Advanced Contact Solutions completes call center expansion

Advanced Contact Solutions Inc. (ACS), a wholly—owned call center of publicly-listed Fil-Hispano Holdings Corp. (FHC), has completed the first phase of its expansion program, giving it an additional 1,800 seats or more than 50 percent of its full year target.

ACS president Victor Endaya said the additional seats bring to 2,700 the company’s total seat capacity. "It’s a great leap for the company having set the target at 1,800 seats only in November 2004,’’ Endaya said.

With its newly-expanded facilities, ACS now has a significant share of the existing 40,000 seats in the Philippine call center industry, making it one of the biggest independent players in the country today. The call center business is measured by the number of seats in operation and ACS builds seats in proportion to client demand.

"But we’re not about to rest on our laurels just yet because expect more new clients to come in within the next few months that would mean raising even further our goal,’’ Endaya said.

To further boost its competitiveness, ACS is scouring for new opportunities abroad. It is in talks with prospective clients from North America including one of the largest transport carriers and a giant in the direct-to-home satellite industry which have the combined potential of adding more than 1,300 seats to ACS’ current capacity.

"We believe that our excellent track record with US clients is spreading fast among multinational companies looking to transfer their front-end customer service work offshore," Endaya said.

Endaya said ACS has been increasing its capacity significantly over the last three years and is confident its break-neck expansion rate will be sustained in the medium term in view of the promising prospects of the outsourcing industry.

ACS currently has three world-class facilities: at the Citibank Center in Makati, the Allied Bank building in Makati and in Cabuyao, Laguna.

The company is also looking at Quezon City and Ortigas as possible sites for expansion.

Nearly all of ACS’ revenues involve inbound calls (customer services, inbound sales, financial services, technical support, billing inquiry) which are preferred by call centers because they are more permanent and profitable (payment based on man-hours) than outbound services (such as telemarketing and solicitation) that are time-bound and paid on a commission basis.