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WE ARE your outsourcing experts
Service Excellence
Service Excellence
Service Excellence
We do 24/7 Customer Service, Sales and Technical Support for US, Canadian and Australian companies.
Teamwork
Service Excellence
Service Excellence
We do Accounts Payable, Financial Analysis, IT Management and IT technical support for US and UK companies.
Assertiveness
Service Excellence
Assertiveness
We do SOX Internal Financial Audit, SOX IT Audit, Accounting, Legal, Paralegal and Cost Accounting for US companies.
Reliable
Keen Attention To Detail
Assertiveness
We do lead generation, sales and marketing, web and graphic design for US and Australian companies.
Keen Attention To Detail
Keen Attention To Detail
Keen Attention To Detail
We service US, UK and Australian companies from various private, pre-IPOs and NYSE-listed companies.
At Your Service!
Keen Attention To Detail
Keen Attention To Detail
We fill in your needs — fast, efficient, reliable, cost-effective and done to the highest of standards possible.
Our Strong Team
FOUNDED ON TRUST
A HOME-GROWN SUCCESS STORY
CEBU OPERATIONS CENTER
Today, our operations span three floors in Cebu City supporting several clients in North America, Australia, UK and the UAE. We acknowledge that Stark BPO won't be where it is today without the 18 brave men and women who were part of our pioneering team. Just as important, our team wouldn't come about had it not for the backing of our first client who believed and supported a very talented pilot group that we put together on Stark BPO's launch on August 21, 2016.
As one united team, we took on the challenge of meeting our first client's process needs and growth objectives in our maiden year, guided by our shared values. We take pride in our results because we didn't just meet those expectations, we exceeded them. Our shared values are the results of close collaboration and teamwork. We empowered our team members to contribute to the identification of these values that are important to them. These values are fittingly reflected in our company name and in our culture.
Our story is one of raw courage and will to succeed. Beyond numbers, we believe that success should also be measured by how we take care of our people, and how our people take care of our staff and co-workers is what success looks like.
Our values and our mission are aligned. They are easy to remember and practical. Most of all, they are deeply rooted in the belief that we have in our people. That's the same belief we had from the day Stark BPO was born because our people are at the heart of what we do. After all, we are our clients' trusted outsourcing partners. Excellence is a by-product of he synergy of our values, strong sense of purpose and unrelenting drive to succeed as One Team, One Team Stark.
CEBU OPERATIONS CENTER
A HOME-GROWN SUCCESS STORY
CEBU OPERATIONS CENTER
Stark BPO Services is located in the heart of Cebu City, the Queen City of the South, Philippines, a less than 10-minute walk to the historic Fuente Osmeña Circle and Cebu Provincial Capitol. Stark BPO occupies the entire Onael Building with fully operational total capacity of over 200 seats combined plus training, conference room, huddle rooms and basement parking facility.
Stark BPO - IT Infrastructure
Stark BPO’s Systems and Network infrastructure complies with both BCP and DRP standards. Below is a Quick Summary of Stark BPO’s IT infrastructure, ISPs, Redundancy and Emergency Recovery Systems
Stark BPO IT infrastructure systems are hosted on-premise on a virtual environment with redundant physical host servers, storage drives & network for load balancing, fail-over and high availability, most of which are within multiple server platforms, using the most top known equipment in a secured environment to ensure continuous inter-operability, redundancy and scalability.
Stark BPO's hardware systems are composed of multiple physical host servers running on virtual platform configured as a resource pool hosting multiple virtual servers. Stark' network runs on Cisco platform with its proprietary routing practices. Network has standby cold spare units pre-configured for any hardware faults. Data technology uses network attached storage linked to multiple drives and file services across all production and backup environment comprising of standard RAID disk configuration for redundancy and fault-tolerance. Backup comprises of onsite, multiple rotating offsite and a cloud replicating backup systems.
A HOME-GROWN SUCCESS STORY
A HOME-GROWN SUCCESS STORY
A HOME-GROWN SUCCESS STORY
Millions of young Filipinos aspire to work in the BPO industry because of better pay and equal opportunities that traditional industries in the Philippines don't generally offer. The opportunities are tremendous. The new experience that awaits a new hire in a new industry will be personally and professionally rewarding. There's no denying that the BPO sector has been a life-saver for many Filipino families across the country. Prior to the entry of the BPO industry in the early 2000s, the Philippines was heavily dependent on OFW remittances that have kept the Philippine currency and the national economy afloat.
The BPO sector is now forecasted to eclipse the annual remittance of OFWs by 2023. This unprecedented growth has attracted a large amount of foreign investment into the BPO industry as the number international and local BPO operators multiply. Stark BPO is one of those upstart, home-grown companies that's 100% locally-owned and managed.
Stark BPO started with only 18 agents in 2016 providing lead generation services for its pioneer client, a Dubai-based digital marketing provider. In just its 4th year, Stark BPO has expanded its client base and now supports processes in the US, Canada, UK and Australia for customer service, sales support, data processing and high-end back office support like accounting, AP, internal audit, legal, graphics design and IT support and management.
Anticipating further growth, Stark BPO has expanded yet again and now fully occupies all 4 floors of Onael Building. From 18 seats in 2016 to 120 seats in 2020, to 150 seats in 2021 to over 200 seats in 2023. This is our humble story. The story of every man and woman behind the success of Stark BPO
Stark BPO'S FACILITIES
OUR happy team
STARK BPO TURNS 7
SHINING BRIGHTER THAN EVER
TEAM MEMBERS' FEEDBACK
Message from the Chief Cheerleader
I can't find the right words to say thank you to all of you. 7 years and counting. We have conquered what no one in the entire BPO industry in Cebu has accomplished. We are home-grown, locally-owned and solely relied on our optimism, confidence, integrity and raw vision. We were mere dreamers when we started yet we turned into achievers. We turned an opportunity into a thriving enterprise of the young bold, out to conquer the BPO world.
Today, we are a fully diverse BPO company that supports multiple North American and Australian accounts from Customer Service, Paramedical Support, Technical Support, Sales and Non-voice Operations.
We now service key accounts that has allowed us to significantly level up and support high-end processes from accounting to SOX audit compliance, graphics design to IT management, and everything in between. We have fully established these accounts from sourcing to hiring to on-boarding within the first half of the year. This blessing is ours to share and celebrate. This is what this milestone is all about and it's an absolute joy to join you all in this celebration of God's grace, optimism, dedication, teamwork, and family spirit.
Forever I am grateful to all of you, Team Stark. You have proven that it is possible to build something out of nothing. That is the story of Stark BPO. We have achieved great things for believing in each other's integrity and abilities. Stay humble and confident because great things come to those who believe. All these, for God's glory.
TEAM MEMBERS' FEEDBACK
SHINING BRIGHTER THAN EVER
TEAM MEMBERS' FEEDBACK
"A happy place to work, a supportive environment and people-oriented management. This is our home, built by a hardworking and dedicated team."
- Quenne, Pioneer Staff, Operations
"Stark BPO, thank you for giving me the opportunity to grow in this company and become a big part in the team's success.
- Dhio, Customer Service Agent
"More than just a great team. Stark BPO has been instrumental to my professional advancement. To have witnessed the company grow to where it is now in just 4 years is an amazing accomplishment."
- Sherbi, Pioneer Staff, Operations
"Stark BPO provided me great avenues to grow as a BPO professional. I excelled in every account I was assigned to, (sales and customer service) which further broadened by experience."
- Jhong, Pioneer Staff, CSR
"I'm one of the founding members who joined Stark BPO in 2016. I'm grateful that I have made the right decision. It's a great privilege to have this opportunity to help lead this company from day one."
- Judy, Pioneer Staff, Finance Admin
"Prior to joining Stark in 2016, I was your typical BPO-hopper between 2012 and 2015. When I joined Stark BPO, I learned to appreciate my job. Most importantly, I learned to appreciate Stark BPO, a company that values its people. "
- Jess, Outbound Sales since Oct. 2016
SHINING BRIGHTER THAN EVER
SHINING BRIGHTER THAN EVER
SHINING BRIGHTER THAN EVER
Since early 2000's, several multinational companies have expanded their BPO operations to other key cities in the Philippines outside of Manila, namely Davao, Iloilo, Bacolod and Clark. Cebu is next to Manila in terms of global recognition due to better infrastructure and abundance of young qualified workforce coming out of Cebu City's top colleges and universities, such as USC, USJR, SWU, UC, SIT, CDU, CIT-U, STC and other post-secondary institutions.
Cebu is one of only two cities in the Philippine Economic Zone Authority’s (PEZA) list of “Centers for Excellence.” This is awarded to cities that have a strong hold in certain industries and disciplines. Moreover, Cebu City and Manila are the only Philippine cities in the Top 15th rank according to Tholons Services Globalization Index (TSGI) 2020. Most of the BPO companies that continue to hire outside of the National Capital Region (NCR) are located in Cebu City, the provincial capital. It is followed by the cities of Mandaue, Lapu-Lapu , Talisay and Consolacion.
The Philippine BPO industry directly employs over 1.3 million Filipinos nationwide which generated $26.3 Billion in 2019, a 7.1% improvement from the previous year. We, at Stark BPO are proud to be contributing to this growth in our small ways through job creation, career opportunities and advancement.
We are optimistic that the future is bright for our organization and the Philippine BPO industry as a whole. We are proud to serve our clients and their customers. We are committed to providing the most cost-effective, reliable, and highly efficient outsourcing solutions.
Counting Our Blessings
Grateful for every opportunity to serve and grow.
BPO BITS AND PIECES
What Is Business Process Outsourcing (BPO)?
By Alana Rudder
May 16, 2023
Business process outsourcing (BPO) happens when a company outsources entire business functions to be handled by another company. For example, companies can outsource their marketing, payroll, human resources (HR), customer service and supply chain management functions. In this article, we discuss what business process outsourcing is, how it works, its benefits and disadvantages and examples of what it looks like in today’s businesses.
What Is Business Process Outsourcing
Business process outsourcing involves the outsourcing of business functions to external companies. To clarify, many companies outsource tasks to external providers. An example may be hiring a freelancer to do video editing. BPO is different in that whole business functions, such as marketing or accounting, are outsourced. Traditionally, BPO was used by manufacturing companies but it has more recently spread to a variety of industries.
Business process outsourcing can include outsourcing back-office or front-office functions. Back office functions include those that are not customer-facing, such as accounting and human resources. Front-office BPO involves outsourcing customer-facing functions like sales or customer service.
Three types of BPO exist. “Offshore” BPO means hiring an overseas company to run a business function. For example, a company in the United States may hire a BPO company in the Philippines. “Nearshore” outsourcing means hiring a BPO company in a nearby country, such as a Canadian company outsourcing to a U.S. company. Finally, “domestic” or “onshore” BPO means hiring a company within the company’s own country.
9 Common Benefits of Business Process Outsourcing
There are numerous potential advantages to hiring a BPO company. Among them are greater operational flexibility, access to innovative technologies and top talent, cost savings, access to advanced and quick reporting, reduced risk, a better ability to respond to change and, ultimately, a competitive advantage. Here is a closer look at each of these benefits.
Greater Operational Flexibility
By outsourcing noncore competency functions within your business, such as marketing and HR, your personnel are free to focus exclusively on core competencies. In turn, this gives them time to be innovative and adaptive in their work.
Access to Innovative Technologies
To compete for clients against other BPO companies, most BPO companies specialize in one business function and invest in the latest and best technologies in that specialization. This often means companies that outsource to them gain access to the most innovative and best technologies in the industry, technologies they may not otherwise have the budget to implement internally or may not even know exist.
Access To Top Talent
Many BPO companies hire talent with extensive backgrounds and credentials in the area in which they specialize, such as HR or payroll. Hiring top talent means they can compete for clients against other BPO companies. It also means the businesses that hire them gain access to the expertise within that top talent.
Cost Savings
Many BPO companies exist or hire within countries with lower corporate income tax and acceptable incomes. As funds are saved by hiring from other countries, those savings are often passed along to businesses that outsource through them. In addition, many other costs can be saved by hiring a BPO company, including office rental costs, employee-used software fees and other overhead costs.
Access to Advanced and Quick Reporting
Access to advanced technologies like artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML)and automations via BPO companies allow businesses to gain access to more advanced and quick reporting, including financial and cash flow forecasting.
Better Change Responses
By accessing top talent, innovative technologies, cost savings, greater internal flexibility and advanced reporting, companies are better able to adapt when their industries quickly or customer demands change. They may even be able to adapt before the changes hit to stay ahead of demand. For example, access to advanced reporting can help outsourcing companies forecast coming changes so they can adapt before they are forced to.
Specialized Risk Management
Companies that outsource business functions can potentially reduce risks by putting those areas of their businesses in the hands of tried and true experts who know how to avoid relevant risks. For example, if a company outsources its information technology (IT) function, the hired IT experts may know ways to mitigate risks with greater attention to detail than the outsourcing company’s current employees.
A Greater Competitive Advantage
With access to innovative technologies, specialized expertise, cost savings, advanced and quick reporting, specialized risk management and opportunities for greater operational flexibility, companies are better able to develop competitive edges against competitors that may not have such access.
6 Common Disadvantages of Business Process Outsourcing
Despite the numerous and impressive benefits to BPO, the disadvantages can be equally impressive if not managed correctly. Common disadvantages include public backlash, loss of control, communication breakdowns and hidden costs. Here is a closer look at these disadvantages.
A Learning Curve
A hired BPO company must learn about the client company, its customers and what needs are to be fulfilled. This learning curve can create a disruption in the client company’s product or quality services, creating concerns among customers, shareholders or directors. For this reason, it is important to start slow with the outsourcing process and ask any BPO companies you’re considering hiring how they plan to mitigate this risk.
Source: https://www.forbes.com/advisor/business/business-process-outsourcing/
Examples of Business Process Outsourcing
Business process outsourcing is outsourcing business functions to an external company. In doing so, companies can enjoy benefits, such as lowering overhead costs, gaining access to advanced reporting and innovative technologies, reducing risk, accessing specialized talent and better adapting to changing customer demands. However, it must be managed carefully to avoid pitfalls like silo-ed company communication, hidden costs and reputational damage.
Payroll
Payroll involves calculating and disseminating wages and taxes to workers and government agencies. In a nutshell, it starts with a list of employees and their status as a contractor or employee. Wages are calculated based on employment status, tax withholding, paid time off (PTO) and more. Wages are often paid via direct deposit and pay stubs are provided to employees. Records are kept, estimated taxes are paid quarterly and taxes are often filed yearly.
Clearly, a lot of time and process goes into processing payroll. It requires not just paying talent but hiring experienced payroll talent to execute the ongoing work and avoid financial risk. Companies can outsource this process to save time, money and resources that can then be dedicated to their core competencies. By putting this process in expert hands, companies can also reduce the risk of penalties for payroll errors.
Call Center Customer Service
Call centers often work with customers to ensure they have the best experience with company services or products. The process involves answering customer questions and helping to resolve issues related to the company’s products or services. For the best outcome, call center personnel should be professional (even with upset customers), knowledgeable, personable, clear and able to balance meeting customer needs against company interests.
Because we live in a 24/7-on world, the greatest customer satisfaction is often achieved with a constant presence to support them. Many small businesses do not have the time, resources or funds to support customers 24/7. In addition to the constant demand for customer support, many companies don’t have the talent to meet other customer needs, like multilingual support. Call centers are often equipped with talent and resources to meet such needs.
Supply Chain Management
Supply chain management controls the process and flow involved in making products. For example, to make shoes, raw materials are sourced, sometimes from multiple sources across the globe. Next, the raw materials are sent to the company that makes the shoes. Then, the shoes are sent to the companies that distribute them to customers. All the while, inventories are managed so resources arrive on time but don’t cost extra storage, labor or other costs.
Supply chain management is a complex process that, if not done precisely, can cost companies their profit margins. The chosen partners in the supply chain can make or break a company’s legal and moral standing. Its management involves legal counsel, payment processing, sourcing partners, quality control, accounting procedures, specialized software and more. An experienced BPO company can manage these complexities while reducing risk.
Bottom Line
Business process outsourcing is outsourcing business functions to an external company. In doing so, companies can enjoy benefits, such as lowering overhead costs, gaining access to advanced reporting and innovative technologies, reducing risk, accessing specialized talent and better adapting to changing customer demands. However, it must be managed carefully to avoid pitfalls like siloed company communication, hidden costs and reputational damage.
WHY OUTSOURCING TO THE PHILIPPINES MAKES SENSE
Sunstar Cebu
COMPANIES of all sizes and industries are increasingly turning to business process outsourcing (BPO) to gain a competitive advantage, reposition their brand, or re-imagine how they do business. For those businesses, outsourcing to the Philippines has become a particularly beneficial option.
There’s a strong reason for that. For the past twenty years, the Philippines have established itself as a world leader in business process outsourcing. The country currently ranks just behind India as the world’s second BPO destination and is the global leader in outsourcing. Today, the Philippines hold a 10 to 15 percent market share in the global BPO industry. Two decades of proven outsourcing success obviously speaks for itself
Outsourcing to the Philippines offers a hefty ROI
Companies that partner with industry leading BPO companies in the Philippines consistently see impressive returns on their investment. Outsourcing can cut 60% off labor costs and up to 40 to 50 percent off operating cost, improve efficiency and productivity, and fast-track a company’s ability to scale and grow. Companies also gain access to a skilled and highly educated workforce with a strong proficiency in speaking fluent English in a country whose government actively supports its lucrative outsourcing industry.
But one of outsourcing’s biggest advantages is it allows companies to focus on and improve core competencies. While teams of experienced BPOs expertly handle non-core tasks, in-house teams can concentrate on growing their business. Broadening their capabilities can give companies the competitive advantage they need to succeed in today’s ultra-competitive marketplace. This is a deeper look at some of the ways outsourcing can help businesses gain a competitive advantage.
Focus on core competencies
Outsourcing mundane tasks gives management and employees more time to focus on value-added projects and cultivating business growth. This ability to leverage time contributes to higher productivity and organizational strength by allowing core teams to focus on what they do best. Plus, money saved from BPO can be funneled into important business-growth aspects such as marketing and advertising, advanced technology, product research and development, and developing omnichannel strategies.
Get products or services to market faster
One of the top reasons organizations outsource to the Philippines is because work will get done quicker. Due to the time difference between the U.S. and the Philippines, work can be done on a 24-hour basis, meaning projects can be completed in weeks and not months. Speeding up projects can help get products or services to market faster, giving outsourcing companies a significant competitive edge. Plus, since project-specific teams can be quickly built, priorities can get started and completed that much faster.
Expanded market reach
Outsourcing to the Philippines can help companies reach broader audiences by offering access to top marketing professionals who can give deep insights into foreign markets. For instance, a U.S. company might know the American market, but how well do they know the overseas marketplace? By outsourcing to a central international business hub like the Philippines, companies can gain a new understanding of what overseas customers want and need. This deeper insight into foreign markets can be especially advantageous for e-commerce brands operating in a super-competitive global marketplace.
World-class customer service
By outsourcing to the Philippines, companies can tap into a customer service outsourcing industry that is a world leader. Filipinos are known for their warmth, hospitality, strong work ethics, and an innate sense of empathy and loyalty. Additionally, Filipino’s affinity for speaking fluent English makes them ideal customer support representatives. These traits can give a company a reputation for being reliable and approachable. Satisfied customers will likely recommend a company to their family and friends, leading to effective word-of-mouth marketing, a higher bottom line, and a better competitive edge.
Outsourcing to the Philippines makes good business sense
The advantages of outsourcing to the Philippines far outweigh the costs of investing in it. Relying on the right Philippine outsourcing team to take care of all the little things allows companies to focus on the core competencies that really matter. Outsourcing can also be a cost-effective way for startups and SMEs to achieve their business objectives.
Philippines poised to capture a bigger slice of the BPO global market share
Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) refers to the process of contracting a third-party provider to handle or perform non-core business functions of an enterprise. Over the past decades, the BPO industry has transformed itself from providing low-end, unstructured single-focus services to a behemoth industry, offering a plethora of services and skills to their clients across the globe.
The BPO industry, since its inception, has grown at rapid speed and has acquired significant traction on the global market share. This growth is attributable to increasing demand of enterprises to (1) reduce costs, (2) focus on their core business activities, and (3) handle problems such as shortage of skilled personnel.
Based on a 2021 report released by Deloitte, IT services (54%), Finance (44%), Payroll services (32%), and Customer service or Contact centers (22%) are the most often outsourced services. Despite the Covid-19 pandemic and recent economic headwinds, the global BPO industry has grown to an industry with an estimated value of US$164.7 billion in 2022 and is expected to reach US$381.62 billion by 2030.
Globally, India is the top player for outsourcing services. It is closely followed by the Philippines and the United States. India’s BPO sector remains strong, offering 24/7 services and advances in technology. This market takes great pride on its homegrown talents, most of whom are experts on IT and software development. And while India is highly regarded for its IT expertise and impressive BPO-supporting infrastructure, Filipinos’ soft skills, including customer support, English language proficiency, and cultural affinity to the North American markets, are the Philippines’ biggest draws, which make the country a force to be reckoned with in the BPO sector.
A brighter future lies ahead
According to an article published in Rappler, the Philippine BPO industry officially started in 1992 when Frank Holz, under the Accenture group, created the first contact center in the country. Three years later, in 1995, Congress passed the Special Economic Zone Act, whose aims, among others, include the transformation of selected areas into highly developed ecozones and the promotion of the flow of investors, both foreign and local, into these zones. This piece of legislation also paved for the establishment of the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA).