Realize 1.5 M€ recurring savings, per year
by relocating 20 contractors

April 20, 2009 – Skelia, an international services company established in 2008 by Belgian entrepreneurs and operating out of Ukraine, and IT2Profit, a Belgian services company with leadership in business transformation, business performance, outsourcing and offshoring, announce that they will combine and leverage their mutual strengths in helping Benelux companies overcome the current economical recession.

Managed Relocation of on-site contractors

Skelia and IT2Profit target significant financial savings for their customers through a managed relocation of on-site contractors. “We realize a seamless transition from on-site services performed by local contractors to equivalent, high-quality operations out of nearshore locations. A typical team transition program takes around 4-6 months, including the recruitment of remote resources and knowledge transfer.”

“Our approach is very similar to moving a team or consolidating operations between 2 different sites in Benelux. If this type of activity works or would work at our customers, then our proposed model is perfectly possible”, says Patrik Vandewalle, CEO of Skelia.

Skelia and IT2Profit, a unique partnership

“Skelia already gives an answer to the current insecure company expectations by extending the local teams of Benelux companies with qualified people in nearshore locations. We established our first service center in Lviv, regional capital of West-Ukraine. So far, I was pleasantly surprised that the main goal of our clients was to stimulate further growth in the own country. More recently however, we witness increasing needs for immediate, dramatic cost reductions to rebound, or even survive !”, says Patrik Vandewalle.

“More and more customers approach us to help them achieve fundamental turnarounds as a matter of urgency to protect their future competitiveness” explains Bart Smets, CEO of IT2Profit.

“Many of them however fear the complexity of investing in an in-house offshoring solution or work with large offshoring companies in India. We have now bundled our own forces in outsourcing, transition management and business performance with the unique “Plug & Play” nearshoring model of Skelia. Skelia’s smart nearshore offering perfectly complements our current activities in helping companies through outsourcing projects with third parties. Together we provide a great, more managable alternative for those companies that want to offshore and keep direct control.”

 

Realizing substantial savings, in the first year !

The table below summarizes the indicative financial savings achieved by relocating 5, 10, 20 and 40 resources. The Return On Investment (ROI) is most often less than 10 months. As an example, relocating 20 contractors can already generate a saving of 450 K€ in its first year, 1.5 M€ per year after transition, while reaching cumulative savings above 6M€ over 5 years.

(*) Including planning and preparation, transition management, knowledge transfer, steady state governance, additional on-site coordination, nearshore facilities & connectivity and projected inflation.

Applicable to a broad range of skills

The Managed Relocation Program proposed by Skelia and IT2Profit is viable for a broad range of competencies, as long as the related functions can be executed remotely (in cooperation with a local team). “While customers often think first of relocating ICT resources, we find that relocating business operations and traditional supporting activities represent even more potential”, complements Bart Smets.

 

Skelia’s “Plug & Play” model – simplicity and control as key strengths !

“Our own experiences with offshore service companies were not always positive because of the complexity. Working with people from totally different cultures like India and China, in a different time zone, with other legal systems, sometimes doubtful ethical practices and a big staff turnover, make many customers come back on their decisions. Very often, there was a lack of the “yes is yes, no is no”-principle. Therefore, we created a simple model with a very low participation barrier, high comfort and flexibility” says Patrik Vandewalle.

“The strength of Skelia lays in the simplicity of the offered “Plug & Play” business model which easily integrates with most organizations : we recruit teams in Ukraine for our clients in the Benelux and take care of the complete supporting framework (building, infrastructure, network, coaching of the staff, technical support, etc.). In many cases, this model is even efficient and profitable as from 1 person.”

A seamless Transition Experience

“We recommend a gradual transition of on-site contractors to the off-Site Skelia operating model, phased in small groups of 5-10 resources for which the model is applicable. This pragmatic approach, in combination with our international expertise and experience in transition management and governance, allows us to tune as-we-go and obtain high customer satisfaction levels”, advises Bart Smets.

“The fact that both Skelia and IT2Profit are created and managed by experienced Belgian entrepreneurs, gives an additional comfort zone and direct access for guidance.”



About Skelia
Skelia is an international services company headquartered in the Grand-Duchy of Luxembourg and established in 2008 by Belgian entrepreneurs. Skelia helps Benelux companies achieve growth by extension of their supporting capacity in nearshore locations.
More information can be found on the website www.skelia.com, or via e-mail to patrik.vandewalle@skelia.com .


About IT2Profit
IT2Profit is a top level consulting and services company headquartered in Belgium with a leadership position in turnaround management, outsourcing and business performance. Creating long term sustainable value is the essence of its focus.
More information can be found on the website www.IT2Profit.com, or via e-mail to bart.smets@it2profit.com .