ePLDT signs BPO deal with IT distributor
Monday, April 14, 2008

MANILA, Philippines--ePLDT says it has signed a deal with global IT distributor Ingram Micro to provide support services for the latter's customers in the US and Canada.

Ingram Micro "serves 150 countries and is the only global IT distributor with operations in Asia," according to its website.

Terms of the deal, however, were not disclosed in a statement provided by ePLDT.

In 2005, Ingram Micro contracted support services to Indian outsourcing giant Infosys, which then sub-contracted voice-based services to ePLDT, through its call center unit Ventus.

Ken Lamzon, vice president and business development director for ePLDT Ventus, clarified that the company had a previous contract with Infosys, not with Ingram Micro.

"This is not an extension of the existing contract. This is a new and separate contract altogether with Ingram Micro," said Lamzon, when asked for further details via e-mail.

Late last year, Ingram Micro itself approached Ventus to provide call center support to its customers leading to the announced deal.

"Ingram Micro wanted to get in to the business of providing contact center solutions as part of its service portfolio and tapped Ventus directly," added Lamzon.

The company's relationship with Infosys, however, remains intact with Ingram Micro as the end customer, he said.

In particular, Ventus call centers provide inbound sales order processing, business-to-business or B2B account management, cross sales, call routing, as well as customer support and handling of inquiries.

The company said it will Ventus will add more services such as inbound customer care, inbound technical support, inbound and outbound sales, as well as back office processing.