Case Prompt

Call Center Location Decision

Our client, an international company, is in the process of establishing a call centre in South Africa. They are contemplating five different cities for this venture. Your task is to provide advice on which city our client should select for their call centre operation.

Exhibits

Exhibit 1: Details of Call Services

Type of Call

Time per Call (minutes)

Number of Calls per Hour

Service Calls

10

600

Retail Calls

6

300

Exhibit 2: Survey of Workers in 5 Different Cities

City

Population

% Surveyed Willing to Work for Listed Wage/Hour

Baviaans

20,000

$0.5: 200, $1: 400, $1.5: 1000

Cape Agulhas

30,000

$0.5: 150, $1: 300, $1.5: 450

Ikwezi

10,000

$0.5: 100, $1: 200, $1.5: 400

Hantam

18,000

$0.5: 360, $1: 720, $1.5: 1080

Laingsburg

8,000

$0.5: 240, $1: 320, $1.5: 400

Exhibit 3: Cable/Internet Users and Suppliers in the 5 Cities

City

Cable/Internet Users

Number of Competitors

Baviaans

7,200

1

Cape Agulhas

6,500

2

Ikwezi

5,800

2

Hantam

6,000

3

Laingsburg

8,300

1

Background

Our client, a prominent cable/internet supplier, is venturing into setting up a call center in South Africa. The call center will be responsible for providing general product support and promoting products to a global customer base. They are evaluating five cities for this purpose.

Analysis

  • Factors to Consider
    Identify and discuss the various factors our client should consider while selecting the call center location.
  • Minimum Employee Requirement
    Calculate the minimum number of employees needed at the call center based on service and retail call requirements.
  • Employee Availability
    Assess the availability of employees willing to work at the specified wages in different cities using data from Exhibit 2.
  • Job Offer Rejections
    Discuss potential reasons, other than wage, that might lead individuals to reject a job offer from our client.
  • Integration with Cable/Internet Services
    Examine the best city option considering the client's interest in setting up cable/internet services. Utilize data from Exhibit 3.

Final Analysis

I recommend that our client establish a call center and cable/internet services in the city of Baviaans. Despite marginally lower labor costs in Hantam, Baviaans promises significantly higher revenues due to a larger customer base. Potential risks include competitor reactions and new market entrants. Our client should focus on attracting customers through promotions during the initial stages of market entry and work on building a solid customer base.