Vol. XXI, No. 180 [ Business World Online ]
Tuesday, April 15, 2008 | MANILA, PHILIPPINES
A CALL CENTER owned by telecommunications giant Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) has expanded its outsourcing contract with a US-based Fortune 100 client.
ePLDT Ventus, a wholly owned subsidiary of ePLDT, Inc. told the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) yesterday it had signed an additional contract with New York Stock exchange listed IT distributor Ingram Micro, Inc.
The offshore call center company will provide the contact center support services for Ingram Micro’s new set of products. The new contract covers Ingram Micro’s clients in the US and Canada.
Mediaquest Holdings, a subsidiary of PLDT’s beneficial trust fund, has a minority stake in BusinessWorld.
Ingram Micro is a Fortune 100 company founded in 1979 and based in Santa Ana, California. It is the world’s largest technology distributor and a leading technology sales, marketing and logistics company. The company distributes and markets IT products from computer hardware suppliers, networking equipment suppliers and software publishers worldwide.
Ingram Micro has four primary product categories: networking products, software, systems and peripherals.
ePLDT Ventus has been serving Ingram Micro’s clients, offering inbound sales order processing, business to business account management, cross sales, call routing, customer support and inquiries since 2002.
In an interview, PLDT Spokesman Ramon R. Isberto said the new contract would generate more revenues for its call center subsidiary, which is a major growth area for the Pangilinan-led firm.
"When they expanded, they picked ePLDT Ventus for the new services and packages they will be providing to their customers. This is incremental business [for ePLDT Ventus]," Mr. Isberto said.
ePLDT President Ray C. Espinosa said the contract with Ingram Micro reflects the call center’s ability to fulfill its client’s requirements.
"Years of working with them gives us the confidence that we can do more for them and their existing pool of clients in this new endeavor," ePLDT Ventus President Helen Marquez said.
"We are pleased to expand our relationship with ePLDT, as they have provided over the past several years, best in class service that our customers expect with Ingram Micro in North America," Ingram Micro Strategic Development and Execution Vice-President Richard Donohue said in a statement.
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