Genpact cuts deal with Japan’s Hikari Tsushin

MUMBAI: India’s top third party business process outsourcing (BPO) firm, Genpact, has announced a multi-year contract with the Tokyo-based Hikari Tsushin Inc, expanding its footprint in Japan.

The outsourcing firm did not disclose the value of the contract, but CEO Pramod Bhasin said that like most contracts for back-office functions, it would start small and then scale up.

The contract covers three types of services — finance and accounting, IT infrastructure support, and customer service. It also includes China, where Hikari is expanding.

Hikari, a fully owned subsidiary of Hello Communications, is in the business of distributing products and services such as mobile phones, subscription to long-distance and international call services. The firm hopes to lower its operating costs and decrease time to market through the deal, according to Shigetaro Toyoda, CEO of Hello Communications.

“Japan is the second-largest IT market. It is opening up, but still not very significant... The Hikari deal gives us a greater foothold in Japan and the very important China market,” said Mr Bhasin. The back-office services provider expects to potentially open more centres in China in coming months. It currently has centres in four cities, Dalian, Changchun, Shanghai, and Beijing.

Genpact employs about 3,500 people in China most of whom are servicing the Japanese market. “About 75% of the services we offer from China are Japan-facing,” admitted Mr Bhasin. Genpact was one of the earliest India-based outsourcing firms to set up a delivery centre in China and has been present there for around 10 years.