A client’s award-winning global shared services

Abstract

According to Accenture, shared services is defined as “the consolidation and redesign of business processes into a standalone service.”¹ Organizations create shared services to dramatically reduce costs, improve service, and even increase revenues. Studies have shown, however, that organizations do not always achieve the full benefits they expect from shared services. IBM, for example, found that the results of shared services have been “mundane rather than magical” among a survey of 210 senior finance managers.² Another study of 140 executives in North America and Europe found that expected benefits exceeded actual benefits in the majority of cases. Overall, the survey also found that 67 percent reduced costs, 66 percent improved performance, 56 percent increased productivity, and 42 percent increased customer satisfaction. Among the 67 percent who reported cost savings, the average cost savings was only 14 percent.³ Furthermore, the average time to fully implement shared services was two years in Europe and twice that long in North America. Given the time and investment required, senior managers question, “How can we realize the full potential of shared services?”