How GBS becomes the NextGen driver of digital transformation

Case: removing the travel expense process

Rather than further optimizing the travel expense process at P&G, SSC felt that this process was perhaps unnecessary as all the data on financial transactions is available through credit card companies. As a test, P&G UK's SSC removed their own travel expense process and set a maximum amount per trip without any further checks. The result: fewer resources required for following up, but, more importantly, a 30% reduction in costs for business trips. This made a considerable difference from a total travel budget of USD 400 million. This is just one of the examples that Saldanha used to convince P&G that their GBS could achieve innovative transformation with measurable added value for the entire organization.

Saldanha: "SSC now have the opportunity to not only be a good quality, low-cost service center with lower labor costs, but also to change the way the entire organization thinks. And this is crucial, because continuous improvement alone is no longer enough to compete with their real competitors; technology-driven companies that use resources more efficiently. This requires disruption. Skate to where the puck is going, not where it has been."

Turning transformation targets into business promises

GBS as the driving force behind transformation? Many organizations are not convinced about this. How can you convince them? Saldanha: "Easy, be brave, take risks, get involved in total shareholder return and demonstrate results. Realize your vision by using successful case studies and examples from industry experts."

The role of GBS 2.0 is to build successful organizations in the fourth industrial revolution. Technology is the basic ingredient for this: AI to transform the accounts receivable process or automate employee services such as payroll and security; data automation and predictive analysis to make call centers more customer-friendly; blockchain to optimize shipping and invoicing. These are just a few examples. "Companies often wonder whether the technology is ready for their organization. Well, most of the time this is not the case because it is not scalable or compliant. But, in fact, the question should be turned the other way around: is the organization ready for technology? In other words, set to work with what you have and do not wait for perfection. Ask venture capitalists what tools are readily available and, together with the technology partners in your start-up ecosystem, innovate to deploy this in the organization as quickly as possible. If a company trusts AI technology to schedule the CEO's agenda, why not use this technology in your organization? Just do it!"

Change management

According to Saldanha, GBS organizations must engage in change management to achieve effective outcomes. He argues in favor of organizing GBS not as a back office, but as a real (consultancy) company: with a place in the company's boardroom, a GBS manager for each business, strict account management and a well-organized PR department. "Furthermore, you need a team that works at the edge of your organization and enjoys a certain amount of freedom in terms of HR, IT and procurement processes. I always put together a team with the type of people who dared to color outside the lines, not with employees who knew the processes through and through. They block you if you want real innovation. Another tip: start with something that is difficult in your organization, not with the cool stuff that other companies do as well. If you can achieve results like this, you have set the tone."

The faster, the better

One final tip from Tony Saldanha: "Do not delay the transformation of your GBS. Martec's law says that organizations change much more slowly (logarithmically) than technology (exponentially). Each year of delay makes it more difficult to convince your company that GBS is the most powerful driver of change. So: start fast, cheap and smart!"