Inaugural Contact Centre / Business Process Outsourcing Leadership Graduation Ceremony in Cape Town  

On 23rd May 2017 the inaugural TULA graduation ceremony for young leaders in the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO)/ Contact Centre sector was held in Cape Town.  59 students from 4 companies have attended the TULA leadership course over the past 18 months.

TULA Founder and CEO, Gareth Pritchard, explained the relevance of the new leadership programme: “TULA works with OnTrac, an Indian based training and consulting company. The programme aims to give students the tools to develop their leadership skills and improve their respective company’s operational efficiency. More than 60,000 students worldwide have participated in the programme. The programme is unique in that it is able to measure the impact of learning activities against each company’s individual business goals.” 

Executive Mayor Patricia de Lille commended the students who had taken part in the programme: “I would like to congratulate each and every student who successfully completed their course and graduated in the first graduation ceremony of the TULA leadership programme. The BPO / Contact Centre sector is contributing significantly to the development of our economy, with over 4,500 new jobs created in the last year alone. This growth will only continue if we ensure that our leaders are equipped with globally recognised skills.” 

Lufthansa InTouch was one of the participating companies. Their Site Operations Manager, Ian Ohlson commented: “Not only does this program unleash the individual’s leadership potential, it also works towards achieving your organisational goals by allowing employees to take control and influence the bottom-line through individual and group work.”  

Capfin Business Operations Manager, Jacques Loubser agreed: “We see such a positive shift in team and individual performance, purely because the learnings imparted during the leadership programme speak to the cornerstones that make up a successful contact centre and in turn our people are able to positively influence the customer value proposition.” 

Leading global customer experience and business process outsourcing company, Webhelp, who employs over four thousand people in South Africa, also participated in the programme. Chief operating officer for South Africa, Simon Garabette, commented: “The quality and expertise of our people are extremely important to Webhelp. Engaging in training of this nature highlights our commitment to developing our people, which benefits them and our clients.” 

EXL Service is a global provider of decision analytics, operations management, outsourcing, business transformation and IT services. Their country head, Pratap Rao, welcomed the invitation to participate in the programme: “As we continue to grow our teams and to solidify our presence in the industry, the TULA program played a huge role in not just helping the participants understand the importance of building winning teams, but how to build them as well. I can see a program like TULA becoming integral to growth in this industry in any geography. 

TULA has also formed a partnership with the Zoe Incubation Centre in Delft to help establish a skills pipeline in Delft to enable access for township communities into the contact centre sector. 7 of Zoe’s students will also be present at the graduation ceremony. The graduation ceremony was held on 23rd May at 14:00 in Cape Town’s entrepreneurial hub, Workshop17, at the V & A Waterfront where TULA has its offices. 

TULA provides consulting services and training in the area of Operations Management for the Contact Centre / BPO sector.  CEO and founder is Gareth Pritchard email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.; cell: 0837030822; website www.tulasa.co.za; Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/garethmpritchard Twitter @BPESACT      

- By Genesis Articles Global

Introduction  

Leading supplier of specialised Business Management (BMS) and Business Intelligence (BI) solutions    Lorge Consulting Services has done it again. The Midrand-based powerhouse service provider   celebrates yet another milestone achievement by successfully supplying and installing a turnkey software solution for a market leader with niche’-specific and intricately demanding operational needs. This time it was for none other than iconic Digital Signage Specialist, Ethniks.

About Client:  Ethniks  

Well, there’s a slim to zero chance that you haven’t directly or indirectly been exposed to Ethniks and their diverse range of innovative solutions. While you may not exactly know of them as “Ethniks, the Digital Signage Experts”, you’ve certainly come across their products and encountered their services on a frequent basis.  

For instance, they put a smile on so many faces at the many MacDonald’s franchises through the supply and maintenance of digital menus and other informative, alluring and high-tech signage. In other instances, they help you locate your favourite store in major malls and shopping centres through robust wayfinder technology. You will typically feel their presence at the likes of corporates, multinationals operating in a host of industries, banks - as well as public and private spaces that either rely on, or can be advanced by digital signage and similar products suited to divergent applications.  

Lorge mandated to deliver technologically adept solution for Ethniks  

In January of 2016 discussions ensued between Ethniks and Lorge. The primary focus was to identify and implement a solution that would effectively address a major logistic and operational area. This dealt with being able to equip field technicians to not only communicate more efficiently in terms of day-to-day tasks, but also execute such duties with greater ease. In other words, the solution needed to enable enhanced functionality and interactivity. This would be in lieu of delivering technical, support, customer related as well as internal requests with superior efficiency and superb accuracy while working in the field or on the move.  

The recommended solution  

As a platinum certified Sage partner for over two decades, Lorge is a preferred supplier and implementer of associated products including Sage 300. This in conjunction with a relevant and comprehensive CRM solution was proposed and accepted as the solution of choice. A crucial component of the solution installed by Lorge, involved mobile technology. This represented a groundbreaking leap for the already well-established digital signage giant. While the installation as well as sophisticated tools and technology used can be rather technical, in layman’s terms this meant that the field technicians would be able to receive repair and related instructions via their mobile devices. They would also be able to attend to specific changes and reparations remotely – all in real time. It is interesting to also note that Ethniks digital solutions are underpinned by satellite transmission, making their adaptability, dynamic nature and service support extremely stable and responsive. The installed system needed to factor this consideration into the product, installation, and after-sales requirements.  

CRM Product Manager at Lorge, Gustav du Plessis, Sage 300 Product Manager, Riekie Roux as well as Senior CRM Consultant, Glen Taylor, discussed the extent of the project as well as the intricate requirements for a successful installation. They confirmed that despite the complex nature of the implemented solution - which needed to be installed in a manner consistent with the high service-standards established by Lorge - the project rollout was seamlessly facilitated from March of 2016, with the system going live effective July 2016.                

Benefits to Ethniks  

In addition to the specific operational advantages of the above software solution, extensive system-wide benefits include considerable time-saving on previous processes - from quoting to technical updates executed. This naturally translates to improved technical and associated responsiveness, more effective communication, cost-savings in the medium to long term, minimised downtime, increased productivity, stronger customer service delivery and ultimately an improved top line.  

Spokesperson for Ethniks and company accountant, Jaco le Roux, also confirmed that the organisation is already experiencing the positive impact of the relatively new system. They remain firmly confident in the training, ongoing support and effectiveness of the new software solution provided by Lorge. He also indicated that Ethniks has just begun to scratch the surface so to speak of the vastly intelligent software solution and its extensive capabilities.              

To fully understand the solution delivered by Lorge it is worthwhile to consider the broad service and product offering of Ethniks in a little more detail. As a veteran of close on 30 years specialisation, Ethniks provides premium-quality infrastructure in conjunction with pioneering software and creative content integration - including customisation, implementation, technical and customer support. Products range all the way from general digital signage, to interactive information kiosks, to platforms suitable for employee training, solutions capable of interfacing with virtually any data source such as point-of-sale systems, others capable of integrating mobile friendly features like social media and much more. Furthermore, it’s no surprise that they deliver internationally acclaimed solutions, being partnered with SCALA software that power more than half a million screens in over one hundred countries.  

Lorge leads the way  

Lorge, as a multi-award winning organisation, is a preferred supplier and implementer of Sage X3, Sage 300, Sage CRM and Qlikview business and technology solutions in Africa. The company has implemented over 10 000 users across divergent economic sectors and is a trusted supplier for over 250 companies, more than a third of which are listed on the JSE Securities Exchange.  

Additionally, the Ethniks project symbolises a new chapter in the expanding specialisation of Lorge’s service capabilities. This is paramount in a technologically advancing era that demands solutions which are increasingly mobile-friendly, more robust and align to progressive business and end-user trends. The success of this project also paves the way for the digital marketing industry as a whole, notwithstanding other industries that provide innovative solutions for the modern consumer and rely heavily on field technicians.  

For further information on Sage 300, or to discuss your current enterprise needs, simply contact our Sales Department on 010 594 9800. 

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