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The future of shared services is touchless

by Sonal Bhagia, Sarah Qin, Priyanka Mohan, Ankush Bhadrish
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2 minute read 23 October 2020

The future of shared services is touchless The rising importance of digital GBS capabilities during COVID-19

2 minute read 23 October 2020
  • Sonal Bhagia United States
  • Sarah Qin United States
  • Priyanka Mohan United States
  • Ankush Bhadrish United States
  • Ankush Bhadrish United States
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COVID-19 has provided some insights into future opportunities for shared services organizations to consider as they seek to thrive in a "new normal."

COVID-19 has become a catalyst for digital automation in shared services. As shown in the figure, the percentage of shared services leaders who planned to accelerate digital capabilities in their global business services (GBS) organizations rose by 10 percentage points between April and July 2020. This increase suggests the growing importance of digital in GBS operations as the pandemic went on. While the pandemic has heightened focus on cost reduction and location diversification, it has accelerated the desire to strengthen digital capabilities the most.

Digital GBS capabilities took on more importance as the pandemic lengthened

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Responses from a 2020 Deloitte webcast survey indicate that order to cash/procure to pay was significantly affected by COVID-19 due to the prevalent use of manual check payments to vendors. Payments via physical checks led to delays and halted overall manual activities in certain circumstances. At one CPG company, suppliers and vendors had to either adopt a company’s new automated system for payments or wait until offices opened to receive check payments.

According to a BPO service provider lead, the COVID-19 crisis “has heightened the need for accelerating digital transformation [in GBS], and many clients who were unwilling to engage in the conversation earlier are now realizing the need for it … using the outbreak situation to jump-start digital initiatives to serve their customers.”1 The good news is that plans to increase shared services’ use of digital were often in place even before the pandemic. Our 2019 Global Shared Services Survey found that more than 80% of shared services leaders surveyed expected to implement or increase their use of robotics and heighten their focus on digital experience over the next three to five years.2 We will continue to monitor the market through insights derived from the upcoming 2021 shared services survey.

Read Global business services and shared services organizations moving forward: From pandemic to thriving for additional insights on how the COVID-19 pandemic challenged conventional wisdom and paved a path to the new normal.

Acknowledgments

Cover artwork by: Nagaraju Mangala

Endnotes
    1. GBS client/vendor COVID-19 discussion, April 9, 2020. View in article

    2. Deloitte, 2019 Global Shared Services Survey, 2019. View in article

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Sonal Bhagia

Sonal Bhagia

Managing Director | Enterprise Services and Location Strategy

Sonal Bhagia is a managing director in Deloitte Consulting LLP’s Enterprise Services and Location Strategy practice and focuses on global service delivery transformations. She advises clients on structuring their business models for core back office functions. She has nearly 15 years of extensive experience guiding global organizations through their shared services and outsourcing journey from strategic assessment and operating model design through to successful facilitation of transition and implementation. She has served clients across multiple industries including insurance, consumer products, manufacturing industrial products, and financial services.

  • sbhagia@deloitte.com
  • +1 312 486 4778
Sarah Qin

Sarah Qin

Senior consultant

Sarah Qin, Deloitte Consulting LLP, is a senior consultant in Deloitte’s Finance & Enterprise Performance practice. She has worked with clients across industries on large-scale digital transformations that include SAP S/4HANA and Workday implementations. Prior to her time at Deloitte, she completed rotations in financial planning and analysis, commercial finance, and investor relations at a multinational conglomerate. Qin holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Texas at Austin.

  • sarqin@deloitte.com
Priyanka Mohan

Priyanka Mohan

Manager

Priyanka Mohan, Deloitte Consulting LLP, is a manager in Deloitte’s Finance & Enterprise Performance practice with more than 11 years of experience in shared services, outsourcing, operating model design, data analysis and transformation, and business process improvement. She has managed and led large-scale finance transformation projects that have included defining the future finance strategy across digital and operating model transformation. Prior to her career in consulting, Mohan was an external auditor focusing on the financial services industry.

  • prmohan@deloitte.com
Ankush Bhadrish

Ankush Bhadrish

Senior Manager | Deloitte Consulting LLP

Ankush has more than 10 years of experience in leading large-scale global transformation programs for Life Sciences clients focused on building scalable, sustainable business models, accessing talent and reducing costs. He has experience across the end-to-end GBS lifecycle (from strategy to stabilization) and has worked across multiple functions (Finance, HR, Payroll, Contact Center, Legal, Internal Audit, IT, Tax and Treasury). He has extensive experience in Digital Transformation, Intelligent Automation, Data Governance, Shared Services Strategy, Org. Design and Business / Value Case Development.

  • abhadrish@deloitte.com
  • +1 901 648 8832

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