BPO refers to the type of outsourcing when companies contract part of their business functions to a third-party service provider. The idea is to save costs and increase the company’s organizational flexibility, allowing it to focus on its core operation. BPO can range from clerical work such as image processing and data input to more sophisticated functions including customer services, accounting and finance. BPO services were first seen here in 2005 when multinationals outsourced simple work to Vietnamese firms and did more complex work for others.

Tran Manh Huy, director of FPT-IS’ BPO Service Center, said the basic function of BPO is connecting high technology with low-level labor to perform what can be considered the companies’ administrative burden. Since Vietnam possesses an abundance of young, low-level workers, the BPO market remains wide open to Vietnamese businesses, even at the global level, he said. Nguyen The Trung, head of the DTT Technology Group, said developing BPO means fostering the country’s IT sector.

Though several Vietnamese companies began offering BPO services before it, FPT-IS’ BPO Service Center, established last July, is one of the few service providers operating on a large scale. (more…)