BUSINESS TRANSFORMATION
Generating global business services for unprecedented success
The volatile macroeconomics and supply chain disruptions have led businesses to adopt a global business services (GBS) model to align their processes with customer service level agreements (SLAs). As a result, the GBS market will grow from $1.8 trillion to $2.5 trillion between 2022 and 2025.
This article explains next-generation GBS and its difference from traditional GBS, factors that drive a mature GBS, and steps leaders should take for the organisation’s success.
What are next-generation global business services?
A collaborative, innovative, and efficient organisation that focuses on achieving business outcomes aims to incorporate these practices through GBS –
- Optimise end-user experience as an integral part of end-to-end process execution.
- Foster digital transformation within the organisation to ensure business continuity and support virtual operations in times of disruption.
- Leverage the technology of a business partner for data-driven insights.
- Work globally and at scale with multiple centres of excellence, shared service centres, and centres of work and competencies.
- Comply with the necessary environmental, governance, and social compliances for business functions.
Traditional GBS vs. next-generation GBS
Traditional GBS |
Next-generation GBS |
Vertical integration of function in a global organisation. |
Horizontal integration of functions in a global organisation. |
Strategic entity and value-adding services. |
End-to-end capability enhancement globally. |
System and process harmonisation across the organisation |
Focus on a digital-first and technology-enabled ecosystem. |
Efficiency in service delivery is the priority. |
Customer experience is the primary focus of digital interventions. |
Factors driving a mature next-generation GBS organisation
The main processes in supplier relationship management depend on the nature of your business, but in general, follow these steps –
Focus on experience rather than functional boundaries
A GBS organisation keeps its customers at the forefront throughout the cycle of service design, delivery, and operations. They embed customer experience and journey into core GBS activities such as performance outcomes and continuous improvement.
Global business services enhance the performance of an organisation by focusing on quantitative and qualitative outcomes. For example, a GBS organisation gives equal weightage to cost reduction, customer satisfaction, and technology transformation which makes them easy to do business with.
Digital GBS
Transform rule-based and repetitive processes with automation to deliver efficiency and effectiveness. For example, robotic process automation (RPA) that automates repetitive tasks.
Leverage the next level of automation through dynamic workflow and machine learning (ML) to deliver exponential value to customers and partners.
Analytics and insights
Create dedicated analytics hubs to mine and use data glowing through systems to create sustainable augmented intelligence. Align across the process operating towers to innovate and meet unique needs, improve time-to-market, and interpret omni-structured data for faster and better decisions.
Agility to support evolving businesses
Plug-and-play GBS models help businesses grow organically and through acquisitions. GBS models support agility by scaling into financial planning and analysis, compliance, and integrated operations in sales, HR, finance, and IT. Carve-outs need full, whereas standalone businesses need partial GBS integration.
Reskilling an agile workforce
Accelerating digital transformation and giving access to a workforce on demand are the keys to GBS. By reskilling an agile workforce, businesses can scale across locations through hybrid working models. High-value, technology-drive, and multifunctional services within GBS provide new career paths and development opportunities to the workforce to keep them motivated. With advanced analytics and automation, the skills of adapting and learning becomes easy and a priority.
Standards and KPIs
GBS is a centre for wider resources and information, and process and service-centric metrics a business operates. Businesses are looking at the integrity, quality, completeness, and regulatory requirements of their data more closely.
By setting up key performance indicators (KPIs) and service level agreements (SLAs), an organisation can define escalation channels, service catalogues, and governance models.
Product and service innovations
The purpose of GBS is beyond creating a transactional engine. It adopts digital technologies and innovations to run end-to-end processes such as procure-to-pay to directly save working capital, reduce revenue leakage, and drive procurement savings.
Higher visibility and control
Global business services have real-time visibility of supply chain processes, providing insights into inventory levels, production status, on-time delivery, pricing, transportation, etc. This granular visibility helps GBS organisations isolate bottlenecks and optimise processes to make informed decisions.
Enhanced visibility and control ties back to technology and innovation through big-data analytics, cloud-based AI, and predictive analytics.
Resilient operating model
GBS organisations use effective supply chain management (SCM) to adapt to disruptions, changing demand, and changing market conditions to effectively handle economic, geopolitical, and environmental risks.
How can Infosys BPM help?
Leap towards the next-generation Global Business Services (GBS) by improving service delivery models and simplifying end-to-end functions using the proprietary Process Progression Model (PPM).
Read more about next generation gbs at Infosys BPM.
