Examples of Shared Services Centers: Streamlining Business Operations

Organizations are constantly seeking ways to streamline operations, reduce costs, and enhance efficiency. One effective strategy is the establishment of a Shared Services Center (SSC). These centralized units consolidate specific business processes or services, enabling organizations to leverage economies of scale and ensure consistent quality across multiple divisions or regions. Below, we explore key examples of shared services centers and their impact on modern businesses.

What is a Shared Services Center?

A Shared Services Center is a dedicated hub that provides specialized support services to various parts of an organization. Instead of each department managing these functions independently, the SSC centralizes them, creating a more efficient and standardized approach. The benefits include cost reduction, process standardization, improved compliance, and a focus on core business functions.

Examples of Shared Services Center Functions

1. Finance and Accounting Shared Services Centers play a critical role in managing financial operations. By centralizing finance-related tasks, organizations can reduce redundancy and ensure compliance with regulatory standards. Examples of SSC functions in finance include:
   • Accounts payable and receivable
   • General ledger management
   • Financial reporting and analysis
   • Payroll processing
   • Tax compliance
2. Human Resources (HR) HR processes are essential but often repetitive, making them ideal candidates for centralization in an SSC. Examples of shared services in HR include:
   • Employee onboarding and offboarding
   • Benefits and payroll administration
   • Training and development coordination
   • Employee records management
   • HR policy implementation and compliance tracking
3. Information Technology (IT) The IT department is frequently centralized within an SSC to provide consistent and scalable technological support across the organization. Examples include:
   • Help desk and technical support
   • Network and infrastructure management
   • Cybersecurity and data protection
   • IT procurement and asset management
   • Software development and maintenance
4. Procurement and Supply Chain Procurement and supply chain processes are another area where SSCs deliver significant value. By managing these functions from a centralized location, organizations can negotiate better vendor contracts and improve supply chain efficiency. Key examples of shared services in this area include:
   • Vendor management and sourcing
   • Purchase order processing
   • Contract negotiation and administration
   • Inventory management
   • Logistics coordination
5. Customer Support and Services For organizations focused on delivering exceptional customer experiences, SSCs often house customer support functions. Centralizing these services ensures consistency and higher service quality. Examples include:
   • Call center operations
   • Complaint resolution
   • Technical support for products
   • Customer relationship management (CRM)
   • Post-sales service coordination

Success Stories from Famous Companies

To better understand the benefits of Shared Services Centers, let’s examine some success stories from globally recognized companies:

1. Procter & Gamble (P&G): Procter & Gamble established a Global Business Services (GBS) unit to handle shared services, including IT, HR, finance, and customer support.
   • Benefits: The centralization allowed P&G to reduce operational costs significantly, achieve faster decision-making, and improve process standardization.
   • Results: The GBS unit helped P&G save over $900 million annually and focus its resources on innovation and market growth.
2. Coca-Cola: Coca-Cola implemented a Finance SSC to manage global financial operations.
   • Benefits: By centralizing accounts payable, receivable, and financial reporting, Coca-Cola achieved improved financial transparency and reduced duplication of efforts.
   • Results: The SSC enabled Coca-Cola to achieve better compliance with global regulations and save millions of dollars annually through process optimization.
3. Unilever: Unilever established regional Shared Services Centers to manage HR, IT, and finance processes across multiple countries.
   • Benefits: The SSC model helped Unilever reduce administrative costs and improve efficiency in service delivery.
   • Results: Unilever achieved 15-20% cost savings in its back-office operations and redirected those savings toward marketing and R&D.
4. General Electric (GE): GE set up Global Operations Centers to manage finance, HR, and supply chain services across its business units.
   • Benefits: The SSC allowed GE to standardize processes across its global footprint, improve data accuracy, and enhance service quality.
   • Results: GE reported millions of dollars in annual savings and an increase in operational agility.
5. Nestlé: Nestlé implemented a Shared Services Center to handle finance, procurement, and supply chain operations across its global markets.
   • Benefits: The centralized system enabled Nestlé to negotiate better contracts with suppliers, improve inventory management, and ensure compliance.
   • Results: The SSC contributed to a 20% reduction in procurement costs and streamlined global operations.

The Importance of Business Process Management

The successful implementation of a Shared Services Center relies heavily on effective Business Process Management (BPM). BPM provides the framework for analyzing, designing, and optimizing business processes to ensure seamless integration within the SSC. By focusing on process improvement, BPM helps organizations eliminate redundancies, reduce errors, and deliver higher quality services.

To facilitate the creation and management of a Shared Services Center, organizations can leverage tools like HEFLO BPM. HEFLO is a cloud-based BPM platform that offers intuitive process modeling, automation, and monitoring capabilities. It enables businesses to design efficient workflows, track performance, and ensure alignment with strategic goals, making it an invaluable asset in SSC development.

Why Are Shared Services Centers Important?

The value of Shared Services Centers lies in their ability to centralize repetitive and resource-intensive tasks. By consolidating processes, SSCs allow organizations to:

• Reduce operational costs through economies of scale
• Improve service quality and standardization
• Enhance compliance with industry regulations
• Enable individual business units to focus on strategic initiatives
• Provide faster response times for internal and external customers

Challenges in Implementing Shared Services Centers

Despite their benefits, setting up an SSC comes with challenges. Organizations may face resistance to change from employees, integration issues with existing systems, or difficulties in maintaining service quality during the transition. To overcome these obstacles, clear communication, robust change management, and advanced technology solutions are essential.

Conclusion

Shared Services Centers have become an integral part of modern business strategies, offering a structured way to manage core functions while driving efficiency and cost savings. By centralizing operations such as finance, HR, IT, procurement, and customer support, organizations can unlock new levels of operational excellence. Understanding these examples of shared services centers and the success stories of companies like P&G, Coca-Cola, and Unilever highlights their transformative potential in today’s business landscape.