Offshoring in retail likely to boom

The Economic Times reports that the offshoring industry is seeing a boom due to the rush of international retailers heading to India, to source products as well as their core processes. At present the retail offshoring industry is worth around $500 million and is likely to double in the next 2-3 years.

Traditional back end and front office processes such as HR, finance and customer support are already being done and now core processes such as merchandising planning, training, supply chain management, loyalty programme management, store administration and customer analytics are also being sent to India by major retailers.

According to S Sabyashchi, senior director at Bangalore based consultancy neoIT,

“Retail offshoring will create an entirely new cadre of workforce, who will have the relevant skill sets and knowledge about retail processes as adopted by global retail giants. Indian retailers can then leverage these skill sets and process knowledge to further their cause.”