Line allocation is an important, yet often overlooked, piece of the outsourcing agreement. Inbound telemarketing service providers generally use a common pool of facilities shared by a large number of clients. In promoting their services, they highlight their call handling capacity as manifested by the large number of lines they maintain. The inference is that these lines are available to all their clients. All clients share the same lines.
Any line can answer any call for any client.
The service provider links the number called as transmitted by the phone company so the service provider s equipment can recognize the client and answer the call appropriately. With unrestricted allocation, any client can access the entire group of lines. In a situation where a single client uses all the lines, other clients would have fewer of their calls answered. Each client has a dedicated number of lines and can access additional lines that are not otherwise in use. Thus, each client has a guaranteed service level based on its predictable requirements, with expansion handled via a protocol that governs how to meet unanticipated demands.