Airlines Turn to Outsourcing to Keep Lid on Costs – Malaysia Bridges the Gap between Customer Service Delivery and Cost Reduction Strategies
Airlines have faced bankruptcies, irregular operations, the effects of regional unrest, and rising oil prices, which lead to the industry driving strategic use of outsourcing as a mechanism to combat such cost and efficiency challenges. In this industry, however, there is always a waging battle between reducing operating costs to maintain a healthy profit margin while maintaining a competitive advantage through customer service excellence.
In an attempt to drive down costs, airlines are now more than ever scrutinising every part of what they do to see if someone else can do it cheaper. The problem is customer service is one of the main differentiators driving competitiveness in this industry. The airline industry is mapped with powerful competition and increasing operational costs; consequently, customer service has become an essential cornerstone to driving loyalty and innovative service offerings. So when it comes to contact centre outsourcing “keeping a tight lid on costs” cannot be the only driver when offshoring or selecting an outsourcing partner.
Airlines turn to mature contact centre outsourcing partners
While outsourcing saves money, comes with big risks. The airline industry is extremely specialised and volatile. Over the last 18 years supporting the airline industry with contact centre service solutions, we have seen how outsourcing can go wrong. The main contributors resulting in failure is when the outsourcer does not have the expertise required to deliver airline contact centre support or when clients are focused on cost savings alone. Over the years, Mindpearl have worked with a number of clients to successfully achieve cost savings through a customer-centric offshore contact centre operation. These include global airline brands such as American Airlines, Brussels Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Malaysia Airlines, Qantas Airways and Swiss International Air Lines.
I believe the airline industry will continue to face ground-breaking changes in their business landscape with service at the heart.
As the environment evolves the role of a mature contact centre outsourcing partner with customised and bundled BPO offerings in multiple languages and from quality offshore locations will become more essential.
If customer service is paramount to you, but you are contemplating outsourcing to keep a lid on costs, please contact us.
Featured Mindpearl Location:
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Mindpearl recently expanded its international footprint into Southeast Asia with a fifth location. Our newest centre is based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. This location complements our existing centres with an array of new languages we can now offer our airline clients requiring ASEAN service solutions. Languages supported by Mindpearl’s centre in Kuala Lumpur include Mandarin, Japanese, Korean, Cantonese, Khmer, Tagalog, Tamil, Thai, Vietnamese, Malay, Indo Bahasa, Malay Bahasa, Indonesian Bahasa and English.
Intrigued? Want to find out more? This White Paper delves into Malaysia as an Offshoring Destination of Choice. This is a must read for airlines who want to bridge the gap between customer service excellence and reducing operating costs.
Email us at askus@mindpearl.com to get your free copy.
Click here to see other Mindpearl locations.
