Bydgoszcz is a national leader among business service centers specializing in outsourcing. This is confirmed, among others, by awards granted by the international jury of the CEE Business Services Awards competition for the best city in Poland in the category of new locations for shared service centers.
The business service sector mainly consists of business process outsourcing (BPO) and services provided by shared service centers (SSC).
BPO and SSC: how does it work?
BPO, or Business Process Outsourcing, is the transfer of certain areas of a company’s operations to an external entity. There are two models of BPO – outsourcing carried out by domestic companies or, more commonly, outsourcing carried out outside the country, also known as offshoring.
SSC, or Shared Services Centers, are separate units of the parent company that are typically engaged in activities that are not the core functions of the company. In other words, the parent company outsources functions such as IT support, accounting, or even legal services to these units. It is worth noting that insourcing units are often relocated to another country through offshoring.
Among the best in the market
Bydgoszcz is among the 11 Polish cities that lead in BPO/SSC services. In recent years, this sector has been rapidly developing here, resulting in the establishment of dozens of service centers, employing over 10,000 experts. Companies such as the IT giant Atos (the largest employer in the BPO/SSC sector in Bydgoszcz), Nokia, and iQor have chosen the city on the Brda river as their main headquarters.
Experts point out that the development of IT industry is crucial for the dynamic growth of these centers. These optimistic findings were confirmed, among others, in the reports of the Association of Business Service Leaders (ABSL), which unequivocally recognized the share of IT services in the structure of BPS/SSC centers as the largest compared to other cities in the country. Bydgoszcz’s contribution to the development of the modern services market was also confirmed by awards in the Biznes Polska plebiscite in the category of “Emerging City of the Year”.
We have the climate and conditions for outsourcing
The leader’s position in the market did not come out of nowhere. The city consistently implements the campaign “Bydgoszcz open to outsourcing”. Our advantages include the competence of officials, excellent transport location, investment proposals, the availability of local employees, and the so-called “work-life balance” – managing time in balance between work and private life.
The growing availability of office space is also significant. It is already well over 100,000 square meters, and in the future, developers plan to build another approximately 100,000 square meters. This is influenced, for example, by a resolution of the City Council, exempting entities implementing investments in high-standard office space in newly constructed buildings from property tax for a period of three years. The Bydgoszcz Regional Development Agency also provides assistance, promoting the city at conferences, industry forums, through promotional and advertising campaigns, as well as individual negotiations with investors.
Shared services in the city’s development strategy
It is worth emphasizing that the development of the remote business services industry has a positive impact on the “analog” economy in its environment. The creation of new and expansion of existing BPO/SSC office facilities means an increased demand, for example, for office furniture, catering services, office cleaning, and many others.
In Bydgoszcz, companies from Germany, Sweden, the USA, Finland, Canada, the UK, and the Netherlands have their centers. In addition to the mentioned IT investors, companies such as Mobica, Cybercom, Livingston, PZU, Asseco, Oponeo, SDL, and Teldat operate here. Employees in these companies earn from PLN 3,200 to even PLN 16,000. New partners continue to emerge, such as the Ciech Services – Shared Services Center for the CIECH Capital Group, operating since 2021. This fits into the directional goal VI.1. of Bydgoszcz’s development strategy: “Competitive economy” and accomplishes the operational goal VI.1.2. “Convenient conditions for entrepreneurship”.
