Bamboo Connect ramps up Euro expansion as device volumes hit 220k a year

Bamboo Connect is stepping up its European expansion as the device claims specialist builds capacity to manage larger multi-country programmes for insurers, mobile operators and retailers. 

The company currently processes more than 220,000 devices annually and says existing enterprise customers are extending their relationships with Bamboo into additional European territories.

Bamboo’s will focus particularly on Central Europe, Southern Europe and the Nordics, alongside expanding the services it provides in its existing markets.

The company already manages digital device claims across more than 10 European countries, with much of the operation previously supported by its UK teams and existing client services infrastructure.

Senior European appointments

Bamboo has appointed Marlon Flesner and János Gábor Forgó to its Client Services team to provide regional management.

Chief executive Juney Mistiki said: ““Marlon and János bring programme leadership, operational delivery and commercial experience across sectors that are central to our growth. Their appointments strengthen our Client Services team at an important point in our European expansion”.

Madrid-based Flesner will lead managed and integrated service programmes across Western Europe, while Budapest-based Forgó will cover Eastern Europe.

They join Sylvia Johnson, who leads Central Europe, giving Bamboo dedicated senior management across Western, Central and Eastern Europe.

Flesner joins after more than a decade at Chubb, where he was most recently Head of Cellphone and Gadgets and was responsible for handset and gadget insurance strategy across EMEA. He has also held senior positions at Telefónica and O2 Germany, including responsibility for launching and managing O2 Germany’s handset insurance programme.

Forgó was most recently B2B and B2C Programmes Leader for Europe at Servify and has previously held positions at BrightBox, Samsung Electronics and Vodafone.

.Current programmes include a global device protection provider integrated directly with Bamboo’s Optima claims management platform, a major UK telecommunications provider using Bamboo for device insurance, and another global protection and insurance provider moving towards full operational outsourcing.

Managed versus integrated services

Bamboo is positioning two different service models as part of its European expansion.

Its Integrated Services model allows clients to select individual elements of the device claims operation, including forecasting and procurement, repair and refurbishment, salvage, data governance, technology, analytics and fulfilment.

Customers can use their own operations or existing suppliers for other parts of the claims process.

Managed Services is an outsourced proposition, with Bamboo taking responsibility for the end-to-end device claims operation and managing third-party suppliers on the client’s behalf. The model provides one accountable provider, centralised reporting and billing and common service standards across different markets.

Bamboo says its approach is intended to address fragmentation in the European device protection market, where repair, refurbishment, logistics, fulfilment and technology can be handled by separate suppliers.

Its Optima platform manages and orchestrates device claims, while its Opus data intelligence platform combines programme and market data to provide customers with a consolidated view of performance.