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Marjie Bally
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Chino tech company boasts fast-track success

By MIKE RAPPAPORT, STAFF WRITER

Source:http://www.dailybulletin.com

CHINO -- When you have a problem with your computer, other technology-based equipment or credit-card account, the first step is usually to pick up the phone.

You dial customer service or technical support and speak to someone who does his or her best to help you.

And there's a good chance you're speaking to an employee of Alorica, Inc., a Chino Valley company that is growing at an amazing rate.

In its short four-year history, Alorica has grown from one hundred employees to more than a thousand, and from a standing start to more than $60 million in annual revenues if projections hold up for 2002.

That growth earned Alorica a ranking as a "Rising Star' on the 2002 Los Angeles Technology Fast 50 list, compiled by Deloitte & Touche to recognize the 50 fastest-growing technology firms in the region.

It's actually the second straight year Deloitte & Touche has honored Alorica; last year the company was listed as a national "Rising Star' on the Fast 500 list thanks to 42,700 percent growth in a three-year period.

"We're very pleased to be selected as a Rising Star,' said Andy Lee, president and chief executive officer of Alorica. "Being named is a testament to our dedication in providing our clients with the highest level of customer service support possible."

It all started in May 1998, when Lee decided that Web-based technology could revolutionize customer service. He developed proprietary software known as Helix by Alorica (HbA), which improved service by providing faster, better and more accessible data to companies about their after-sales processes.

Customer service often has been seen as expensive but inevitable overhead, but Lee's software improved the process and cut the expense by linking customer-service agents with logistics and repair operations.

"Our people need to have good technical knowledge as well as good customer service ability,' Lee said. "But the Helix software makes it much easier for them. It's one of the key advantages we have over competitors.'

Alorica has been building an impressive list of clients. E-Machines, U.S. Robotics, NEC/Mitsubishi, Packard-Bell and American Express are only some of the companies that use its services.

More are on the way, and if growth is no longer exponential, it's still occurring at a speed almost any CEO would envy. Lee says he expects to gross $100 million next year and is hoping to open operations in mainland China and the Philippines by the fourth quarter of the current year.

All this in a slow economy.

While Alorica has its corporate headquarters in Chino, operations are spread throughout a number of different facilities. There's a 60,000-square-foot warehouse in Walnut and call centers in Fresno, Utah and Ireland.

The five facilities total about 230,000 square feet, with more to come later in the year when Asian operations make Lee's company truly worldwide.

The company's customers seem satisfied.

"We are very happy with the job they have been doing for us,' said Bob Cody, vice president for customer service for E- Machines. "They handle all our call center business and some of our warehouse function as well. We are very pleased to team with a company like that, and as for their Helix software, I don't have anything bad to say about that."

Gary Dickey, a partner at Deloitte & Touche Technology, Media & Telecommunications group, said Alorica's inclusion on the list speaks for itself.

"In an era when technology companies come and go, making the Deloitte & Touche Technology Fast 50 Rising Star is a testament to a company's vision that allows growth over a three-year period,' Dickey said. "Alorica has proven that its leadership has the right stuff for growth, and we at Deloitte & Touche salute their accomplishments."

All Lee wants at this point is for the growth to continue. He knows there won't be any more three-year periods of 42,700 percent expansion, but that doesn't matter.

"We are still looking to grow,' he said. "We are looking for new accounts and new customers, and we're working to grow our professional services division and our consulting group."

With the Helix software, technical knowledge and an emphasis on good customer service, continued growth seems like a pretty good bet.

Mike Rappaport can be reached by e-mail at m_rappaport@dailybulletin.com or by phone at (909) 483-8556.