Archive for March, 2021

Cost Effective Business Services

March 8th, 2021

A business services franchise is a good option for many who are willing to serve the corporate world. A business franchisee needs an investment in terms of fees, real estate, marketing, merchandise etc. there are both small business services as well as high cost businesses in the category. Here we discuss some prominent business services franchises.

Financial services: The financial services space is rapidly growing in India. It is one of the most significant business services in India. According to the latest Central Statistical Organisation (CSO) data, financial services, banking, insurance and real estate sectors have risen by 7.8 per cent in the third quarter of 2009-10. This displays the success of the financial service industry. With the over-all increase in the finance services seekers, finance service providers took to franchise route, thus creating a great scope for franchise opportunity.

Till a few years back, the franchising which was an unknown concept in this field has gained lot of momentum in the present times. Before discussing the factors responsible for this development, let us first get familiar with the term ‘Financial services franchisors’.

Financial services refer to services provided by the financial service companies. The finance service companies encompass a broad range of organisations that deal with money management. A few of these organisations include banks, insurance companies, consumer finance companies, stock brokerages, investment funds etc. These companies offer various services such as asset protection, investment and savings, retirement plans, customer-orientated service, besides offering personal loans, commercial loans, mortgage loans, and education loans for the aspiring students. Financial service providers are on the rise as franchising as a mode of expansion is being opted by this industry. Manish Shah, Associate Director- Business Strategy, Equity & Product Development, Motilal Oswal Securities Ltd shared, “The belief in entrepreneurship and the drive it brings to the business, made Motilal Oswal take the franchise route. Franchising brings more scalability to the business and the business becomes entrepreneur driven.”

Courier Services: Another category of business services is courier service. The companies basically work around transportation of goods from one place to another, delivery of documents, packages, and larger shipments of products. These provide services to companies and individuals who need rapid service, accountability, and tracking that regular mail does not accommodate. Courier services are more reliable and dependable as compared to ordinary postal services due to less time consumed and delivery guarantee. However, with the introduction of modern gadgets and faster modes of transportation this system has also progressed a lot. Moreover, franchising is also one of the main stimulants of its popularity and profitability.

Franchising in this sector has grown with more and more players taking the franchise model for reaching out to far flung areas in the vast nation. Courier service companies are required to deliever important mails and parcels to any part, whether city, town or village in the country. Therefore, franchising can be the best mode for guaranteed delivery of the items. According to DS Patel, Channel Head, DTDC, “Franchising is an essential and most effective way of expanding the network. Opening our own company owned courier offices is very expensive and time consuming. However a franchise outlet is economically beneficial to the company.” As informed by Praveen Govindraj, Assistant General Manager, First Flight Courier, “Franchising definitely helps in directly reaching to far-fling areas for delivering items due to our local partners in those areas.” He further added, “Franchising can be a win-win situation for both the franchisor and franchisees as both benefit from it. The local partner (franchisee) has a much better idea of a particular locality than the main company which is based out of Delhi or Mumbai. Delivering parcels to small towns and cities becomes difficult and also take a lot of time if it is done by the company in metropolitan areas. At such times the local franchisee can be of great help.” This can be the major reason for courier companies to opt for the franchise route. Moreover, having local partners all over the nation, who deliver all items on time, also increases the credibility and profit making of the parent company.

The typical feature of the courier service franchise includes doorstep booking, customer convenience and security of each and every consignment that has been entrusted to it. Jaguar Couriers Franchise, Blazeflash Couriers, etc are some of the franchising companies under this category.

Cartridge refilling: Cartridge refilling forms another business service category. In the modern age of I.T, there is a constantly growing need of cartridgere-fills. Foraying in the cartridge refill industry through franchise route is a promising venture. A cartridge refill franchise offers to its user’s quality refills at a fractional cost. Current industry trends and future projections suggest that printer cartridges demand will continue to multiply at a very fast pace as computers and low cost printers swamp the market. Cartridge World, Cartridge Café, Cartridge Xpress are some of the good low-cost franchise options.

Challenges

Every business has attached to it certain set of challenges. Though the basic challenges remain the same across the board for all business service franchises, their relevance with each sector differs.
Before opting for any of the above options, clear all your doubts. Apart from your initial investment, take into account the ongoing costs that must be paid to your franchisor, including franchise royalties, marketing fees and other required purchases. After you are convinced go ahead and make your mark in the franchising world!

Objectives Of Efficient Business Service Management

March 8th, 2021

Why should businesses bother about business service management (BSM)? The efficient management of business services can lead to better customer service relationships, improved inter-departmental communication and engagement and increased productivity. All of this can contribute to cost reductions as well.

Business services may often seem to be at cross-purposes with what IT has to offer and there is an impression that management initiatives are hard to meet. But BSM not only bridges this gap, it helps businesses bring together the factors needed for efficient growth, such as the health of your IT system, the status of applications, effective monitoring of applications, managing networks, managing virtual networks, and consumption and management of data storage systems, etc.

Business service management directives may be placed above directives of IT service management. BSM application is also seen applied in Information Technology or Information Communications Technology; BSM also helps identify and define business objectives such that they are easier for IT to follow and provide for. Without this definition which is the hallmark of BSM, it is difficult for the IT to align with the larger business vision.

BSM is also vital in times of virtual networking and Cloud-based systems. Whether your IT department is in house or outsourced, business service management measures are necessary to ensure everyone shares in and understands the business goals.

Why implement business service management? Primarily, implementing it helps align your IT services with business goals; your business approach also develops a better customer focus. Additionally, having business service management in place fosters a culture where right from operations to administration to IT all are aligned with business objectives.

For the customer

If your business functions and operations are in sync with the larger vision, then BSM is all about identifying market needs and target customers to provide them with better services. Following outlining of business objectives, BSM also helps understand the impact of these objectives on existing business infrastructure and how to go about meeting newer goals.

Thus, when it outlines business objectives, it also takes into consideration changes and possible modifications that will be needed to fulfill them. Changes that support business objectives may be needed for operations as well as IT within the business.

Once BSM guidelines are implemented, it may bring about a change in the way the business has operated thus far. Technological changes may come about that impact the existing client base. Even if a change is for the better, it will still need adaptability. BSM may also change the way communication is handled; thus if a customer is used to sharing concerns or making complaints in a particular way, this way might get modified and change into a different kind of service altogether.

Tevron develops and delivers Application Monitoring Solutions, M