LPO report launched

The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and the Law Society of South Africa have launched the legal process outsourcing (LPO) report. The report was launched in Sandton on 27 May.

The comprehensive report is split into two parts. The first part involves an analysis of the shared service centres (SSCs) and LPO subsectors; and the second part looks at a provincial analysis of business process services (BPS) opportunities and competencies in six of South Africa’s provinces, namely, Eastern Cape, Free State, Limpopo, Mpumalanga, Northern Cape and North West.

In the report, an SSC is described as the centralisation of support functions (such as human resources, finance, information technology and procurement) for a particular company, which may have branches in various regions. The SSC takes over certain non-core functions of the organisation, allowing the various business units of the firm to focus on their core business functions.

At the launch, director of business process services at the DTI, Ntokozo Mthabela, said India is a global business process outsourcing (BPO) hub with South Africa among the top three global locations that can support the English language on a large scale. 

Mr Mthabela said South Africa has established itself as a credible and value offering BPO destination supported by an accessible talent pool, domain skills and cultural affinity with the United Kingdom, United States, Australia and New Zealand markets. He said South Africa offers a range of outsourcing services from basic customer service voice work to high level back office processes. 

‘The offshore business process services industry in South Africa is growing at more than 40% each year and has recently witnessed the entry of several leading global investors,’ he said. 

The report is available for the public and can be found at www.LSSA.org.za.

• See also: 2014 (July) DR 34; 2012 (May) DR 20; 2011 (Nov) DR 18; and 2011 (May) DR 24.

Nomfundo Manyathi-Jele
nomfundo@derebus.org.za