The average-sized university executes tens of thousands of administrative processes each year. With so much on their plate, it's easy to understand why they may prefer to work with just one service provider where possible. But administrators may not realise that entering into exclusive relationships could create enormous problems down the road.

For the service provider, an exclusive deal with a top university can be hugely beneficial. Establishing partnerships with universities is a difficult process, because there are many considerations and decision-makers to get past. Slipping in an exclusivity clause means bigger commercial and business gains for the service provider, whether it be a cleaning contractor or stationery supplier.

But there are many cases in which a "one-size-fits-all" service does a disservice to the huge variety of students that populate the campuses of international universities. Chinese students are a particular case in point. Not unexpectedly, Chinese and other foreign students at Western universities face language barriers and cultural challenges when filling out their university application forms. As a former international student myself, I can empathise with the common challenges faced – understanding how a university's culture and expectations may differ from what they are used to, how to get from destination A to B when arriving in a new country, and how to more effectively settle into a new environment.

What such students need is not a one-stop "how to apply" consultancy for foreign students. They need help from consultants in their own countries, who understand their unique background and needs.

Another example relates to international payments. The fees of Chinese and many other Asian students studying overseas are usually paid by their families. So it is often their parents who have to navigate the university's payment systems. The challenges they can encounter are significant, involving language barriers, navigating unfamiliar web pages, and – in the case of payment issues or related questions – the prospect of making expensive international calls to a university on the other side of the world in the middle of the night.

Almost every part of the world has its own popular payment providers, and no single payment platform can yet offer both global reach and localised customer support. Such support can range from the complex – understanding the host country's regulatory environment and local laws – to the deceptively simple, such as offering guidance on the local language and time zone.