Postal Service delivers Convergys an outsourcing deal

Convergys Corp. won a U.S. Postal Service outsourcing contract worth $254.6 million over four years.

The contract includes six one-year options, based on the company's performance and Postal Service's needs, which could boost the value to about $700 million over its life.

Under the terms of the Contact Center Network Solution contract, Convergys of Cincinnati will provide contact center agents and managers from facilities in Denver and Orem, Utah.

In Denver, the company will operate one of the Postal Service's customer contact facilities, where about 500 customer-care agents handle a variety of inquiries via telephone and Internet. The Postal Service call center network handles more than 71 million contacts each year.

This contract "represents a commitment from the world's leading mail delivery organization to provide its customers with the highest-quality customer care available anywhere," said Jim Orr, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Convergys. He said for Convergys, the contract is another foray into the growing government outsourcing market.

Convergys employs more than 44,000 people in offices, data centers and 46 customer contact centers worldwide. The company reported revenue of $2.3 billion in 2002.