Smartz Solutions, Merchants partner for South Africa’s CX excellence
BLACK RIVER, MAURITIUS — Smartz Solutions, a cloud-based omnichannel contact center technology provider, has announced a partnership with Merchants, one of South Africa’s business process outsourcing (BPO) providers.
The collaboration aims to deliver fully integrated customer experience (CX) solutions that blend operational excellence with intelligent, digital-first technology.
Driving the next phase of CX evolution
With over 45 years in the industry, Merchants manages thousands of agents across key sectors and geographies, providing outsourced CX solutions at scale. The company has shifted its focus from traditional voice-first outsourcing to a more agile, tech-enabled operating model.
“Modern contact [centers] need more than just great people – they need platforms that scale, evolve and deliver data-driven, omnichannel customer engagement,” said Shalendra Kundalram, Vice-President: Technology at Merchants.
“Our partnership with Smartz Solutions strengthens our ability to deliver exactly that – a full-service CX proposition that merges operational execution with cutting-edge technology.”
Smartz Solutions offers a future-forward, cloud-agnostic contact center platform that integrates digital and voice channels, AI-driven features, and advanced analytics. Their modular and scalable platform is already being deployed within Merchants’ ecosystem, supporting rapid transitions from legacy systems.
Meeting South African business needs
South Africa’s contact center market is highly competitive and digitally oriented. The partnership addresses these challenges by offering:
- Omnichannel capabilities: Integrated support across voice, WhatsApp, chat, email, and social media.
- Cloud-agnostic flexibility: Options for public, private, or hybrid cloud deployments.
- Rapid deployment: Quick transitions for major clients with minimal disruption.
- ZAR-based pricing: Locally priced technology to reduce cost barriers.
- Intelligent CX features: Real-time analytics, sentiment analysis, and Smartz Solutions’ proprietary Automatic Interaction Distribution (AID).
“This partnership allows Merchants to move beyond traditional outsourcing to deliver a true end-to-end CX solution,” said James Guthrie, Managing Director at Smartz Solutions.
“It’s a perfect match: their strength in people and operations meets our strength in platform innovation.”
About the companies
Merchants operates across South Africa, the UK, and Australia, employing over 8,000 people. The company is recognized for its large-scale, tech-enabled BPO solutions.
Meanwhile, Smartz Solutions serves clients in South Africa, the UK, Australia, and the Middle East, providing scalable, cloud-based contact centre platforms tailored to local business needs.
