Establishing a Customer Support Centre A cost/quality comparison (Based on information from the Financial Times fDi Benchmark tool – April 2012)

Competitiveness of Scottish Central Belt Value for Money Overall Attractiveness Quality of the Location Annual Operating Costs Quality Competitiveness General Business Environment Labour Availability and Quality Presence of an Industrial Cluster Infrastructure and Accessibility Living Environment Contents

 The following analysis is based on fDi Benchmark, an online location benchmarking tool provided by the Financial Times (FT)  fDi Benchmark compared Scottish Central Belt with the leading locations globally for Customer Support Centres based on an analysis of over 55 quality factors and 10 cost factors  A key emphasis was placed on: - Presence of industrial cluster - Labour availability and quality - Infrastructure and accessibility  Other factors including the living environment and general business environment were also assessed Benchmarking Study

Project Profile Overview Cost FactorUsage Amount Property Total Occupancy cost (in town office rent)3,500 m² Telecoms National Call2,700,000 Mins Intl Call to US (International Call)1,000,000 Mins Intl Call to France1,000,000 Mins Intl Call to Germany1,000,000 Mins Intl Call to Italy1,000,000 Mins Intl Call to Sweden1,000,000 Mins Intl Call to China1,000,000 Mins Intl Call to Singapore1,000,000 Mins Intl Call to India1,000,000 Mins Intl Call to Brazil1,000,000 Mins Intl Call to Mexico1,000,000 Mins Weighting Model OverviewWeight Presence of an Industrial Cluster40 Labour Availability and Quality35 Infrastructure and Accessibility15 Living Environment5 General Business Environment5 Employee TypeProfile Head count General Management Business Unit Manager1 Project Manager15 Marketing Customer service rep280 Customer Services Manager25 Head of Customer Services1 Administration Facilities/Office Services Specialist20 Secretary8

fDi Benchmark Matrix The fDi Benchmark Matrix shows the trade off between cost and quality across the 8 selected locations for the Customer support centre profile. The average cost and quality score is 100 for the selected locations. Source: fDi Intelligence, from the Financial Times Ltd The ‘ideal’ quadrant is the top left (high quality/lower operating costs)

fDi Benchmark Matrix The matrix is based on the weighting and cost model for the Customer support centre profile. The weighting model identifies the key location criteria for the project and the cost model shows the primary cost inputs for the operation. The cost and quality scores are calculated using real data on all the location requirements and cost inputs. The results indicate the different location solutions for the investor as follows: The Scottish Central Belt offers higher quality at lower cost than the average of all the selected location Amsterdam, Barcelona offer higher quality but at higher cost Belfast, Cardiff, and Manchester offer lower cost, but at lower quality The Operating Cost value is in GBP - United Kingdom Pound LocationQualitative Score Operating Cost Index Operating Cost Value Amsterdam ,379,243 Barcelona ,316,694 Belfast ,091,752 Cardiff ,797,931 Cork ,568,902 Dublin ,600,129 Manchester ,615,809 Scottish Central Belt ,847,214 Source: fDi Intelligence, from the Financial Times Ltd

Location Attractiveness Index The location attractiveness index shows the overall attractiveness of the 8 selected locations for the Customer Support Centre profile. The ratio of quality to cost is 50:50 Source: fDi Intelligence, from the Financial Times Ltd

Cost Quality Competitiveness The cost quality competitiveness uses the results of the fDi Benchmark Matrix to show the value for money of each location option. The graph shows that:  The top locations offering the highest quality for a given level of cost are the Scottish Central Belt and Barcelona  The Scottish Central Belt and Barcelona offer an above average level of quality and good value for money as there relative quality is higher than their relative cost. Source: fDi Intelligence, from the Financial Times Ltd

Cost Competitiveness The annual operating cost calculation for Customer support centre is based on the following primary input costs: Labour Cost, Property and Telecoms  The average cost across the selected locations for Customer support centre is GBP16,902,208  The greatest cost saving between the selected locations is GBP5,508,378 per annum  The values in the chart below are in GBP - United Kingdom Pound Source: fDi Intelligence, from the Financial Times Ltd

Cost Competitiveness LocationLabour CostPropertyTelecoms Amsterdam17,189,1621,208,931981,149 Barcelona14,093,0572,443,3691,780,266 Belfast11,170,782811,7502,109,218 Cardiff11,500,0831,188,6292,109,218 Cork15,003,150786,3701,779,380 Dublin16,565,3651,255,3831,779,380 Manchester12,955,2491,551,3412,109,218 Scottish Central Belt11,293,6411,444,3542,109,218 The locations with the lowest operating costs are Belfast and Cardiff In terms of the individual cost factors, the locations with the lowest costs are:  Labour Cost: Belfast and the Scottish Central Belt  Property: Cork and Belfast  Telecoms: Amsterdam and Cork The values in the table below are in GBP - United Kingdom Pound Source: fDi Intelligence, from the Financial Times Ltd

Quality Competitiveness The quality competitiveness assessment is based on the weight model for the Customer support centre profile which assesses each location across the following location factors: General Business Environment, Labour Availability and Quality, Presence of an Industrial Cluster, Infrastructure and Accessibility and Living Environment. The average score for the selected locations is 100. The locations with the highest quality scores are the Scottish Central Belt and Barcelona Source: fDi Intelligence, from the Financial Times Ltd

Quality Competitiveness Location General Business Environment Labour Availability and Quality Presence of an Industrial Cluster Infrastructure and Accessibility Living Environment Amsterdam Barcelona Belfast Cardiff Cork Dublin Manchester Scottish Central Belt In terms of the individual quality factors, the locations with the highest scores are:  General Business Environment: Manchester and the Scottish Central Belt  Labour Availability and Quality: the Scottish Central Belt and Barcelona  Presence of an Industrial Cluster: the Scottish Central Belt and Barcelona  Infrastructure and Accessibility: Amsterdam and Barcelona  Living Environment: the Scottish Central Belt and Barcelona Source: fDi Intelligence, from the Financial Times Ltd

General Business Environment 13 The quality competitiveness breakdown for General Business Environment for the Customer support centre profile is shown below The locations with the highest overall scores for General Business Environment are Manchester and the Scottish Central Belt Source: fDi Intelligence, from the Financial Times Ltd

General Business Environment Location Economic growth and stability Operating risk Taxation and incentives Regulatory environment Amsterdam Barcelona Belfast Cardiff Cork Dublin Manchester Scottish Central Belt In terms of the individual quality criteria within General Business Environment, the locations with the highest scores are:  Economic growth and stability: Barcelona and Amsterdam  Operating risk: Manchester and the Scottish Central Belt  Taxation and incentives: Dublin and Cork  Regulatory environment: Dublin and Cork Source: fDi Intelligence, from the Financial Times Ltd

Labour Availability and Quality The quality competitiveness breakdown for Labour Availability and Quality for the Customer support centre profile is shown below The locations with the highest overall scores for Labour Availability and Quality are the Scottish Central Belt and Barcelona Source: fDi Intelligence, from the Financial Times Ltd

Labour Availability and Quality Location Overall size of labour market Tightness and competition for labour Experienced industry-specific staff Flexibility of labour regulations Amsterdam Barcelona Belfast Cardiff Cork Dublin Manchester Scottish Central Belt In terms of the individual quality criteria within Labour Availability and Quality, the locations with the highest scores are:  Overall size of labour market: Manchester and Barcelona  Tightness and competition for labour: Barcelona and Cork  Experienced industry-specific staff: the Scottish Central Belt and Barcelona  Flexibility of labour regulations: Manchester and the Scottish Central Belt Source: fDi Intelligence, from the Financial Times Ltd

Presence of an Industrial Cluster The quality competitiveness breakdown for Presence of an Industrial Cluster for the Customer support centre profile is shown below The locations with the highest overall scores for Presence of an Industrial Cluster are the Scottish Central Belt and Barcelona Source: fDi Intelligence, from the Financial Times Ltd

Presence of an Industrial Cluster Location Size of industryTrack record Amsterdam Barcelona Belfast Cardiff Cork Dublin Manchester Scottish Central Belt In terms of the individual quality criteria within Presence of an Industrial Cluster, the locations with the highest scores are:  Size of industry: the Scottish Central Belt and Amsterdam  Track record: Barcelona and Dublin Source: fDi Intelligence, from the Financial Times Ltd

Infrastructure and Accessibility The quality competitiveness breakdown for Infrastructure and Accessibility for the Customer support centre profile is shown below The locations with the highest overall scores for Infrastructure and Accessibility are Amsterdam and Barcelona Source: fDi Intelligence, from the Financial Times Ltd

Infrastructure and Accessibility Location Access to major overseas markets Quality of utilities Quality of ICT infrastructure Amsterdam Barcelona Belfast Cardiff Cork Dublin Manchester Scottish Central Belt In terms of the individual quality criteria within Infrastructure and Accessibility, the locations with the highest scores are:  Access to major overseas markets: Amsterdam and Barcelona  Quality of utilities: Amsterdam and Barcelona  Quality of ICT infrastructure: Amsterdam and Manchester Source: fDi Intelligence, from the Financial Times Ltd

Living Environment The quality competitiveness breakdown for Living Environment for the Customer support centre profile is shown below The locations with the highest overall scores for Living Environment are the Scottish Central Belt and Barcelona Source: fDi Intelligence, from the Financial Times Ltd

Living Environment Location Cost of living Attractiveness for international staff Amsterdam Barcelona Belfast Cardiff Cork Dublin Manchester Scottish Central Belt In terms of the individual quality criteria within Living Environment, the locations with the highest scores are:  Cost of living: the Scottish Central Belt and Manchester  Attractiveness for international staff: Barcelona and Amsterdam Source: fDi Intelligence, from the Financial Times Ltd

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