he 2017 European Shared Services Leaders’ Summit came to a close this month with 120 shared services leaders in attendance. There was a whole host of new case studies and knowledge around Talent, Continuous Improvement, Customer Satisfaction and Innovation.
Here are some of our top takeaways.
The robots are coming!
Automation is on the rise in SSOs; from using RPA to automate a single aspect of a process to implementing this as an end-to- end solution. However, some companies are still hesitant around robotic automation technology, especially around its governance. Dan French, CEO of Consider Solutions quoted Becton Dickinson in saying “RPA – it’s about fixing the potholes in the road, do not confuse it with building a new highway”. Dan went on to explain that SSOs need to focus upon improving and enhancing their current offering, which is where RPA can support their main objectives. However, Dan emphasised that RPA should not be used to launch all-consuming projects which detract from these.
Is there still a case for outsourcing today?
Suzanne Ryder, Head Business Service Transformation at SABMILLER thinks so and delivered a candid presentation on what this case looks like. With many SSOs unhappy with their outsourcer or even considering jumping ship, she emphasised that the first instinct shouldn’t be to cut and run, but to try first to make this a success. Easy said than done! Well maybe, but Suzanne highlighted that extracting yourself from the deal can be costly so instead look to open the lines of communication and put more effort into the relationship – ultimately you get out what you put in. Also it’s worth considering whether the mistakes are down to the outsourcer. A good number might well be; however Suzanne openly mentioned that these occur on both sides so a positive first step should be to review these.
Data is valuable to shared services.
Whether to measure KPIs accurately or to ensure compliance in reporting – it’s no wonder data was mentioned throughout the summit. Shell, with operations across the global, takes their data seriously. So much so they rebranded Finance Operations to Finance and Data Operations and have an impressive 3,400 data engineers across the globe. George Connell, VP Finance Strategy & Data Operations demonstrated how, with standardisation, automation and cross-functional synergies, data can drive operational excellence and bring value back to the core business through insight and cost saving.
We hope you have enjoyed the top takeaways from the European Leader’s Summit. Our next European event is the Global Process Owner Summit taking place 20th -22nd September in London. To find out more information about the event, email Hayley on Hayley.green@sharedservicelink.com
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