An analysis of buyer requests on Matchboard

The variety of requests Matchboard receives on our business matchmaking platform is huge and ever-evolving. Some of the services we help clients with today, in 2026, did not even exist a few years ago, let alone when we launched in 2012. 

Below we present 50 of our most recent matches, followed by an analysis of what this proprietary buyer request dataset reveals – from the top industry to the most popular service lines and trend in AI demand.

Recent matches

1. An industry body seeking a call centre provider to manage inquiries during a major system transition
2. One of the top 5 companies in the world looking for a partner to deliver a field sales service throughout Australia
3. A BPO seeking an AI recruitment platform
4. A loyalty program looking for a knowledge management software solution
5. An aged care provider looking to outsource rostering
6. A financial services giant wanting to explore alternative operating models to traditional managed services outsourcing offshore
7. A “fruit and veg” box subscription company seeking to outsource door-to-door sales for residential and businesses
8. An Australian textiles company needing an offshore service for back office processing
9. A global hospitality business looking to outsource reservations onshore
10. A charity seeking a telefundraising partner
11. A plant company seeking a list of rewards club members for consumer marketing
12. A risk management company seeking an outsource partner in New Zealand for B2B lead generation
13. A big retail brand looking for an AI consultancy with deep retail domain expertise
14. A global health company looking for a consultant to review the performance and processes of its outsource call centre partner
15. A health sector company wanting an AI-infused data anonymisation service integrated with a CRM
16. A BPO seeking a go-to partner for contact centre AI
17. A global financial services company seeking a field sales solution in the Australian market
18. A major real estate business seeking a Voice AI solution
19. A health sector company seeking a mystery shopping service
20. A childcare business seeking a lead qualification outbound call centre
21. A conference company looking for a list of executive assistants
22. A BPO looking for a specialised recruitment agency in the Philippines
23. An insurer seeking an outsource contact centre partner
24. A health sector business wanting a specialist agency to recruit 16 contact centre staff
25. An international retail brand looking for recommendations to outsource customer service as they enter the Australian market
26. An aged care group seeking professional services for a CRM implementation
27. An edtech player needing advice on who to outsource to offshore
28. An Australian BPO seeking marketing help in the US
29. A fintech seeking bank account verification software
30. A global travel company after BPO options in the Philippines
31. A vitamin company looking for offshore support
32. A technology reseller seeking PR services
33. An association wanting to buy an industry-specific business database.
34. A sports company seeking customer service training
35. A gas cylinder company seeking B2B lead generation
36. A retirement village group needing mystery shopping
37. A BFSI blue chip seeking call centre-based customer acquisition
38. A travel company after a business valuation
39. Two I.T. services companies looking for a fractional CMO
40. A SaaS vendor seeking an event videographer
41. A health sector company seeking an offshore outsource partner
42. An imaging company seeking help with debt collections
43. An NDIS provider seeking data services.
44. A telco seeking a back office and I.T. offshore staffing solution
45. A global manufacturer seeking a consultant to support a contact centre technology RFP
46. A software reseller seeking a prospect database
47. A BPO seeking a public sector advisor
48. A household-name Australian retailer seeking an offshore contact centre in Fiji or the Philippines
49. An I.T. services firm seeking a PR agency
50. A storage company seeking to outsource a 24×7 call centre.

What Matchboard’s proprietary dataset reveals

1. Outsourcing most requested service category

Outsourcing – whether that’s customer service, back office, collections, mystery shopping or sales – is the most dominant service category on Matchboard, accounting for 50% of requests. The majority of requests are for offshore services, with the Philippines and Fiji continuing to be the most popular outsourcing destinations.

16% of outsourcing requests are related to the goal of customer acquisition – for example, lead generation, field sales and telefundraising services.

2. AI features in more than 10% of requests

AI is creating a new wave of service demand on Matchboard. Whereas AI barely featured in buyer requests two years ago, now it’s baked into at least 1 in every 10 requests – from AI recruitment software to AI data anonymisation, Voice AI and AI roadmap consulting. This underscores the broader market trend in AI adoption, from pilot to procurement.

3. The Care sector leads the way

Almost 20% of buyers are from the “care” sector, which we define as including health care, aged care, NDIS, pharmaceuticals, community and social support, healthtech, fitness and wellness.

The rise in requests from this sector reflects specific pressure points, including an ageing population, labour shortages and increasing compliance requirements.

4. Consulting category proves demand for trusted advisors

The dataset shows that buyers often need more than a supplier “match”, they need a trusted consultant to assist with their procurement, for example: operating model consulting (#6), performance review of BPO (#14), contact centre technology RFP support (#45) and CRM implementation (#26).

5. Global companies tap Matchboard’s localised service

5 of the 50 requests are from global companies (in the retail, travel, hospitality and financial services sectors) seeking the local market expertise Matchboard offers specific to Australia – whether that’s for customer service infrastructure or sales channels.

6. Prospect data still in demand

Several requests revolve around buying or renting databases of opt-in consumers and businesses, mainly to fuel marketing campaigns. Data requests often sit alongside lead generation or sales outsourcing services.

Why do people use Matchboard, rather than AI, to find suppliers?

It’s a reality that many people start their buying journey on AI engines like Claude and ChatGPT, and these tools are helpful in collating information. However what Matchboard offers above and beyond these (and more traditional search) engines is:

• a human advisor to walk you through the supplier(s) we recommend to meet your needs – including friendly advice if we think your budget is out of whack with the market, or if there is a better approach to achieving your business goals. AI and search engines don’t offer this “concierge” on tap.
• all our suppliers have been manually pre-screened and directly reference-checked, and only highly rated suppliers are accepted into our ecosystem – so you can jump straight to second base. The AI and search engines rely on third party sources to verify supplier capability and reputation.
• there is no chance of AI hallucinations, as every match is data-driven and copiously verified by human experts, before the parties are connected.