SSM - IT and Computer Services

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SSM: INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AND COMPUTER SERVICES

INTRODUCTION

Given the advances made in technology, especially information

sciences, the world has shrunk. This has resulted in a big businessopportunity because companies can now outsource servicerequirements using technology and infrastructure to low cost centers.IT enabled services help companies to support informationrequirements, both internally and externally with the help ofcomputers and telecom networks.

With this, the logic of labor outsourcing has been stretched to theother extreme. Earlier, outsourcing was limited to raw materials only,now even services and support functions can be outsourced beyondgeographical barriers. With IT enabled services any company can have

24-hour access and interaction with its customers anywhere in theworld.

In the past, outsourcing was limited because of physical barriers.Historically, manufacturing facilities, especially in labor-intensiveareas, got transferred to low cost countries, like China, India, and restof South East Asia. The advances in information sciences has resultedin outsourcing of services, which has created in its wake a newsegment called IT enabled services. The adjective IT highlights the factthat IT infrastructure is the key to its growth.

IT enabled services are the growth opportunities for the new

millennium. Its rapid growth is an outcome of

Declining charges for telecom infrastructure

Declining unit cost of computing power

Increasing tendency to outsource non-core competency areas.

The spectrum of IT enabled services includes call centers, medicaltranscription, back office operations, accounting and legal services,content development especially for the internet, payroll management,logistics management, GIS mapping, etc. The entire range of IT

enabled services vary from pure and simple data entry to customerinteraction, which is complex and requires intelligence.

The said services can be externally contracted (by Company X toCompany Y) or have internal division of a company in different area(like a division of Company X or its subsidiary in India, China, etc).What it does not involve is outsourcing of production, remoteproduction, manufacturing units and virtual business on the net.

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The key drivers of IT enabled services are outsourcing and outlocation.Outsourcing means that some functions can be done moreeconomically externally, something like "make or buy" decision inmanufacturing. Effectively it means is that all activities like salaryprocessing, call processing, credit cards processing, data mining, etc

can be outsourced to a 3rd party at a cheaper rate, instead of buildingoverheads in-house. Outlocation means that Company X has got asubsidiary or a division located in a low cost area to provide the same.This takes advantage of the lower cost of manpower to deliver theservice over the telecom links. Call centers, financial accountingservices, engineering design, animation are very good examples of thesame. The prime industry targets for IT enabled services are banking,insurance, airline reservations, hospitals and utility billings.

The IT enabled services would benefit from the growing popularity ofthe Internet. Internet will change the way the world looks at IT enabled

services because allows 24 hour access to resources anywhere acrossthe globe and lowers transaction costs. This means that proprietarynetworks need not be set up for implementing the services.

The global market for IT enabled services is estimated to grow fromabout US$10bn to US$200bn by 2010.

Category US$bn

Human resources 50

Customer interaction 42

Finance & accounting 20

Data search and analysis 20

Remote education 19

Animation 2

Translation and localization 1

Engineering design 6

Network consulting and management 8

Website services 7

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Market research 5

ADVANTAGE INDIA

India can emerge as a leading IT enabled service provider because

It has a pool of English speaking, technically qualified manpower

Improving telecom infrastructure

A 24-hour day with USA

COMPARATIVE MATRIX

Country Workforc

e

Market

access

Local

market

Infrastructur

e

Cosmopolita

n

Cos

t

NewZealand

2 2 2 3 2

KualaLumpur

1 2 2 2 2

Japan 1 2 1 3 1 3

Hong Kong 1 2 2 2 2 2

India 3 2 2 2 3 1

UK 1 2 2 3 2 3

Source Nasscom, 1 low, 2 average, 3 high

USA is the biggest market for IT enabled services. A 24-hour work daywith USA would allow US companies to stay in touch with theircustomers all the time. High labor costs in USA especially in the nightpreclude such a possibility. Other countries where labor costs are high

tend to outsource non-core competency areas to cheaper labormarkets.

The Indian government has taken steps to boost IT enabled services.The government has given fiscal incentives because it has recognizedvideo, music, movies and data sourcing export income benefits undersection 80. In addition, it is taking steps to improve the infrastructure

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bottlenecks by speedy clearances and permission to invest in privatenetworks.

Focus on IT enabled services would yield benefits including

Employment generation

Valuable foreign exchange earnings

To set up IT enabled services, one requires good telecom infrastructureand a pool of English speaking people, unlike a manufacturingbusiness. This is of great importance to a country like India as it canresult in uniform development across the nation. It will reduceunemployment problems, the single cause for social conflict. Inaddition, it will help the company to earn valuable foreign exchange.This has the ability to generate an employment potential of over 1mnin the next decade.

The total IT enabled services was estimated at US$262mn in FY99,which is expected to rise to US$275bn by 2010. Given the current rendof outsourcing to low cost centers, we expect IT enabled services towitness a rapid growth.

SKILL SETS REQUIRED FOR DIFFERENT SERVICES

Segment Skill set requiredCustomer services Language, accent

Data processing Computer literate

Human resource HR skills, legal

Remote education Domain knowledge

Engineering design Domain knowledge

Translation & localization Language

Medical transcription Computer literate, medical knowledge

Animation Creative, computer literate

Finance International/country specific accounting

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Web hosting Computer literate

Market Research Knowledge of MR, statistics

Network consulting Computers, LAN

CALL CENTERS

INDUSTRY

A call center is unit that has adequate telecom facilities, trainedconsultants, access to worldwide databases and helps to provideinformation support to customer using the 24-7-365 paradigm.Typically a customer calls a number, which is toll free and is assisted

by the consultant. The operator can access the databases and givesthe response.

TYPICAL CUSTOMERS

This is very useful feature in airline reservations, hotel reservations,banking services, technology solutions, etc. The areas, which areaddressed by call centers, include sales support, airline/hotelreservations, technical queries, bank accounts, client services,receivables, tele-marketing, market research, etc.

Potential customers for call centers are banks, insurance companies,

airlines, financial services, technology companies, telecom companies,billing utilities, hotels, etc.

Global majors like GE Capital, American Express, Lufthansa, BritishAirways, Singapore Airways, etc have already invested in IT enabledservices in India. The specific services include transaction processing,call centers, billing, credit card processing, medical transcription, etc.

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WORKING AND ADMINISTRATION

Call Centers

Internal Mktg.External Mktg.

Employees at Interactive Mktg.Companies

Voice Call Centers &Technical Support

Earlier all call centers used to work on the "toll free" or the 1-800concept. With sophisticated query handling services, nowadays the callcenter and the client share costs. There are some premium serviceslike technical consulting where the caller has to pay the callingcharges.

Technologically speaking, call centers have advanced in the last tenyears. Earlier, it was just a labor-intensive department trying to handlesome customer queries. Now, it is supposed to be a vital cog in theentire process of marketing and improving customer interaction. Unlikean airline reservation where the queries are generally simple and easyto handle, requirements of a technology customer support are differentand need technical knowledge. A pre requisite for any call handling

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person is extremely good customer relationship skills and commandover language/ accent.

The basic components of a call center are computers, interactive voiceresponse systems, Electronic Private Automatic Branch Exchange(EPABX) and an automatic call router. The US experience shows thatthe earlier adopters of call centers were able to reduce the cost ofsales, become more responsive to their customer requirements andthus, get a competitive edge.

Interactive voice response (IVR) has been the most significantproductivity gain. 70- 80% of calls can be handled without agentintervention, which helps reduce operating costs. Some extremelycompetitive markets like financial services, airlines, etc. IVR systems isa necessity.

In the operation of the call centers that revolves around satisfying the

needs of the customer and increasing the customer base, key issues tobe kept in mind include -

Process integration means that the call center service flowshould be closely integrated with the normal business processflow of the customer. This is extremely relevant for banks wherea query can actually result to a transaction.

Customer satisfaction is the ability to satisfy the customer needsthe very first time.

Response time is the time taken to handle a query or how long

you are keeping the customer on hold.

Quality standards like Customer Outsourcing Performance Center(COPC).

Professional services, ie outsourced call center services shouldbe better than client's in-house call centers.

Training all the staff of the call centers on the client's business,role of the call center, nature of business, etc.

Communication abilities should be tuned to requirements of the

customer.

To approach the end customer directly is very difficult. It is better to gothrough an existing relationship. The other option is the "sub contract"model. The strategy here would be to use the Build Own OperateTransfer model.

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In future, e-mail can emerge as a potential threat to call centers. Thereason why e-mail is becoming very popular is because it isinexpensive and requires no special hardware, software or peopleskills. People are slowly realizing that it is more convenient to send amail and wait for response than to hold on a telephone and wait in

queue and deal with transfer between agents. Also e-mail can be sentany time of the day, even midnight. Earlier people use to ignore e-mails. Now they are using e-mail seriously because of its potential. E-mail enabled call centers generally have multiple sources of e-mailtraffic. They can get it directly to the response center or through theirown website or through some 3rd party website such as financial sites,agent sites, etc.

The future of call centers will be an interaction center, whichtranscends the call center and offers communication for all mediaincluding voice over net, e-mail, chat and may be video conferencing.

It is all about communicating with the customer in the form theychoose. The promoter of a call center should be prepared that voicemay no longer be the only medium in the future. Hence, we believethat the business model would undergo a transformation into aninteractive media center.

SERVICES

Call Centers offers various services like Customer Service Help line,Sales Support Help line, Technical Support, Query handling, helpdesk

services, on-line Credit and billing problems, Tele Marketing, Leadgeneration and follow up, Data Capture, Data Verification, Debtcollection and Subscription Renewal, Email management, Web chat,Web call back, Web collaboration browsing.

VOICE CALLS - Voice interaction is one of the core competencies atCall centers. We follow dedicated project based systems depending onnature and size of activity that is undertaken. We have a strong base inboth Inbound and Outbound services.

INBOUND SERVICESAll incoming calls are received by the Interactive Voice Response (IVR)

and greeted with an appropriate project greeting. Using the AutomaticCall Distribution (ACD), the call is then transferred to the CustomerService Associate. Optimum usage of technology enables us to monitorevery stage of interaction between the Customer Service Associateand the customer. The services offered include:

Sales Support Helpline

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Customer Service Helpline

Technical Support

Complaint Recording and Handling Credit and Billing Problems

Advertising Responses

Database Management

Tele-selling and Order taking

OUTBOUND SERVICES

Outbound calling is wherein the Customer Service Associates (CSA's)make calls to any specified destination with pre-approved databasefrom the client. A report by the MIS personnel from the operationsdepartment is sent to the client. A quality assurance team is attachedto operations to check the quality of the calls made by the CSA'swherein his/her communication skills, product knowledge, etiquettes,selling skills are judged. The feedback from the quality assurance teamis forwarded to the respective Team Leader for corrective measures sothat we do not deviate from the Service Level Agreements with theclient. The outbound services that we offer are:

Tele Marketing

Tele Research

Data Capture

Data Verification

Subscription Renewal

Debt Collection

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UNIQUE CHARACTERISTICS

1) INTANGIBILITY- This means that services provided by CallCenters is not felt or seen. In case of Call Centers the servicesprovided by them are highly and mostly intangible e.g. voicecalls, inbound and outbound services.

To overcome this characteristic one has to concentrate on:

Visualization: This is very difficult to overcome in the callcenter industry but it can advertise in various industry

journals which are popular with the type of clients that thecall centers are trying to target.

Association: Call centers basically being targeted atcorporates usually do not go in for this option.

Physical representations: This is one of the way whichcall centers usually try to differentiate from others basedon their superior infrastructure, advantageous locationsand most importantly by the gamut of state of the arttechnology used by them.

Documentation and Facts and Figures: this is also oneof the important ways to overcome the intangibility factorby publishing the statements of its success and profits.

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2) PERISHABILITY : This is a significant constraint faced by the CallCenters; even a single hour or day of inoperation may cause thecompany to lose upon valuable revenue. Hence the co. shouldfollow a very cautious approach not to lose upon this aspect.

Ways of overcoming perishability:

Proper management of demand and supply shouldhelp the company to overcome the problem ofperishability.

3) VARIABILITY : This is very important factor as this deals with thedifference in thinking of individuals. People need t o be presentas both customers and providers in order to make thetransaction of the offerings possible. A thorough study of internaland external customers needs t be done. The variedbackgrounds of the customers may slow down the working of the

entire organization. Cultural differences play a major role in thissegment.

Ways to overcome variability:

Training for internal customers: requires technically

qualified manpower to maintain the backbone and telecominfrastructure management skills. This global internalnetwork allows access to world wide staff and ability tomatch languages, skills and resources. This is the first steptowards a global virtual call center. Training all the staff ofthe call centers on the client's business, role of the call

center, nature of business, etc.

4) INSEPERABILITY : As the word suggests the service providerand the customer can never be independent. Both the entitiesneed to be present in order to satisfy the transaction. If the callcenter is not efficient in carrying out this activity, the wholeobjective and the value of the service will be lost.

Ways to overcome inseperability:

Innovation in different methods of serviceprovisions: The latest version of call center is a globalintelligent network. You have a centralized database withadvanced call handling facilities, managing a typical end-to-end service. The network is spread across the globe withlocal resources tapping it. This requires technicallyqualified manpower to maintain the backbone and telecom

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infrastructure management skills. This global internalnetwork allows access to worldwide staff and ability tomatch languages, skills and resources. This is the first steptowards a global virtual call center

CLASSIFICATION

1) End User : The call center basically comes under the B2B gamutof services. The call center or the provider is the Call Centerand the client is the company who seeks to outsource the backoffice.

2) Degree of Tangibility : It can be observed that services of callcenters can be classified as highly intangible because the serviceis free from any product and it has got qualities of credence andreputation.

3) People based services : it includes both high contact and lowcontact.

Low Intelligence, Low Customer Interaction

Data entry

Back office processing

Medical transcription

Insurance claims processing

Salary processing

Legal database

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Content development

Call centers

Customer service

High Intelligence, High Customer Interaction

The key distinguishing features of IT enabled services are:

Provided from a country different from where the products aredelivered

Use of telecommunication and data networks

4) Expertise : Call centers require technically qualified manpower

to maintain the backbone and telecom infrastructuremanagement skills. This global internal network allows access toworldwide staff and ability to match languages, skills andresources. This is the first step towards a global virtual callcenter.

MARKETING MIXES

1) PRODUCT : Quality Level is assessed as a significant parameter

beat intangibility and can be monitored in the following way:

Call monitoring sessions conducted for the Customer ServiceAssociates (CSA's) to ascertain and measure call quality

Providing required feedback and coaching of CSA's to enhancetheir capabilities

Tape monitoring and digital recording of calls for furtherreference and training purposes

Quality Verification of each 'sale' achieved prior to forwarding to

the client

Coordination with the Operations Team and filtering of qualityfeedback to the CSA's

Coordination with the Training Team for further training andrefresher modules for the CSA's

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Recording and maintaining quality reports and files of each CSAfor reference and performance analysis

Designing Incentive plans to motivate CSA's with respect toquality

3) PRICE:The costing of the call depends on the value of theservice provided by the call center. The international call centerswill be driven by a globalization, increased competition,customer expectations and the fact that products are becomingmore and more commoditized with improvement in computingand database management skills. The reason why internationalcall centers are coming to India is because of staff costs whichare almost 65% of total cost overseas, is about 50% or less in acountry like India. It is not so easy to shift because of lower staff

costs. Lower staff costs should be backed by a skill set which islanguage and cultural specific. The other things that impactoperations of an international call center are real estateexpenses and telecom expenses.

The typical cost of setting up a call center with 100 people isabout Rs.50mn. This will include premises, telecommunicationinfrastructure, computing equipment, regulatory requirementsincluding DoT clearances. The DoT clearance ensures that thelines / infrastructure will be used only for servicing overseascustomers and cannot be used for handling internal calls. In

general, breaking into a client account is the most difficult thing.A typical call center contract lasts for 3-5 years.

3) PROMOTION : Call Centers being an outsourcing avenue forbusinesses it can be seen that the major component of the P- mixto be stressed upon is:

Personal selling in which the call center itself goes topotential clients and negotiates contracts with them. Thisis done through the call canters salespeople.

Advertising in industry based journals and web portals,

which play a significant role in arranging for negotiationsand finalizing, contract between the Company and the CallCenter.

Public Relations includes news conferences, pressconferences, news releases, friendly interviews, etc.

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Data Capture &Verification

AnnuitiesProcessing

TeleMarketing

Lead

Generation

&

Follow Up

Consultation

SubscriptionRenewal

Help DeskServices


TOTAL PRODUCT CONCEPT:

TOTAL PRODUCT CONCEPT

16

ProcessOutsourcing &

Customer ServiceHelplineSales

Support

24 hourServices

TechnicalSupport

Web Chat&

Call Back

DebtCollection

Emailmanagement

e-CRM

Claimsprocessing

Online & BillingProblems


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BenefitAdminist-ration

ClientAccountManage-

ment


ABOUT "GLOBAL RESPONDEZ" CALL CENTER

ABOUT THE COMPANY

Global Respondez Services Ltd. is a fully integrated Contact Center. A

Company with an attitude that not just cuts across geographicalboundaries by responding to a call, but adds to that human touchwhich delights the customer. Led by a team of experienced, service-oriented, dynamic professionals from various walks of the industry,Global Respondez is a one-stop solution for multi-channel integratedservices.

Global Respondez operates with a capacity of 250 seats on a multi shiftbasis, 24x7, state-of-the-art, multi channel integrated contact centerlocated in Mumbai, India.

We are a group of dedicated people who are committed to outlivecustomer expectations. Motivated professionals who aim to achieveexcellence through dedicated teamwork attend to every contact withzeal. We take pride in our ability to deliver efficient services ataffordable prices.

VISION

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Global Respondez associates with customers worldwide to migratetheir Business Processes to India. We are committed to customerdelight through our dedicated services, organization values, qualityimprovement and latest technology.

FACILITES

Global Respondez has an excellent international quality infrastructureand our strength lies in our tie-ups with leading Telecom andNetworking Solution Providers in India who keep us updated on thelatest technologies. A totally dedicated and motivated group, we areproud of being capable of delivering the best.

INFRASTRUCTURE

Located in Mumbai, one of the major centers of the business world,Global Respondez takes pride in its state-of-the-art technicalinfrastructure, easy scalability and proven methodology which makes ita Call Center par excellence.

The facility on level II is designed for integrated internet and voice-based support as per best international practices. The unique modulardesign of our workspace and dedicated infrastructure enables us toprovide specifically demarcated space for each of our clients as alsofor our key functions like Human Resources, Learning andDevelopment, Operations, Administration and Quality Control. GlobalRespondez with 250 seats, 24x7 capacity is a one-stop solution formulti-channel integrated services. This facility has a well-equippedrecreation area and a cafeteria for all the employees.

The facility is well protected by round-the-clock security guard

protection, closed circuit security cameras, swipe card access to thevarious sections of the facility, well-defined fire exits and advancedfire-protection systems. We have a dedicated BSES Power Supply withAmerican Power Corporation UPS and Powering diesel generators for a100% power backup.

We have the scalability to set up our second facility on level I that willaccommodate 300 CSA's on a multi-shift basis.

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Leading Telecom and Networking Solution Providers in India, providethe latest technological infrastructure, which enhances the growth ofthe Company. We believe that learning and development go together,need based training is an integral part of our growth plans.

Our Customer Service Associates are highly motivated with excellentinterpersonal and analytical abilities; web-savvy, English speakinggraduates with outstanding communication skills, all working towardsproviding an exceptional interaction experience to our customers.

TECHNOLOGY

Global Respondez has deployed some of world's finest technologies foroffering superlative call center services. The technologies that havebeen selected have been duly verified and testified for call centerperformance. The following points elaborate on our technology

capabilities:

Associate companies are leading Telecom and Networkingsolution providers in India.

PBX - Meridian switch from Nortel Networks

Symposium Call Center software from Nortel Networks.

Predictive Dialer and CTI from Divine (Melita from E-share).

Bandwidth Managers from NewBridge (Alcatel) in redundant

configuration.

Routers and Data Switches from Cisco with built in redundancies.

Servers from Compaq in redundant configuration. Software fromMicrosoft, Talisma.

Call recording solutions based on Intel's Dialogic platform.

Redundant Local Area Network Certified by Avaya.

Desktops from Compaq.

Software from Microsoft.

UPS from American Power Corporation.

International Private Leased Circuit on submarine Fiber CableAtlantic SEMEWE3.

Carriers MCI WorldCom and VSNL .

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Data Leased Line with ISDN backup for Internet Connectivity.

Plan for IPLC redundancy through the Pacific on SAFE.

SERVICES

Global Respondez offers various services like Customer Service Helpline, Sales Support Help line, Technical Support, Query handling,helpdesk services, on-line Credit and billing problems, Tele Marketing,Lead generation and follow up, Data Capture, Data Verification, Debtcollection and Subscription Renewal, Email management, Web chat,Web call back, Web collaboration browsing.

VOICE CALLS

Voice interaction is one of the core competencies at Global Respondez.We follow dedicated project based systems depending on nature andsize of activity that is undertaken. We have a strong base in bothInbound and Outbound services.

INBOUND SERVICESAll incoming calls are received by the Interactive Voice Response (IVR)and greeted with an appropriate project greeting. Using the AutomaticCall Distribution (ACD), the call is then transferred to the CustomerService Associate. Optimum usage of technology enables us to monitor

every stage of interaction between the Customer Service Associateand the customer. The services offered include:

Sales Support Helpline

Customer Service Helpline

Technical Support

Complaint Recording and Handling Credit and Billing Problems

Advertising Responses

Database Management

Tele-selling and Order taking

OUTBOUND SERVICESOutbound calling is wherein the Customer Service Associates (CSA's)

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make calls to any specified destination with pre-approved databasefrom the client. A report by the MIS personnel from the operationsdepartment is sent to the client. A quality assurance team is attachedto operations to check the quality of the calls made by the CSA'swherein his/her communication skills, product knowledge, etiquettes,

selling skills are judged. The feedback from the quality assurance teamis forwarded to the respective Team Leader for corrective measures sothat we do not deviate from the Service Level Agreements with theclient. The outbound services that we offer are:

Tele Marketing

Tele Research

Data Capture

Data Verification

Subscription Renewal

Debt Collection

OPERATIONS

With the mushrooming call centres in India we at Respondez havecome up with a satisfaction strategy to improved productivity as wellas customer satisfaction

The Satisfaction Strategy Before CallsAt the beginning of any project, a project manager is identified andsent to the client to understand the business needs. A script isprepared in the lines of the product / domain knowledge obtained fromthe client. After the approval from the client's end, it is further passedon to the CSA along with full product knowledge.

Test CallingOnce the script is decided upon there is an in-house test on theproduct. Objection handlers and FAQ's are handed over to the agentsfor effective result oriented calling to the customers. Mock calls aretaken before the CSA go live. It is only after satisfactory mocks will anyagent go live on calls.

Call Monitoring - During CallsThe quality department monitors the calls being made. These calls arefurther verified and cross checked by the team leaders. The team

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leaders do a thorough floor monitoring by sitting along with the agents.Remote call barging is done by the team leaders without the agent'sknowledge. These checks are carried out so that the training needs forthe agents can be identified.

Call AnalysisAt the end of every call it is analyzed to understand the response tothe calls made. This would help in restructuring the sales strategy, ifrequired. This also helps in identifying the skill sets of the agent.

TRAINING

Global Respondez is a staunch believer in the importance of training,learning and benchmarking for achievement of outstanding qualitystandards.

Training inputs are imparted to every CSA on a ongoing basis to

maintain enhanced performance levels and individual growth.

Since Learning and development is a continuous process meticulousattention is paid to the requirements of the candidates in terms ofknowledge, skills and attitude.

The following programs and workshop are mandatory for all Associatesjoining our call center:

Selling skills

Listening Skills

Telephone etiquettes

Customer relationship management

Accent Neutralisation

Team Building

Time Management

Global Respondez is a staunch believer in the importance of training,learning and benchmarking for achievement of outstanding qualitystandards.

Training inputs are imparted to every CSA on a ongoing basis tomaintain enhanced performance levels and individual growth.

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Since Learning and development is a continuous process meticulousattention is paid to the requirements of the candidates in terms ofknowledge, skills and attitude.

The following programs and workshop are mandatory for all Associatesjoining our call center:

Selling skills

Listening Skills

Telephone etiquettes

Customer relationship management

Accent Neutralisation

Team Building

Time Management

QUALITY ASSURANCE

We at Global Respondez believe that Quality is to be better than thebest; it is the enhancement of the inner self, which leads to the highestpossible growth. The mission of the Quality Assurance (QA) team is toenhance and extend current quality practices, and to educate bysharing its learnings and perceptions.

The role of the Quality Assurance (QA) team at Global Respondez is toprovide assistance and give ongoing feedback to the associateregarding their individual performance while processing calls.Feedback includes appreciation on strong areas of performance as wellas guidance to improve areas of concern.

The Quality Assurance team plays a key role in the operations through

the following functions:

Call monitoring sessions conducted for the Customer ServiceAssociates (CSA's) to ascertain and measure call quality

Providing required feedback and coaching of CSA's to enhancetheir capabilities

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Tape monitoring and digital recording of calls for furtherreference and training purposes

Quality Verification of each 'sale' achieved prior to forwarding tothe client

Coordination with the Operations Team and filtering of qualityfeedback to the CSA's

Coordination with the Training Team for further training andrefresher modules for the CSA's

Recording and maintaining quality reports and files of each CSAfor reference and performance analysis

Designing Incentive plans to motivate CSA's with respect toquality

QUALITY PROCESS

The Quality Assurance Agent (QAA) monitors the calls on the basis ofthe parameters laid down in conjunction with the client apart from thesoft skills, selling skills and other mandatory requirements. Thefollowing are the basic procedures followed:

Each CSA is monitored at least thrice a weekEvery QAA is dedicated to one team or fixed number of CSA's.These CSA's are monitored at least thrice a week.Depending on the earlier weekly scores the agent will CSA's areprioritized for call monitoring sessions.

Each CSA is provided feedback at least twice a week Every QAA

has to make sure that agents in their team should be providedfeedback at least twice in a week. The feedback is based on thecalls monitored and comments noted thereof.

Each CSA is expected to achieve a quality grade above 85%Cooperation is extended to the agent to achieve a minimumquality score of 85%. This is a laid benchmark for an agent to beconsidered as good.

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MEDICAL TRANSCRIPTION

Medical transcription is accurate and swift conversion of medicalrecords dictated by doctors or other medical professionals intoelectronic form. This includes - patient history, reports, clinical notes,office notes, operation reports, medical recommendations, letters,psychiatric relations, laboratory reports, etc. It begins with receivingthe dictation by tape or digitized form and then converted into a word/text document. Nowadays, the doctor leaves his message in a toll freenumber that is converted and recorded in a dedicated server. Thetranscription unit logs in to that server and downloads the dictationmaterial. It is then converted into word/text document using earphones

and keyboards. The specialized word processing packages which areused for medical transcription includes a medical dictionary so that theperson converting does not have face any problems.

Elaborate dictation is 2-3 pages long and which would take about 6-10minutes. The person doing the transcription should understandaccents, dialects, various dictation speeds and medical terminology.Good knowledge of English is extremely necessary. Training is

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extremely critical because you are taught English, typing, computersand a rudimentary knowledge of clinical terms.

The customer for any medical transcription unit is a hospital, a medicalunit, or a doctor. The potential is enormous as all doctors have areputation for bad handwriting and dictation is definitely a productivitytool. The basic problem is to get an entry into any hospital or medicalunit. Personal relationships matter a lot in generating this business.

The cost per line of transcription in USA is between 15-20 cents. InIndia, it is approximately 8-12 cents. More US companies are shiftingbase to India to take full advantage of labor cost advantages. The totalmarket is estimated of US$20bn and is currently serviced by casualtranscriptionist to formal medical transcription companies.

The transcription unit has to promise low down time and extremelyhigh reliability/ accuracy of the transcription because patient's life

might depends on it. The legal cost for mistakes will be tremendouslyhigh.

The main components of a medical transcription unit are office space,servers, computers, telecom infrastructure and medical transcriptionprograms. For a center of 50 people, working on a shift basis, totalcapital investment would be about Rs7.5mn. Working capitalrequirements will be mainly salaries for 50 people for 4 months, whichwould be about Rs5mn. So within Rs1.25mn, a medical transcriptionunit can be set up. The problem is not with set up costs but tonsurecontracts, which are difficult. A typical contract lasts for 15-24 months.

The most difficult thing in this business is to get an order from one ofthe hospitals. Since it is difficult to obtain, the logic of sub contractingis relevant because one can tie up with an existing medicaltranscription company and become a sub contractor. The idea is togain experience, build a team and then contact the end user directly.Economies of scale are the key to success, all other things being same.A remote threat is improvement in voice recognition systems so thatthe doctor can directly convert it with human beings doing only QC andaccuracy tests. The response time in medical transcription is generally24 hours and accuracy is about 98.5%.

The government needs to take some steps and because the customerin USA wants a 24 hours response time. Medical transcription shouldbe made into an essential services otherwise problems like leave,religious holidays, ladies working in night shifts, etc would createdisruptions which cannot be afforded. Other areas to be strengthenedare infrastructure like power and telecom.

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Marketing is critical for success in this business. As mentioned earlierend user contracts are difficult to obtain, hence tie-ups with anyAmerican transcription company is a way to surmount the problem.

The other risk in this business is quality. If the transcription unit canensure high quality, better prices can be negotiated.

In medical transcription business, there is a consolidation happening.There are a number of companies in USA who are setting up a base inIndia. This is driven primarily by need for economies of scale. Inaddition, it is extremely difficult for small units in India to talk to endusers directly in USA and other developed countries. Sub contracting isthe way out.

Successful examples of this model include electronic Equipmentpromoted by Mr Veer Sagar (earlier with DCM Data Products). Theyalso offer training services to medical transcription aspirants. There are

some companies (both Indian and USA) who offer consultancy servicesto people/ entrepreneur swilling to invest in medical transcriptionfacilities. This is something similar to the franchise model in IT trainingbusiness. Over a period of time, a hub would emerge catering to anumber of entrepreneurs having 30-50 people per node.

CASE STUDY:

ABOUTTHE MEDICAL TRANSCRIPTION INDUSTRY

Medical Transcription is a peculiar American industry worth more than$9 billion and growing at a rate of 12 % per annum. American Bureauof Labour Statistics has estimated that there are 350,000 skilledworkers employed in this industry. Workload of this entire labour forceof 350,000 can be potentially transferred to developing countries witheducated work force and good knowledge of English. As a majorportion of the medicare bills are paid by the insurance companies,every health care process has to be carefully documented.

As 95% of the Medicare bills are paid by the insurance companies,every health care process has to be carefully documented. Conversionof voice reports dictated by the doctor-in-charge on various stages oftreatment of a patient in a hospital, into written format is called

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Medical Transcription. Such documentation is also essential for thedoctors to protect themselves against any legal claims of malpractice /negligence complaints. Further, medical history has become animportant part of the health care procedure. As such, the heavy cost ofMedical Transcription is found to be absolutely necessary and justified.

Doctors are the most expensive manpower in USA. As such, theycannot afford to sit in front of a computer and prepare a detailedreport. They dictate their reports into a computer where it is processedinto digitized audio. The digitized signals are transferred to a medicaltranscription facility where operators retrieve them and convert thevoice file into text. The report prepared as per the format is transferredback through state-of-art communication channels. In the hospitals,hard copies are made and doctors sign them to make them officialMedical Records.

The situation has brought a golden opportunity for the Indianentrepreneurs. American healthcare industry is desperately seekinglow cost service providers, if only they can assure that the qualitybenchmark will be maintained. Though, quite a few amateurishlyimplemented projects have hurt the credibility of the IndianCompanies, there are equally successful companies serving theAmerican healthcare industry proving that there is nothing wrong withIndia, it is only a few short-sighted entrepreneurs who have failed todeliver quality service.

India has exported more that Rs.500 crore worth of healthcare services

last year and it is expected to grow at a cumulative rate of 70% everyyear. Still, with this rate of growth, at the end of 2008, Indias sharewill be less than 6% of the demand as per Mac kinsky researchcommissioned by Nasscom. 8000 new enterprises are needed to keepup with the demand.

Medical Transcription is only an entry point for larger opportunity ofHealthcare Management. Any entrepreneur who proves hiscommitment to quality and capacity to deliver can be assured of entryinto other areas of healthcare industry. Understanding the Americanquality culture and establishing credibility through the lowest skill setof MT is absolutely necessary before planning any venture into otherareas pf healthcare industry. Medical transcription is a $6 billionindustry in the USA, employing 270,000-350,000 transcriptionists.Currently medical transcription services in India are roughly estimatedto employ 5,000-8,000 people and have a revenue base of US$ 25m-50m. More US companies are shifting base to India to take fulladvantage of labor cost savings, while maintaining quality andaccuracy. The total market is estimated at US$ 20 bn and is currently

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serviced by casual transcriptionists and formal medical transcriptioncompanies.

WORKING OFTHE M.T INDUSTRY& ITS CUSTOMERS.

Conversion of voice reports dictated by the doctor-in-charge on variousstages of treatment of a patient in a hospital, into written format iscalled Medical Transcription. Such documentation is also essential forthe doctors to protect themselves against any legal claims ofmalpractice/negligence complaints. Further, medical history hasbecome an importance part of the health care procedure. As such, theheavy cost of Medical Transcription is found to be absolutely necessaryand justified.

Medical transcription is accurate and swift conversion of medicalrecords dictated by doctors or other medical professionals into

electronic form. This includes - patient history, reports, clinical notes,office notes, operation reports, medical recommendations, letters,psychiatric relations, laboratory reports, etc. It begins with receivingthe dictation by tape or digitized form and then converted into a word/text document. Nowadays, the doctor leaves his message in a toll freenumber that is converted and recorded in a dedicated server. Thetranscription unit logs in to that server and downloads the dictationmaterial. It is then converted into word/text document using earphonesand keyboards. The specialized word processing packages which areused for medical transcription includes a medical dictionary so that theperson converting does not have face any problems.

Elaborate dictation is 2-3 pages long and which would take about 6-10minutes. The person doing the transcription should understandaccents, dialects, various dictation speeds and medical terminology.Good knowledge of English is extremely necessary. Training isextremely critical because you are taught English, typing, computersand a rudimentary knowledge of clinical terms.

The customer for any medical transcription unit is a hospital, a medicalunit, or a doctor. The potential is enormous as all doctors have areputation for bad handwriting and dictation is definitely a productivitytool. The basic problem is to get an entry into any hospital or medicalunit. Personal relationships matter a lot in generating this business.

The cost per line of transcription in USA is between 15-20 cents. InIndia, it is approximately 8-12 cents. More US companies are shiftingbase to India to take full advantage of labour cost advantages. The

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total market is estimated of US$20bn and is currently serviced bycasual transcriptionist to formal medical transcription companies.

The transcription unit has to promise low down time and extremelyhigh reliability/ accuracy of the transcription because patient's life

might depends on it. The legal cost for mistakes will be tremendouslyhigh.MTs require excellent word processing skills in addition to familiaritywith drug names, spellings, medical terminology; medical proceduresand protocols; etc. Word processing goes beyond typing and allowscomplex manipulation of text once it has been entered. MTs need to beadept at using a word-processor and macros (small programs used torepeat actions) to perform transcription quickly, accurately and moreefficiently.

1. Indian vendor will be paid at the rate of 6 cents a line which isthe normal price received by an Indian Company.

2. American Company gets a price ranging from 12 to 20 cents aline. For projection purpose, the selling price is fixed at 12 centsa line.

3. Marketing executives are paid a commission of 10% of thebilling.

4. Proofing in American office is required only for the first fewmonths, that too as a precautionary measure. An extra layer ofQA will be in place for 2 to 3 months wherever a new vendor is

signed up or a new batch of MTs starts production.

5. Sales projections are based on the Indian production center of100 MTs who produce 400 lines each per day and work for 25days a month.

6. The projection of the profitability is based on the in-houseproduction of first batch. With the addition of every batch, theprofitability will more than double. The recurring expenditure perunit will reduce substantially. Proofing cist estimated at $108,000 a year will be eliminated within 6 months of starting

production. This amount will be added to the profitability.Various cost factors taken into consideration while

calculating project cost are:o Capital Expenditure

o Recurring Expenditure

o Working Capital for Quality Assurance.

o Operational cost per month.

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SERVICES OFFERED

Besides the basic services of medical transcription, medical coding andbill processing and hospital data warehousing are the other services

offered by the MTs.

MEDICAL CODINGAND BILL PROCESSING

In the USA, 99% of the hospital bills are paid by the Insurancecompanies. Till 80s, the Insurance Companies used to pay the billssubmitted by the hospitals routinely. But, since 80s Healthcare billsstarted growing abnormally and a lot of frauds were also discovered.Insurance Companies reacted by scrutinizing the bills meticulously.

Insurance Companies do not employ doctors to scrutinize the bills. It is

almost impossible to verify the diagnosis, treatment, prognosis, andthe cost. Further, the sheer number of bills - more than 250 million billsa year - make this task gigantic and unmanageable.

Over the years, a system was developed by the Insurance Companies.Every diagnosis, treatment and process done in the hospital wascodified. There are millions of codes relating to every small process.When these codes are fed into a computer, the program arrives at thecorrect bill or very nearly to the amount which can be approved.

Converting the medical bills into codes and processing the same to

realize the bills from Insurance Companies has become a multi billiondollar industry. It is a massive, labour intensive process. Value additionin this service is higher than in Medical Transcription, but at the sametime, investment in HRD is higher. Already a couple of projects havebecome operational in India.

HOSPITAL DATA WAREHOUSING (HDW)

Hospital Data Warehousing is another service provided by MTs. Eachhospital maintains medical records of individuals from birth to death

and even after death for any future investigation. Every personaccumulates records of several gigabytes and they have to be properlycatalogued.

Further, every research work done by a hospital has to be maintainedin order, so that it can be accessed any time. This is like maintenanceof a library with billions of books and constantly adding new oneeveryday.

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To facilitate the research, every patient, diagnosis, treatment andprognosis have to be clustered, indexed, and cross-indexed. Thedoctors and researchers should be able to access the informationeasily. Also, there are restrictions on some information on some

people. All these tasks need a massive programming and also labourintensive data management.

Medical Bill Processing and HDW are high value services and there is alot of room for value addition. Due to shortage of softwareprofessionals, the US industry operates on relatively obsoletetechnology. With the availability of plenty of affordable softwaredevelopment centres in India, the industry can be upgradedqualitatively to a great extent.

Though, there are billions of health records stored all over the US,

scientists and doctors find it extremely difficult to collect andassimilate data on similar conditions. With better technology, thisbottleneck in research and treatment can be overcome. Though theAmerican health-care industry is prepared to pay a decent price forthis service, an average American company does not find theopportunity interesting, due to the high cost of IT manpower in theUSA. In India, it is a great opportunity.

UNIQUE CHARACTERISTICSOFTHE SERVICE OFFERINGS

INTANGIBILITY: Services are said to be intangible. This can cause alack of confidence on part of the consumer. In the case of a MTservice the infrastructure and set-up of the MT facility, and thequalification of its employees and its past industry performancerecord help rectify this. Even the actual service provided is highlytangiblised. The output of the service is a tangible product i.e. atextual transcription.

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INSEPARABILITY: Services are produced and consumed at thesame time, unlike goods which may be manufactured, then storedfor later distribution. This means that the service provider becomesan integral part of the service itself. The client also participates to

some extent in the service, and can affect the outcome of theservice. Like in all service offerings, in MT the service provider is anintegral part of the service itself. The medical transcriptionist isdirectly involved in the delivery of the service.

HETEROGENEITY: Because a service is produced and consumedsimultaneously, and because individual people make up part of theservice offering, it can be argued that a service is always unique; itonly exists once and is never repeated. In case of MTs, theemployees undergo rigorous training and are expected to providethe transactions in a pre-defined format. This ensures homogeneity

in the service provided. However the format may be modifiedaccording to the requirements of different customers, hence there isa certain level of customization of the offering.

CLASSIFICATION OF MEDICAL TRANSCRIPTION SERVICE:

There are number of ways of classifying service activity, and there isinevitably some degree of overlap between the methods available.From the information available this service industry can be classifiedas:

PEOPLE-BASED SERVICE:

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LOW-CONTACT: This is said so because here the service is providedvia computer i.e. the service is devolved through an electronic deviceto its customers the doctors and insurance industries for clearing offvarious medical bills.

NON-PROFESSIONAL: It can also be termed as a non-professionalservice as the provider need not be an expert in the medical field buteffective training is given to him for providing the service.

Conversion of voice reports dictated by the doctor-in-charge on variousstages of treatment of a patient in a hospital, into written format iscalled Medical Transcription. Such documentation is also essentialfor the doctors to protect themselves against any legal claims ofmalpractice/negligence complaints. Further, medical history hasbecome an importance part of the health care procedure. As such, theheavy cost of Medical Transcription is found to be absolutely necessary

and justified.

Medical transcription is accurate and swift conversion of medicalrecords dictated by doctors or other medical professionals intoelectronic form. This includes - patient history, reports, clinical notes,office notes, operation reports, medical recommendations, letters,psychiatric relations, laboratory reports, etc. It begins with receivingthe dictation by tape or digitized formant then converted into a word/text document. Nowadays, the doctor leaves his message in a toll freenumber that is converted and recorded in a dedicated server. Thetranscription unit logs in to that server and downloads the dictation

material. It is then converted into word/text document using earphonesand key boards. The specialized word processing packages which areused for medical transcription includes a medical dictionary so that theperson converting does not have face any problems. The customer forany medical transcription unit is a hospital, a medical unit, or a doctor.

SERVICE MARKETING TRIANGLE

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EXTERNAL MARKETING

The most difficult thing in this business is to get an order from one ofthe hospitals. Since it is difficult to obtain, the logic of sub contractingis relevant because one can tie up with an existing medicaltranscription company and become a sub contractor. The idea is togain experience, build a team and then contact the end user directly.Economies of scale is the key to success, all other things being sameOn the other hand, American end-users are hesitant to contract theirwork directly to the Indian Companies. There is a cultural andcredibility gap. American hospitals feel more comfortable to deal withan American MT Company. They are willing to pay a higher price forthat comfort. Even when the American clients are aware of the factthat the job is done in India, they feel more relaxed because anAmerican Company has taken the responsibility.It is highly desirable for the Indian MT Company to set up a front officein the US which looks, behaves, and runs like any other Americancompany. All the executives in the front have to be American. Only thebehind the scene programmers and owners are Indians.

INTERNAL MARKETING

Human Resources Development is the most critical factor in thesuccess of any software industry especially Medical Transcription. Any

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compromise in HRD will have disastrous effects on the success of theproject.In the first stage, the selection of the candidates has to be donescientifically. Wide publicity with a clear offer of an attractive stipendduring the training period has to be launched. Awareness has to be

created among intelligent youngsters about the bright careerprospects in this industry.Only an American MT trainer can teach the fine nuances of thisindustry since nearly all of the MT business comes from customers inthe US. Along with the American trainer as head of training, a fewgood Indian trainers have to be hired to conduct the training classes.The training has to be done at the project site. Change of workenvironment has to be avoided. Above all, the latest training tools andmaterials have to be used.

INTER-ACTIVE MARKETING

This is that part of the service transaction where the customer directlydeals with the service provider. In this case it is the M.T. employee andthe hospital or the medical professional. This is where the actualservice takes place

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THE MARKETING MIX

PRODUCT:

In the medical transcription industry the quality of the service providedis directly propotional to the companys chances of survival. The veryfact that majority of the business of these MTs come from the unitedstates emphasies the importance of maintaining high qualitystandards. Since the price, promotion, and place factors are more orless standard in the industry, the MTs differentiate their offering on thebasis of superior quality and value added service and a highly trainedand efficient workforce. The MTs could improve the desirer ability oftheir service by offering guarantees with regard to the turn over rate ofthe service and improving employee productivity by training etc.

PRICE:

MT work done in India gets a high value addition in the U.S. Indian MTCompanies get just about 6 cents a line whereas American Companiessourcing from India charge 12 to 20 cents a line to their clients. Ofcourse, there is a lot of overheads to be covered at the American end.The Price factor is one of the main attractions for Business outsourcersto this region. Flexibility is a major component to price and the MTsshould use this tool beat competition. A good idea would be to offerdifferent prices for different services. This means that MT shouldexpand their range of product offerings in order to target a larger

share of the customers. Offering discounts and allowances can alsohelp in beating competition.

PROMOTION:

Setting up systems for day to day operations.

Arranging the market tieup with an American MT Company.Marketing is critical for success in this business. As mentionedearlier end user contracts are difficult to obtain, hence tie upswith any American transcription company is a way to surmountthe problem. Negotiation and completion of market tie up is partof the package of services we offer. It is our responsibility toidentify an American Transcription Company and negotiate along term contract. You need only one contract and that is partof the services we offer.

Setting up plans and procedures for strategic growth.

PEOPLE:

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Human Resources Development is the most critical factor in thesuccess of any software industry especially Medical Transcription. Anycompromise in HRD will have disastrous effects on the success of theproject.

In the first stage, the selection of the candidates has to be donescientifically. Wide publicity with a clear offer of an attractive stipendduring the training period has to be launched. Awareness has to becreated among intelligent youngsters about the bright careerprospects in this industry.Further, only an American MT trainer can teach the fine nuances of thisindustry. Along with the American trainer as head of training, a fewgood Indian trainers have to be hired to conduct the training classes.The training has to be done at the project site. Change of workenvironment has to be avoided.

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BUSINESS PROCESS OUTSOURCING

ABOUT "PROGEON" INOSYS's BPO ARM

Progeon,(Managing Processes in the Global Era (eon)) founded and

incorporated in April 2002, offers best-in-class Business ProcessManagement (BPM) services to organizations who wish to outsourcetheir business processes. Headquartered in Bangalore, India's capitalfor IT related services, Progeon is a subsidiary of Infosys TechnologiesLimited, a world leader in consulting and information technologyservices. Progeon operates out of Infosys' state-of-the-art facilitieswhich are comparable to the best in the world. Progeon and Infosyswork closely together to provide a complete service to the client, byaddressing the clients technology as well as process outsourcingneeds.

The frameworks developed for the Business Process Management(BPM) offering are based on the Infosys Influx methodology whichenable client processes to be transitioned and executed smoothly. BPMservices from Progeon leverage Infosys' excellence in deliveringoffshore services through the Global Delivery Model to achievesuperior quality, rapid time to market and cost effective solutions.

THE SERVICE MARKETING TRIANGLE

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COMPANY- Infosys decides to provide Business Process Management(BPM) services to organizations who wish to outsource theirbusiness processes. For this infosys starts a subsidiary known asPROGEON. Infosys does all the internal marketing which

includes training and facilities provided to provider.

PROVIDER- PROGEON interacts directly with the customers there bysatisfying the needs, wants and desires of the clients. The providersare last in the chain of service distribution .The customers interact withthem and not the company.

INTERACTIVE MARKETING:

Business Model of Progeon

Our business model revolves around creating long-term relationshipswith our clients. Business with our clients is evolved in a de-riskedmanner, powered by client focused competent people.Some of the salient points of our model include:

Establishing a vision and a roadmap for every relationship

Client focused execution structure

A dedicated EPOC (Extended Process Operations Center)

parallels client side teams and operations; it is a seamlessextension with time, cost, and service level benefits. EPOC teamsdedicated to a client, imbibe client culture, their mode of

operation and establish knowledge bases around client specificoperations.

De-risked Growth with evolving benefits

We work jointly with our clients to plan the outsourcingengagement, bringing in best practices and lessons learnt by usin other outsourcing engagements. Adequate controls areestablished to minimize the risks involved with outsourcingactivities.

The benefits measured initially are along predictable lines of

cost.

STRONG PREDICTABILITY

All operations are executed with high levels of quality and

reliability.

As a company, Infosys has embraced measurability of the

processes, adopted for nearly 10 years, which will be extended

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reporting and customer services. . Progeon will now manage theoptimized processes from India, which will result in significant growthopportunities and cost benefits to GreenPoint.

SERVICE OFFERINGS:

Progeon partners with clients to define the roadmap for outsourcingbusiness processes and also executes the outsourced processesefficiently. Establishing the right outsourcing strategy, devising a planto implement the strategy and de-risking the plan to ensure successare key areas Progeon helps its customers with.Progeon has identified processes based on industry segmentation. Weprovide managed services for both industry specific processes andcross-industry processes.

Industry vertical services

BankingCredit/ Debit Card services

Check processingMortgage Loan Servicing

Collections

Customer Account Management

Treasury Operations Management

Insurance and Health Care Policy Owner services

Claims processingTransaction & Re-insurance Accounting

Statutory reporting

Annuities ProcessingBenefit Administration

Security Client Account ManagementCorporate Actions

Cross Industry Services

Customer Relationship Management Customer support:

Email Customer Service Product Support

Technical Help Desk

Chat Monitoring

Finance and Accounting Accounts Receivables

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Accounts PayableTax Processing

Administration Benefits Processing

Sales Order processing Quote through cash processes

UNIQUE CHARACTERISTICS OF PROGEON:

We are aware of the four key characteristics which impact on themarketing programmes, and they are as follows:

Intangibility

Inseparability

Variability

Perishability

Lets consider the above factors one after the, first starting withIntangibility.

INTANGIBILITY:

This means that services provided by progeon is not felt, seen ortested or even sampled for that matter. In Progeons case theyprovide services like Banking, Insurance and Healthcare Security,

CRS, Finance and Accounting.

Under each one of the above services there are various sub-offerings like credit and debit card services, check processing,policy owner services, none of the above can be owned by thecustomers, thus making them purely intangible. The satisfaction isfelt only during the transaction.

Progeon may use a few tools to overcome this factor:

Visualisation: the Co. can advertise as much as possible on the

internet. Like they already have a website which provides thecustomers with the necessary information about Progeonsofferings. They should try and bombard their clients with manyvisuals of the their services, of the infrastructure, etc in order tomake it all look very attractive and successful. A few brochurescould be printed giving out details about the contact numbers ofthe people concerned, through which there is easy access to allthe services.

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Association: Progeon can use some well known personalities tofurther improvethe already reputed name of Infosys.

Physical representation : They use a logo which gives them a

separate identity all together.PERISHABILITY:

As services cannot be stored unlike goods they need to beconsumed as they are being offered to the clients. This is onearea where Progeon needs to keep a vigil on the market. Due tothe excessive competition today in the world market Progeon

needs to look for ways to overcome this vicious factor. A lostrevenue is something no marketer wants or will accept.

There is one solution to this problem faced by the marketer. It isover marketing. Progeon can use its skilled and extrovertedmarketers to evaluate the capacity of their service offerings, inorder to extract the best outcome from its services given to theirclients.

Probably Progeon can capture a few of their clients and makethem agree to a few conditions, and tell them how good the

service is for them.At the same time a rise in prices for the services will also have anegative affect on the external customers.

Managing demand and supply are another key aspects for themarketer to overcome perishability. If effectively done then themarketer can clearly gauge the needs of its clients. This willinvolve costs; therefore keeping the costs down will also bemajor criteria for Progeon.

VARIABILITY:

This is very important factor as this deals with the difference inthinking of individuals. People need t o be present as bothcustomers and providers in order to make the transaction of theofferings possible. A thorough study of internal and externalcustomers needs t be done. The varied backgrounds of the

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customers may slow down the working of the entire organization.Cultural differences play a major role in this segment.

There are a few solutions to this problem and they are as follows:

- To provide training to the internal customers. Progeon need toinvest in designing a program to develop their already skilledemployees into more adaptable employees who will thenneed to face their varied clients. An external will be satisfiedonly if the Progeon employee is able to answer all his queries.

- This training could also be a continuous process, through hiscareer in order to keep in touch with the frequent changes.

- Training the external customers is another very crucial aspectof this factor. Any new service provided by Progeon musthave the necessary and appropriate guidelines for itsmaximum utility.

INSEPARABILITY:

As the word suggests the service provider and the customercan never be independent. Both the entities need to bepresent in order to satisfy the transaction. If Progeon is notefficient in carrying out this activity, the whole objective andthe value of the service will be lost.

One important feature of this mode of service is that, theProgeon as a co. need not be present at all times during the

purchase of any of their products.

In the case of services Progeon and the consumer have to bepresent during the transaction.

There are of course some ways Progeon can overcome theproblems involved.

-Firstly training the internal customers is of at mostimportance, because

Skilled personnel can increase for his quality of his service.

-There can also be room for innovation in different methods ofservice

Provision.

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