Patrick Schwerdtfeger is a leading authority on global business trends including business process outsourcing (BPO), technology (like ‘big data’ and predictive analytics) and demographic shifts around the world. Business process outsourcing is a bi-product of globalization and has revolutionized business over the past few decades. Advances in technology and online channels will continue to fuel the adoption of BPO my multi-national corporations. Patrick is the author of the award winning book “Marketing Shortcuts for the Self-Employed” (2011, Wiley) and a regular speaker for Bloomberg TV. He has contributed to a number of BPO conferences including events in Dubai (for Techmahindra and BMC Software), the United States (for Bloomberg and EPICOR Software among others) and in South America (for the Association of BPO Call Centers). He discusses business process outsourcing within the context of technology trends and globalization.
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Recent speaking destinations include:
Speaker on Business Process Outsourcing
Patrick specializes in global business trends and those trends have directly facilitated business process outsourcing. The primary “megatrends” are the exponential advancements in technology, our increasingly connected world (fueled by low transportation costs and the internet), diverging demographic trends in the developed and developing worlds, and the increasing standard of living (driven by wages) of countries going through the development process. Patrick truly brings a global perspective to the BPO topic and combines it with his signature “think bigger” message, resulting in an inspiring and thought-provoking keynote presentation.
Keynote Speech: Business Process Outsourcing
Most large businesses are already leveraging the opportunities available through business outsourcing. Books like “The World is Flat” by Thomas L. Friedman describe the extent to which processes are already being accomplished in other parts of the world. But event for small business owners or self-employed professionals, online tools like Elance and oDesk allow tasks to be outsourced easily and quickly. “The Four Hour Work Week” by Tim Ferriss glorifies this approach and provides countless examples to consider and emulate. In other words, the reality of outsourcing is impacting all levels of business and needs to be addressed within that context. No task is too big or too small to be outsourced to India or Bangladesh or Colombia, and the cost savings can be dramatic.
Patrick builds his programs on success stories and case histories. There are many to pick from in the field of business process outsourcing and many delivered significant financial rewards for the companies involved, but others did the opposite. Patrick includes case histories where outsourcing did not produce the intended results. Many of those stories involved poor communication and misunderstandings. Cultural communication differences can bring unexpected challenges to the process. In some countries, people feel a cultural imperative to say “yes” as soon as possible, even if they don’t yet fully understand their obligations or responsibilities. The result is a lot of wasted time, wasted money and frustration among managers and workers alike. The inclusion of these realities make Patrick’s programs believable and authentic. Your attendees are all well aware of these challenges and your speaker can’t be naive about the potential opportunities.
Future Implications of Business Process Outsourcing
The future of business process outsourcing will diminish as the rest of the world develops. Dropping birth rates around the world result in increased disposable income and economic development. China has gone through this process over the past 30 years and their per capita income rates reflect that development. As wages go up, the advantages of outsourcing go down and BPO shifts to other less-developed countries. Eventually, all countries will go through their development phases and the opportunities will diminish, but that remains at least 100 years away. In the meantime, advancements in web technology will continue to fuel the BPO movement and competitive advantages will accrue to those businesses that optimize their use of global resources.
