PAIiIZ's Robert Seges feels that attracting KPO projects to Poland would bring significant profits Mateusz Goląb/WBJ

As Poland becomes an increasingly attractive location for business process outsourcing (BPO), local firms are competing for more complex knowledge process outsourcing (KPO) investment. Poland’s prospects of attracting KPO projects were discussed at the fifth Annual Outsourcing Forum in Warsaw last week.

Robert Seges of the Polish Information and Foreign Investment Agency (PAIiIZ) explained that BPO mainly concerns cost reduction, while KPO is based on technical knowledge. Such investments include legal process outsourcing or banking services.

“The projects are small and do not create as many jobs as BPOs, but the profits and value of this market will be relatively higher,” Mr Seges explained. The estimated value of the global KPO market in 2006-2007 was $4.5 (zł.13) billion and this is expected to rise to $16.7 (zł.48.4) billion in 2011-2012. Employment in the sector is estimated to increase from 106,000 to 350,000 over the same period.

Internationally, India has been the biggest recipient of KPO investment to date, but Mr Seges noted that there is a strong possibility that countries like Poland, the Czech Republic and China will also profit significantly.

“Poland is beginning its experience with advanced KPO projects. So far, all of them are located in Wrocław,” he said, mentioning the Knowledge Center that McKinsey plans this year.

“Wrocław does not have a special recipe for success. We simply decided to move away from the rule that local administrators know better – we listen to what businesses need,” explained Dariusz Ostrowski, president of the Wrocław Agglomeration Development Agency. He emphasized that firms’ good relationships with business chambers and educational institutions also contribute to Wrocław’s success.

Paweł Tynel, a senior manager at Ernst & Young, pointed out that investors are always attracted by government support. He also mentioned word-of-mouth advertisng as an effective means to attract KPO.

“Investors should not be forgotten about after they have made their investment. Aftercare is very important,” he stressed.