“For us to actually see Filipinos triumph in the area of supply management is …a worthwhile effort to expose… in e-Services. I think we have a really true blockbuster event,” said a top official of the Procurement and Sourcing Institute of Asia (PASIA).

In a bid to brand the Philippines as the Business Process Outsource-Procurement Services Capital of the World, Charlie Villasenor, PASIA Chairman, said he believes “the Filipino guts, talent, and resources are the winning ticket towards a new area of Filipino BPO leadership.”

“We are getting a lot of global attention…and what I keep thinking about is that (the world) has finally found that the Filipinos have something more to offer than call centers. And procurement BPO is a big part of it,” he said in a news release distributed to local media at the 10th E-Services Global Sourcing Conference and Exhibition.

The PASIA, a co-sponsor of the Procurement and Supply Management Track at the 10th e-Services, pointed out that “the field of procurement and supply management has grown in relevance and scope, transcending traditional notions of purchasing to embrace the responsibility of providing accelerated, strategic processes in the attainment of a competitive advantage.”

Supply Management or the process and management of resources that an organization potentially needs to realize its strategic objectives, has evolved from being a backroom topic into a more complex and relevant function to organizations and even nations.

The PASIA report stated, “As strategic innovation, good supply management leads to healthier companies that are financially wide and which support a robust economy.”

“Outsourcing and offshoring is all about supply management,” said Villasenor, dubbed the Procurement Guru of Asia and recipient of a special citation at the e-Services Awards 2009. “It think this is one of the best years of e-Services since they were able to attract the buyers (or supply managers) to participate.”

The Philippine multi-awarded company Transprocure, which he heads as CEO, demonstrates how procurement can cater to such diverse organizations involved in consumer packaged goods, high technology, oil and gas, manufacturing, transportation, financial services, construction and property development, telecommunications, utilities, public sector, services and non-profit organizations.

The 10th e-Services is organized by the Center for International Trade Expositions and Missions (CITEM), an attached agency of the Department of Trade and Industry. In this year’s edition, 106 exhibitors participated in this annual IT business event.

GOVERNMENT VIEW

Today, homegrown organizations and Philippine-located foreign companies engaged in the provision of Information and Communications Technology and Business Process Outsource services have graduated from solutions and voice-based products and services to include more complex knowledge-based businesses, noted Trade Secretary Peter Favila, as he stated “As e-Services turns ten (in the country), we thank the private sector for sharing our vision over these many years in our continued effort to champion Philippine IT business. We also thank our strategic partners for their commitment and contribution in building the Philippine ICT brand.”

The 10th e-Services partner agencies include the Board of Investments, the Foreign Trade Service Corps, the Regional Operations and Development Group and the Commission on Information and Communications Technology.

President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo in her keynote address during the opening of the 10th e-Services, reported, “From scratch, with only 2,000 workers and $24 million in revenues in year 2000, we have created what is today a global powerhouse: the BPO industry. Almost half a million workers last year, expected to be 600,000 this year; more than $ 7 billion in revenues last year, expected to exceed $ 9 billion this year.”

She continued, “We created this powerhouse for smart business solutions such as what you can offer with vision, determination and smart government policies in three areas digital infrastructure, appropriate legal and business environment framework, and development of human capital.”