The Relevance of Global Business Services in a Decade

BPOs need to make sure that they are alive.

They need to work towards changing their traditional focus which is around cost reduction.

Need to closely work with foreigners since the value they add/can add is critical for the growth of the business.

BPOs need to work together with companies towards transformation.

Companies today want more than just cost reduction and BPOs should help companies to handle business in a more effective and agile way./li>

BPOs would continue to stay alive as long their approach stays customer centric.

• Large service centers would be dead in the traditional way we know them.
• The last 2 years of lockdown have led to the creation of mobility and flexibility.
• This has thus enabled companies to look out for 4-5 locations around the world to set their service centers.
• Physical, big, heavy service centers at locations won’t be existent anymore.
• Rather one that is centralized in operations and functions would be predominant.
• The 5-6 location model allows flexibility towards market, operations and such unexpected events like COVID-19.

• RPA would be dead in its current form.
• RPA has been successful in the last 3-4 years and has helped to accelerate transformation and automation.
• But at present there are more platforms available compared to RPA that are offering a greater level of flexibility and agility.
• Thus, there is a clear decline in RPA with newer strategies and technologies being faster and agile than RPA.
• These newer technologies would empower people and associates to create their own instances of automation.
• Clearly with the availability of newer opportunities the use of RPA would be substituted.

• AI has a lot of potential and there still is a lot to discover and work on.
• The relevance of data around processes like AR, AP can bring a lot of contribution towards the working capital and this can easily be learnt and optimized with use of AI.
• Being predictive on delays in receivables can highly accelerate the incoming cash flow and thus help in improving the working capital.
• AI is a powerful tool and we still need to discover a lot of its uses.
• Use of AI in GBS would be one of the primary focuses and can help to accelerate growth.

• It won’t be one of the top choices as it has been previously.
• Previous experiences highlight that cost reduction and labor arbitrage was the main focus, and that approach is going change.
• The new call to action (CTA) should be to provide more support and help in increasing the efficiency of the business.
• The change in the traditional model of centers and their way of operating in India will boost the rate of growth and make it reclaim its position as the top priority for companies.
• Although it won’t be completely dead, the existing model would become obsolete in the long run and require a revamp.

• It needs to move from providing support to the traditional accounting cycle towards taking over processes closer to company’s operations like: Procurement, Marketing, HR, IT that are migrating to GBS.
• It should focus on a transformation, productivity and efficiency delivery model.
• GBS is that area that will lead transformation and provide space for companies to focus on operations at their core.
• Relevancy of GBS will increase and can ensure success in the long run.

• It is crucial to be bold.
• GBS plays a crucial role in every company and as a GBS leader you always need to look out for new opportunities.
• At present the visibility of the end to end process is there along with the required knowledge, data and expertise.
• GBS leaders should try to increase the contribution towards working capital not only by cost but also by getting actively involved in processes and opportunities thus, acting like a real partner.
• GBS leaders are responsible for driving transformation, leading initiatives and strive to take GBS to greater heights.
• Leaders should fail fast and learn from it to grow in a more focussed manner.