A collaborative report by the SSC research team at Loughborough, CIMA and SLASSCOM is now available to read:
Transforming the Finance Function: Best Practice in Sri Lanka
The report provides an assessment and investigation into current issues and opportunities that Sri Lanka holds as a destination for offshore business services.
The first in a series of seminars aimed to predominantly support PhD students affiliated with the Centre for Global Sourcing and Services (CGSS) and to raise interest in the group’s research. These seminars provide a friendly and constructive environment to present research and gather feedback and suggestions. The seminars will also feature presentations from other members of the CGSS and will hopefully provide a valuable development tool for papers and research.
Title: The Charging Method of Support Services Provided By Shared Service Centres. Wednesday, 10th July 2013 (12:30pm -1:30pm) in BE.0.40 (School of Business and Economics), Loughborough University
Abstract: In the current global economic environment, managers are looking for ways to reduce costs, enhance performance and gain competitive advantages. Since supporting service costs have been continuously increasing in proportion to total costs, the managers’ focus is reducing not only production costs but also support service costs. Some organisations choose third party outsourcers while others choose to set up their own shared service centre (SSC) which consolidate support service activities into one separate business unit. Delivering high quality service across varied client divisions’ requirements within a changing business environment is the core business process of SSCs. However, the challenge faced by SSCs is how to deliver this at an appropriate cost or at a competitive price.
The charging of services provided by SSCs goes beyond a pure cost allocation problem and with increased service transparency and a greater demand for customised services, a more differentiated pricing method is required. Appropriate and efficient charging methods could drive best practice, change the service mix and thus improve organisational performance.
This literature research investigating the charging method chosen by different SSCs could start from theoretical origins. Drawing on work by Chandler (1962), Williamson (1975, 1979, 1985) and Eccles (1985), I set out the charging of support services provided by shared service centres from M-Form organisations, transaction costs economics and transfer pricing perspectives.
On the 25th October, 2012 Andrew Rothwell and Stephanie Lambert from the shared services research team headed to Wroclaw, Poland to facilitate the 12th CIMA Loughborough Forum. For the first time the event was hosted in Poland, very kindly by Hewlett Packard Global Business Services.
The day included three interactive sessions surrounding talent management, marketing and branding and best practice in the shared service centre (SSC). Discussions were rich and insightful and have clarified areas of interest and topics for future focus. A range of SSC employees attended, all bringing different and valuable input to the table.
The day also saw a very well organised and informed tour of HP’s global SSC with a specific look and introduction in to their marketing department.
The event has prompted a further series of questions which will hopefully be addressed in the near future at another Poland based forum – watch this space!
Many thanks to CIMA and HP for ensuring this event ran smoothly. Materials will be available to members on the Forum members page shortly.
During September Stephanie Lambert presented her work on ‘Anchoring Professional Careers within Shared Services’ at the British Academy of Management Conference hosted in Cardiff. A record number of 815 delegates from 49 countries attended the 26th annual BAM conference.
Stephanie’s submitted developmental paper is part of her PhD project which is sponsored and funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) and the School of Business and Economics at Loughborough University. The research incorporates aspects of the sociology of professions, career theory and global talent management with the endeavour to protect professional traits and behaviours that contribute to the commercial benefits of employing Shared Service Centre Models in multinational corporations.