How BPO Pushed Indian Manufacturers at the Forefront of the Global Smartphone Industry

In 2020, the government of India approved the launch of a Rs 41,000 crore Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) scheme called The Production Linked Incentive (PLI). The projects mainly involved smartphone manufacturing in different regions, either for iPhones or Samsung smartphones. Foxconn and Pegatron produce iPhones in Tamil Nadu, while another iPhone maker called Wistron is located in Karnataka. Samsung on the other hand built Samsung India Electronics in Uttar Pradesh as the company’s India-based manufacturing plant.

Apparently, the PLI was the most successful economic development initiative in the country as India’s outsourcing is the most sought after by the world’s major brands. India’s BPO is in fact ranked Number 1 in the top ten list of BPOs. China is no longer in the lead, already trailing behind India in the second position. Actually, trusting and contracting some of the phone production processes to a third party is beneficial for both parties of BPO contracts. Apple for one can have more IT talents and resources in carrying out core activities.

India’s BPO was able to provide solutions to addressing production capacity issues at greatly reduced costs. BPO India enables smartphone manufacturers to access skilled talents that not even the US and the UK can afford to offer at cost-effective prices. Additionally, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Philippines, and Thailand are the Asian countries that complete the top 10 list of highly sought-after providers of BPO services.

Is Huawei the Most Affordable Smartphone in Today’s Global Market?

Huawei is a major Chinese mid-range brand of smartphone that came out with features usually seen in high-end cell phones. While trying to carve a niche in the midrange market for its smartphone series, the company also used BPO services in keeping costs to a minimum. It had to leverage available resources as the company was facing challenges that branded Huawei as being involved in China’s espionage activities. After all, the two major countries have economic trade disagreements with China, and the latter has not honored the practice of reciprocity in international trade deals.

The sanctions had repercussions for Huawei that included not having Google Chrome as browser support for the Nova smartphone. The turn of events was largely detrimental to the company, although Huawei’s Chinese investors remained steadfast. This also gave rise to speculations that the Chinese government is a Huawei investor. Still, the company continues to push in its bid to win over smartphone users who want to have the best smartphone features at the most affordable prices. In Bangladesh, the unofficial price of a Huawei 2i smartphone is 19,500 Taka, although the official price is pegged at 24,990 Taka.