processes such as customer service in the same cultural context can improve customer satisfaction.
4. Decreased risks for suppliers. Contracting with BPOs in the U.S. may be a risk reduction strategy for organizations that prefer to work with local supply chains.
5. Enhanced protection for intellectual property. Outsourcing within the U.S. keeps intellectual property local, so protecting intellectual property may be easier and less complicated than outsourcing overseas.
6. Supporting the local economy. Some consumers prefer brands that prioritize keeping operations within the U.S. Additionally, choosing onshoring or reshoring may be consistent with an organization’s goals and values.

Cloud Contact Center Technology Can Power U.S. BPOs

With the expected increase in demand, BPOs need the best technological solutions and software to power their operations and provide agents with the tools and resources they need to operate smoothly. Broadvoice CCaaS is a cloud based contact center platform that can help BPOs reduce costs, improve agent productivity, and streamline operations.

Find out how our CCaaS solution can improve your BPO operations by scheduling a demo.