Jones Lang LaSalle puts up BPO office in Global City

International property consulting firm Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL) has entered the Philippine business process outsourcing (BPO) industry with the establishment of its global hub in Bonifacio Global City.

In a statement from Singapore, JLL said this new shared services center based in the new W Fifth Avenue building had started operations recently.

The new BPO office aims to support the delivery of help desk functions and vendor management services for the firm’s clients across the world. JLL said this center was launched “in response to a growing demand from businesses for increased productivity from their corporate real estate portfolios.”

JLL said the Philippine hub was expected to set a new benchmark in sophisticated multiple-service centers for real estate. The company expects the facility to process more than 700,000 work orders yearly via phone and online requests. Work orders will include requests for repairs and maintenance, relocation, security, incident management and workplace services.

The new center will also support vendor management, contract and major procurement activities for JLL’s clients in Asia-Pacific, the United States and Europe.

With the Philippines already a well-established hub for BPOs, JLL sees the new center taking advantage of the country’s “strong infrastructure and language capabilities coupled with low operating costs.” JLL cited the importance of business function location in productivity and margin improvement.

“Companies are increasingly seeking innovative partners in corporate real estate that can help them achieve their strategic goals and deliver best practice. In fact, this was one of the most interesting findings of our recent Global Corporate Real Estate Trends 2013 report,” said Jordi Martin, chair of Integrated Facilities Management global board for JLL.

The said report showcased the extent to which real estate outsourcing was increasing across more diverse geographies, sectors and functions, Martin said.

“By centralizing our help desk services, we can meet our clients’ demands for a global support system that is both consistent and cost-effective and, in turn, facilitate improvements in productivity,” he added.

David Leechiu, international director and country head of JLL in the Philippines, added: “We welcome Jones Lang LaSalle’s first BPO office in the country and are pleased to offer these expanded services to our clients across the globe. It is a testament to the excellent talent that the Philippines has to offer and world-class real estate that is available at a fraction of the cost in other markets.”

As a new member on the board of directors of the Information Technology and Business Process Association of the Philippines (IBPAP), Leechiu said JLL was excited to partner with IBPAP and participate in the industry’s road map toward achieving the $25-billion revenue goal by 2016.