Media Clippings

Teledirect sees boost from consultancy unit

Published: 01/Jan/2008

Source: Business Times Online

By Jeeva Arulampalam

TELEDIRECT Telecommerce Sdn Bhd expects up to 15 per cent profit contribution from its new unit, Teledirect Consulting, said its top official.

"We are forecasting 10 per cent to 15 per cent of our profits will come (from Teledirect Consulting) as early as 2009, since 2008 will be the first year of its operation," Teledirect Telecommerce chief executive officer Laurent Junique told Business Times in an interview.

The consultancy unit, which began operations in October 2007, will provide five core services including strategy and business development, analytics and database optimisation, product development, campaign management and regulatory compliance.

The unit's dedicated specialist team, focused on profit delivery, is expected to grow threefold to 20 specialists by the end of 2008, said Teledirect Consulting business director Jeffrey Manuel.

"What we can bring to our clients is an incremental profit growth of between RM15 million and RM100 million within five years," he said.

Manuel said the consultancy will provide clients with a five-year financial plan that consists of revenue and bottomline profitability.

Meanwhile, Junique said Teledirect Telecommerce is close to securing two new contracts.

Its clients include 10 insurers, two takaful providers and 11 banks. It began Malaysian operations in 2001 and provides call centre services around the region.

While the Teledirect group has also a presence in Hong Kong, Thailand and Singapore, Teledirect Consulting is the group's first consultancy unit and will target the local mass market that earns below RM180,000 per year.