European Summit 2003
The European Contact Center Summit
November 19-21, 2003 Hotel Fira Palace Barcelona, Spain
Sponsors:
CIDEM | Randstad | Unitono
Official Publications:
Contact Professional | SITE Selection
Endorsements:
Asociacion de Expertos en Centros de Contacto con Clientes | American Teleservices Association
Speakers:
Penny Bousfield, CM Insight Ltd.; Renι J.V.M. Buck, Buck Consultants International; Josι Caride, EDGECall; Sandi Cesko, Studio Moderna; Georgios N. Diamantis, Randstad Callflex; James Eagle, Nickell Ltd.; Sergio Verdasco Gil, Infinity Comunicaciones S.A.; Jean-Claude Goldenstein, JCG International Inc.; Kai Holschuh, Independent Management Consultancy Services; Brian Ledbetter, McKinsey & Company; Paul Mackenzie, CM Insight; Matthias Mueller, IIC; Petra Polednova, CzechInvest; Carlos Valero Santiago, CIDEM-Investment Promotion Agency of Catalonia; Sνlvia Solanellas, CIDEM-Investment Promotion Agency of Catalonia; Roel Spee, IBM-PLI; Elias van Herwaarden, Deloitte & Touche - Fantus BLS; Sebastian von Eltz, IIC
PROGRAM
Wednesday, November 19
Pre-Summit Workshops: The Ins and Outs of Contact Center Partnerships (Luncheon included)
10:00 - 10:30 am Pre-Summit Workshop registration Meet & Greet
10:30 am - 6:00 pm Locating and Growing Your Service Centers A full day pre-Summit workshop
Jean-Claude Goldenstein, Managing Partner, JCG International, Inc.
Elias van Herwaarden, Director, Deloitte & Touche - Fantus BLS
Our esteemed experts and their guests will share their broad experience in locating and developing the optimal solutions for service operations. This interchange will be invaluable to executives looking for the most dynamic hot spots in Europe and beyond. Corporations and service agencies will discuss the latest and innovative solutions that locations are putting forward to meet the needs of the industry or revitalize idle properties. Officials from the economic development community in Western Europe, Central Europe, North Africa and beyond will obtain strategic insights and an essential tactical tool kit to better analyze and strengthen their assets, generate qualified leads and attract value added activities to their areas. Participate in:
- Real life case studies
- Interactive discussions
- Hands-on marketing analyses
- The launch of a Web-based service center location tool
- One-on-one meetings between executives and development agencies.
10:30 am - 6:00 pm Avoiding the Pitfalls of Outsourcing: A Practical Guide
Penny Bousfield, Director of Outsourcing, CM Insight Limited
Outsourcing relationships should benefit clients and outsourcers alike, but can be disastrous if based on false assumptions, poorly specified requirements and ill thought out business plans. This master class examines why outsourcing relationships fail and how to make them succeed. It offers a blueprint for successful partnerships built on accountability, shared goals, robust reporting, mutual respect and effective communications. As a participant you will gain an understanding of how to:
- Identify the parts of the business that are appropriate for outsourcing, and which outsourcing model is best for them
- Establish a robust business case to understand fully loaded cost implications and ROI of their outsourcing decision
- Manage an outsourcing procurement process
- Define meaningful measures for success and set realistic expectations
- Manage and review the contract throughout its life-cycle ensuring it remains relevant as business conditions change
6:00 - 9:00 pm European Contact Center Summit registration opens
7:00 - 9:00 pm Welcome cocktail reception
Thursday, November 20
Day 1 Session Moderator: Jean-Claude Goldenstein, JCG International, Inc.
8:00 - 9:00 am Continental breakfast
9:00 - 10:00 am The Eurosphere: A Site Location Overview
Jan Desmaretz, Director, IBM-PLI, Business Consulting Services
The European contact center landscape is changing rapidly. Corporates are looking more and more at consolidating their service centers in fewer locations and at the same time seek opportunities to operate in low cost environments. The downside is that not all new options meet the key (skill) requirements for contact centers, and those who do may pose a risk of quickly developing tightness in their labor pools for contact center staff. This session will provide an overview of the latest global and European trends for which locations are being selected for contact centers and affiliated operations. It will also focus not only on the traditional hot spots but also on the emerging trend of serving a European customer base from locations in Central and Eastern Europe. The effects of offshore investment in India and the Philippines will also be examined, and Jan will indicate and examine which pitfalls to look out for when selecting a location for your operations in the coming years.
10:00 - 10:15 am Refreshments
10:15 - 11:15 am The right location is one thing ... the correct operation model is another!
Renι Buck, Founder and President, Buck Consultants International (BCI)
Renι will highlight the different types of business models and operational setups that corporations use and the current trends that are being implemented with relation to the industry and the service offering. These models might include centralization, satellite operations, hub and spoke, coordinated regional structure or outsourced operations. He will touch on the evolution of the contact center industry with other affiliated shared services and how the resulting operational structures shape the European marketplace.
11:15 - 11:30 am Refreshments
11:30 am - 12:30 pm Technology Platforms in Action Infinity/Banco Cetelem Case Study
Sergio Verdasco Gil, Infinity Comunicaciones, Consultant
Join Infinity Comunicaciones, a leading European technology company devoted to new technological advances that can deliver superior performance on existing infrastructure, enabling new services and reducing costs. Our speaker will present the features of the most recent and popular technological innovations implemented at the Banco Cetelem VoIP platform. Key aspects and main advantages of VoIP contact centers will be discussed. The steps taken to deploy a VoIP contact center will be analyzed. You will also learn the technical specifications of the platform, its architecture and the implementation process. As a closing point, the analysis will be focused on the upgrading and growing processes of the Cetelem platform, its functionalities and the abilities to deploy a new system in the short term.
12:30 - 1:45 pm Networking lunch
1:45 - 2:45 pm Empower Your Strategic Options
Carlos Valero Santiago, Director, CIDEM-Investment Promotion Agency of Catalonia
Propel your Executive Mandate to the Highest Level of Performance Excellence
Take Advantage of Hidden Opportunities
Position Your Corporate Initiative with Supreme Competitive Advantage
Recent years have seen the region of Catalonia, and more specifically the city of Barcelona, rapidly climb in popularity, attracting prominent corporations to locate or outsource their contact center and shared services business here. With case study examples, Carlos will lead you on this journey of inward investment, redevelopment and subsequent transformation of this vibrant, cultural community to a bustling, cosmopolitan business hub.
2:45 - 5:00 pm Facility site tours
Silvia Solanellas, Business Location Service Manager, CIDEM-Investment Promotion Agency of Catalonia
Join Silvia Solanellas on a whirlwind tour of the the evolving Barcelona business districts and facility tours of dynamic and prominent contact center working environments.
5:00 pm Networking reception
Friday, November 21
Day 2 Session Moderator: Philip Cohen, Philip Cohen Consultant AB
8:00 - 9:00 am Continental breakfast
9:00 - 10:00 am The Brand in Conversation: Case Study Virgin Money
Paul Mackenzie, Project Manager, CM Insight
James Eagle, Head of Direct Sales, Nickell Ltd.
"The tangible impact of achieving brand consistency across your business..." If the role of the brand is to forge a relationship between company and customer, the call center has a central role to play. Research shows direct behavioral experience such as conversation has the greatest impact on customer behavior. This presentation provides a practical guide for instilling brand values into call center conversations, making every agent an exponent of the brand and measuring the positive value that this delivers.
10:00 - 10:15 am Refreshments
10:15 - 11:15 am Communicating Effectively with Customers by E-mail
Kai Holschuh, Independent Management Consultancy Services, currently developing new research methodology on the impact of Computer Mediated Communication in large organizations
You increasingly use e-mail and the Internet to communicate with customers, whether to sell, handle orders, deal with inquiries or provide after sales service. They like the convenience of colorful and detailed on-screen descriptions, self-service and unrestricted hours. And you like the low transaction cost, reduced and more-even use of human resources, immediate copies of transactions, and ability to measure results in real time. But does your firm have a strategically thought out and useful program to handle customer contact via e-mail? E-communication with customers has serious legal, commercial and organizational implications. This presentation will increase your awareness of this essential aspect of modern customer contact through an insightful description of the phenomena while offering effective approaches and solutions.
11:15 - 11:30 am Refreshments
11:30 am - 12:30 pm High Performance Teams Show Results Randstad Callflex Case Study
Georgios Diamantis, Director, Randstad Callflex
Technology is the enabler, but contact centers are still all about the people. Contact centers are challenged with delivering the corporate vision and culture to the customer. Managing high performance teams to service a diverse external multicultural marketplace is a formidable task. Our speaker will highlight, by way of a multinational case example, the key elements of how they have maintained loyalty and individual commitment from their front line people in a cross-border environment.
12:30 - 1:30 pm Networking lunch
1:30 - 2:30 pm Outsourcing in the New Euro Economy
Brian Ledbetter, Engagement Manager, McKinsey & Company, Business Technology Office London
As corporations seek to maintain a competitive advantage through strategic outsourcing, new and evolving markets are being considered, developed and embraced. With case study examples of prominent global companies, Brian will profile the challenges and successes undertaken as organizations re-develop their perspectives and look to the widening borders of the Eurosphere for cost-effective solutions.
2:30 - 4:00 pm The Central/Eastern Connection: Non-traditional Locations Making the Grade
Gain an insightful look at the expanding competitive borders of the Eurosphere as we hear prominent European case study presentations on Central and Eastern European contact center and shared service operations.
Czech Republic Fast Paced Progress Creates Jobs
Petra Polednova, Head of International Marketing Section, CzechInvest
Utilizing a study of the AXA Assistance Call Center in Prague, Petra Polednova will explore the inviting environment, cost and tax analysis, human resources, technical capabilities and incentives that are welcoming contact center operations to the Czech Republic.
Slovenia Improve Your Results: Opportunities in CEE
Sandi Cesko, Founder, Studio Moderna
The power of localization, language and communications skills. Pulling together all of the resources. Successful marketing strategies and multilingual call centers will be the focus of our discussion in improving on your results in comparison to operations in Western Europe.
East Germany Is Dell Leading the Way?
The Promise of German Offshore Support from Central Europe
Matthias Mueller, Senior Manager, IIC
With English-speaking contact center functions moving offshore, providers of German-speaking CRM services are now starting to consider non-traditional location options. Though the Central European countries are increasingly attracting interest as an offshore alternative, eastern Germany continues to be the natural contender. This presentation evaluates eastern Germany's proven potential as a nearshore solution vis-ΰ-vis its new Central European competitors.
4:00 - 5:00 pm Leverage your Future The Eurosphere and Beyond
Josι Caride, Leading European Outsourcing Consultant, EDGECall
Join a leading European outsourcing expert as he traces the trends, service options, pitfalls and opportunities experienced while reaching beyond the boundaries of the European economy. Learn how to grow your business into the emerging markets in Europe and to nearshore and offshore locations throughout the world. Embrace the global perspective. Embrace the future.
5:00 pm Farewell champagne reception
