Arvato Expands Into South Africa And Secures Techsembly Contract

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Arvato CRM Solutions has expanded its footprint into South Africa and secured its first customer experience contract to be delivered from the country with international e-commerce platform company, Techsembly. 

The move will see the Slough-headquartered business offer its services from Cape Town. Arvato says the expansion into South Africa will give its clients greater choice in how its solutions are delivered, complementing the services it currently provides from its five existing UK offices. The contract with Techsembly will be the first to be delivered from Arvato’s new location. 

Techsembly’s software enables luxury hospitality companies to let their guests purchase products and services from any hotel property around the world through a single online portal. 

Through the partnership, Arvato will deliver high-end concierge services through multichannel, multilingual 24/7 customer support to Techsembly’s global client base from its Cape Town facility. Arvato will also help the business develop and adapt its customer experience as the start-up grows, ensuring it can maintain a premium level of customer service.  

Debra Maxwell, CEO of Arvato CRM Solutions, said: “Expanding into South Africa ultimately enables us to design new customer service solutions for our clients in the UK and overseas to meet a wider range of needs. 
 
“We’re looking forward to building our presence in the country, alongside continuing investments in our UK operations, and we’re excited to be taking this first step with Techsembly. Drawing on our experience working with some of the world’s biggest brands to meet the needs of fast-growing technology businesses like them is a key part of our own growth strategy.”
 
Amy Read, Founder and CEO of Techsembly, added: “We were impressed by Arvato’s experience, expertise and insight, as well as its digital-first approach to customer experience. 
 
“As a global tech start-up, this approach is something that’s critical to both our operations and our clients. Through its technology, services and consultancy, Arvato will play a critical role in helping shape our CX strategy as we progress on our growth journey – enabling us to scale our front and back-office services efficiently as we expand.” 

Before expanding into South Africa, Arvato CEO, Debra Maxwell, visited the South Africa career creation initiative Shadow Careers and recognised how it sustainably transforms lives and impacts society for the better. Since, they have joined forces to launch a new executive mentoring programme for the Shadow career coaches.

 The ‘Future Shapers’ programme will see CEO, Debra Maxwell; Chief Human Resources Officer, Sally Neale and international executive leadership and communications coach, Mandy Cresswell Phillips mentor Shadow’s female facilitators on topics from personal branding to organisational dynamics, over the course of a year.  
 
Shadow Careers helps address youth unemployment in South Africa by creating career opportunities through impact sourcing. It offers a free three-month, job-specific, career development programme to young people looking for their first role, designed to build their professional and digital skills, as well as their confidence. 
 
The programme will help the facilitators develop their own confidence and skillsets, while sharing experiences and learnings that they can subsequently pass on to their own Shadow students.
 
Debra Maxwell added: “Shadow and its team share our belief of inclusivity and diversity in the workplace. 
 
“It’s helping its students smash barriers to employment and turbocharge their career development, making an impact that goes far beyond one person. Helping reduce unemployment stimulates local economies, while Shadow’s students in time become career creators themselves by helping drive the growth of the businesses they work for.
 
“Shadow’s facilitators have a central part to play in all of this. The Future Shapers programme has had a great start, and I’m really looking forward to continuing to work with and learn from the Shadow team over the year ahead.”
 
Franco Cotumaccio, Founder and Director, Shadow Careers added: “Arvato’s insights will benefit our team of facilitators and in turn our students, and the business has been a proactive and engaged partner – getting involved with us before it even entered the country. This is extremely rare to see and a testament to its seriousness in doing its part to change the narrative of our local communities and our country.” 

The ‘Future Shapers’ programme is part of Arvato’s commitment to having a positive social impact, alongside ensuring the health and wellbeing of employees; supporting local and national charitable initiatives, including Mind and Alzheimer’s Society; and offering all employees an annual Charity Day, while aiming to achieve net zero emissions by the end of 2030.

About Techsembly

Techsembly is an all-in-one e-commerce platform serving luxury hotel groups looking to create additional revenue streams through gift cards, experiences, F&B delivery, merchandise, curated marketplaces, and more. Designed for leading hotel groups with a portfolio of properties globally, Techsembly’s solution provides first-class, one-stop-shop service in designing a seamless consumer journey for both hotel and guests. Headquartered in the UK with global offices worldwide, the e-commerce platform has secured over £2 million in Seed funding so far, led by SuperSeed.

About Shadow Careers

Shadow Careers is a unique and innovative career creation initiative founded by like-hearted people to support and sustainably uplift youth employment in South Africa. Shadow Careers develops and empowers previously disadvantaged youth with no work experience through a three-month role readiness programme, and only recruits students for whom they have permanent job opportunities.  Their focus on excluded youth enables transformation, not only empowering individuals and their families, but also uplifting communities. This creates a new talent pool that is not only digitally enabled, but also better equipped and more confident to deliver a great customer and human experience. For more information visit www.shadowcareers.co or follow this link to view the Shadow Careers video here.

About Arvato CRM Solutions 

Arvato CRM Solutions is a trusted partner to the private and public sectors, with expertise in delivering award-winning customer relationship management, business process outsourcing (BPO) and public sector and citizen services. The business focuses on providing customer service which is driven by technology and powered by its people. It designs and delivers innovative, individual solutions for some of the most respected global consumer brands and UK public sector organisations, through long-term partnerships. A division of Bertelsmann, Arvato CRM Solutions employs approximately 1,500 people across five UK locations.

For more information, visit: www.arvato.co.uk   

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