NCO Group to Expand in Missouri on Best Buy Contract

NCO Group, one of the largest accounts receivable management companies in the world, is expanding a call center in Missouri to accommodate customer service work for Best Buy. The company said it expects to add 350 jobs at the call center in the next year.

Horsham, Pa.-based NCO was joined by officials from Best Buy in making the announcement Monday in Joplin, Mo. NCO will begin hosting job fairs next week to staff up the facility.

The call center is a part of Systems and Services Technologies (SST), a front-end loan servicer and collection agency that NCO acquired late last year (“NCO Group Acquires Loan Servicing Firm,” Aug. 31, 2007). SST is based in St. Joseph, Mo. with an additional location in Joplin.

The facility – a former Wal-Mart store – will house both SST’s servicing and collection operation and the CRM detail for Best Buy, according to Brian Callahan, vice president of financial reporting with NCO. “NCO will be using the excess capacity in the building to facilitate the CRM work on this contract,” he said. The two operations will be kept separate.

Electronics chain Best Buy has been a CRM client of NCO since 2005.

“This is a next step for us with Best Buy,” said Bob Corsi, senior vice president of pperations, at the event. “We think this Joplin location offers something special in a state-of-the-art facility and a top-notch community able to support a call center with a regional employment force.”

Callahan noted that the local economy had some difficult times recently, especially in the job market. NCO is optimistic that it will find plenty of workers when it starts jobs fairs in the area on May 20.

Corsi told local paper The Joplin Globe that if BestBuy.com’s demand for CRM services grows as expected, another 300 jobs could be placed at the office next year.