Driving growth in ecommerce via collaborative outsourcing

The Australia and New Zealand e-commerce markets have increasingly been under international focus for showing nothing but positive momentum. This is credited to a variety of factors, including an almost unprecedented consumer adoption of online shopping and associated technologies. In Australia alone, the value of the ecommerce market was estimated to have been around AU$27 billion in 2010, but by the end of 2013, it would have had reached AU$37.7 billion—a 35% boom according to a report developed by PayPal in conjunction with Forrester Research, Nielsen and the Australian Centre for Retail Studies (ACRS).

Another reason for the growth in market value of ecommerce is the aggressive operations in the marketplace of international retailers that have capitalised on the sluggish digital presence in the region of major domestic retailers. More recently, however, local retailers have stepped up their efforts.

Our customised solution

SHORE Solutions has been instrumental in taking Australia’s most trusted online retailer to a new era of online commerce maturity. Our client, an Australia and New Zealand-focused full-service provider of managed ecommerce services, was looking for a cost-effective and flexible solution to drive operational growth and to centralise their customer service and back office functions at the same time. With a limited exposure to outsourcing, our client wanted to leverage the benefits of the offshoring business model while maintaining a comfortable level of control over their operations.

We focused our efforts on developing a thorough understanding of our client’s needs, tailoring a price and service agreement that met their requirements. The engagement began with only three full-time employees and an expat client manager who was in charge of training and operational go-live. Our team also played an active part in defining which of their roles were to be offshored, as well as in the recruitment of staff—this had a direct effect on quality and cost. The support we delivered further included managing facility preparations, IT and infrastructure, including the provision of best practice knowledge from various operational/shared service perspectives. The collaborative relationship resulted in a quick turnaround time, from commencement to operational go-live, with an onboarding/deployment process that took as little as 8-12 weeks.

We constantly add value by holding ongoing strategic discussions with our client and connecting with them on a personal level. We provide personalised solutions that revolve around an in-depth understanding of the industry, internal management dynamics, current trends and best practices—backed by a mindset that is able to adapt to the changes and challenges of a rapidly evolving ecommerce landscape.

Our client’s success is our success

Through the SHORE Solutions partnership, our client has achieved cost efficiencies and quality improvements, and has been able to scale involvement through SHORE Solutions’ distinctive outsourcing models. Furthermore, our client has enjoyed flexibility in terms of their level of engagement, having the opportunity to add on different roles and cost-effectively grow and optimise their different departments.

Our client currently has over 40 full-time employees in the Philippines. With a per-head cost reduction of 50% for rank-and-file agents, the deployment of a team that is larger than what was even feasible in Australia has been made possible. This means our client is now much more capable to provide superior customer service and facilitate rapid business growth. Pleased with the success of our solution, our client now aims to locate their operational headquarters at SHORE and grow the employee headcount even more.

As the market surges to adopt ecommerce, we continue to find ways to streamline operations, reduce expenses and drive a more profitable customer relationship.
It would be a pleasure to share more insights with you as your strategic advisor and help you grow your business.

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