Matters will only get worse for the industry once the combination of AI and NLP will reach its full potential. Admittedly this is perhaps up to 2 years away...but at this point is simply a matter of when...not if.
Robotic Process Automation (RPA) will decimate certain BPO providers..there is little doubt about it. It is therefor somewhat refreshing that at least some areas of the industry can look forward to a few good years.
The guys at at "Research and Markets" , one of the better market intelligence firms out there, have just released a new report which reviews the market outlook for the outsourced "Procure To Pay" industry.
The report foresees compound annual growth rates of 15.77 % into 2020. By any standard the foretasted growth rate is rather healthy...as such at least this part of the BPO industry should not face the headwinds other segments will encounter over the next few years.
The lesson learned here is that specialization and deep integration into an organization's internal structure is what insulates the BPO provider from the general industry malaise. By managing the entire procure and pay life cycle the BPO provider is deeply embedded into internal processes...which makes the service more valuable to a corporate customer.
It is that added value which insulates providers of that service from the general industry challenges. Deeper integration and more complex Business Processes are what will separate BPO providers from here on out.
The lesson for BPO providers is clear, specialize and go up the value chain or face the consequences.