Traditionally, Global Business Services (GBS) were seen as operational hubs focused on cost reduction and centralizing support functions like finance, human resources, and IT. However, the paradigm is shifting. As organizations face increasing pressure to innovate, enhance customer experience, and deliver sustainable value, GBS are evolving from a purely transactional function into a strategic role.

This transformation goes beyond reducing costs—it involves rethinking the role of GBS in supporting business strategy. GBS have the opportunity to drive new revenue streams, identify inefficiencies, and provide actionable business insights to support decision-making. This article explores the essential pillars for this transition, highlighting the best practices to align GBS with organizations’ strategic objectives.

The role of GBS in business strategy

GBS are no longer just support centers as the market becomes increasingly competitive. Instead, they emerge as strategic partners, directly contributing to innovation, efficiency, and sustainable business growth.

What are Global Business Services (GBS)?

Global Business Services are organizational structures designed to centralize and optimize service delivery within a company. They evolved from traditional Shared Services Centers (SSC), combining various functions—such as finance, human resources, IT, and procurement—into a single, integrated model, usually at a global level. While SSC primarily focus on cost reduction through centralization and standardization, GBS take a broader approach, managing end-to-end processes and aligning with the company’s strategic goals.

The evolution of GBS: from transactional support to strategic partner

GBS have evolved from transactional support to strategic partners. Initially, they were perceived as an extension of Shared Services Centers, primarily focused on centralizing support operations. This model prioritized efficiency but was often confined to administrative and transactional processes.

With the increasing complexity of global markets and the demand for more agile solutions, GBS have taken on a more strategic role. Today, they are recognized as business partners that add value by aligning their services with corporate objectives. GBS can contribute directly to digital transformation, continuous improvement, and enhanced market competitiveness.

Figure 1 – Evolution of Global Business Services

Common challenges in managing GBS

Despite their clear benefits, managing GBS comes with its share of challenges. These include aligning with business strategy, overcoming inefficiencies, and fostering the cultural transformation necessary for the model’s success. Addressing these obstacles in a structured manner is crucial for GBS to become real drivers of value and innovation within the company.

The need to align GBS goals with corporate strategic objectives

One of the most common challenges in managing GBS is ensuring that their operations and objectives align with the company’s vision and strategic goals. Often, GBS focus solely on operational efficiency, neglecting their role in broader initiatives such as innovation, customer experience, digital transformation, or sustainability. Engaging leaders and establishing clear metrics that directly link GBS performance to strategic outcomes is essential.

High costs and operational inefficiencies

High costs and operational inefficiencies are recurring challenges that directly impact the ability of GBS to deliver value. These inefficiencies stem from factors such as process variability, poor-quality inputs, recurring issues, bureaucracy, lack of transparency, complex information systems, and extended lead times. Organizations must adopt a structured approach based on Kaizen and Lean principles to address these issues. This includes focusing on waste elimination, enhancing transparency, and creating efficient process flows.

The need for agility and adaptability

In a constantly evolving business environment, another critical challenge for GBS is ensuring that operations remain agile and adaptable to market changes and the needs of business units. Rigid processes and delays in responding to requests can compromise GBS’s ability to support business operations effectively. Additionally, the rapid pace of technological advancements requires that GBS adopt innovations and operational changes quickly. To address this challenge, organizations must embrace agile methodologies, foster a culture of continuous improvement, and invest in technologies that enable scalability and flexibility.

Strategies to transform GBS into strategic value centers

The transformation of GBS from purely transactional hubs to strategic value centers represents a significant shift. The focus expands beyond cost reduction to generate tangible financial value for the organization. Achieving this transition requires adopting new practices, redefining services, and developing capabilities aimed at generating revenue.

Generating business value through insights

Global Business Services (GBS) are evolving from simple transactional support centers into strategic hubs that deliver valuable insights to drive business growth. This transformation is fueled by integrating technologies such as data analytics and artificial intelligence, which enable GBS teams to identify patterns and provide recommendations to decision-makers. As a result, GBS are playing a central role in strategic decision-making.

The ability of GBS to create business value lies in its broad perspective of operations and organizational data. By consolidating and analyzing information across different areas, GBS can anticipate trends, suggest operational improvements, and deliver tailored solutions that boost efficiency and competitiveness. In addition, providing real-time actionable insights enables faster and more accurate decision-making, helping organizations stay agile in an ever-changing market. This shift from GBS to business partners requires empowering teams with analytical and consultative skills.

Redefining the offer

GBS can transcend traditional roles by broadening their service offerings to address and support strategic areas.

 This includes contributing to initiatives such as:

• Continuous improvement: Supporting the implementation of Lean and Kaizen practices across the organization by taking responsibility for activities like training, consulting, auditing, and sharing best practices.
• Digital transformation: Acting as strategic partners in adopting new technologies, from selecting and implementing tools to providing ongoing support for teams, ensuring effective integration with existing processes.
• Sustainability and ESG: Assisting in defining ESG strategies, monitoring sustainability indicators, and ensuring performance reporting. This aligns the organization with regulatory requirements and market expectations.

By aligning their service offerings with the organization’s strategic priorities, GBS become essential for achieving corporate goals such as innovation, cost reduction, and regulatory compliance.

Developing marketable services

Another way for GBS to evolve from transactional centers to revenue generators is by developing services that can be marketed to external clients. This can include:

• Service outsourcing: Offering operational services, such as accounting or technical support, to external clients while ensuring high-quality standards and competitive performance.
• Process consulting: Providing expertise in financial management, process optimization, and regulatory compliance to external organizations, leveraging the accumulated internal know-how.
• Technology solutions: Commercializing internally developed tools, such as automation platforms, advanced data analytics dashboards, or customized management systems, to help other organizations.

Developing marketable services requires a mindset shift within GBS, focusing on creating value propositions that address internal and external needs. This approach generates additional revenue and strengthens GBS’s reputation as centers of excellence.

Benefits of transforming GBS

Transforming GBS into strategic value centers delivers various strategic benefits. By creating value for the organization, GBS significantly enhance their strategic impact and contribute to sustainable business growth. Key advantages include:

• Higher Return on Investment (ROI): Investments in technology, automation, and workforce development within GBS can be monetized, generating financial returns and justifying further investments in these areas.
• Increased perceived value of GBS: When GBS contribute directly to an organization’s revenue, they transition from being seen as mere support centers to earning recognition as internal and external strategic units.
• Strengthened market competitiveness: Offering high-quality services to external clients positions GBS as a market benchmark, enhancing the company’s reputation as a leader in operational efficiency and innovation.
• Encouraging innovation: The need to develop marketable services drives GBS to innovate continuously, creating solutions that add value both within the organization and for external markets.

These benefits emphasize the importance of repositioning GBS as revenue generators, enabling them to significantly impact the organization financially and strategically.

The future of GBS

The future of Global Business Services points to continuous evolution, where these units move beyond being mere support centers to establish themselves as strategic leaders within organizations. Technological innovation will continue to play a central role, with GBS leveraging technologies such as artificial intelligence, robotic process automation (RPA), and advanced data analytics. These tools will boost efficiency and enable GBS to deliver predictive insights and strategic recommendations, supporting informed and agile decision-making.

Operational agility will be another essential feature. The GBS of the future will be even more integrated into organizational operations, adopting agile methodologies to respond swiftly to market changes and stakeholder needs.

Finally, GBS will also play a critical role in advancing initiatives aligned with ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) objectives. The future of GBS will be defined by their ability to create tangible value, act as strategic partners, and directly support organizations’ growth, innovation, and sustainability goals.

Still have some questions about transforming GBS from transactional hubs to value centers?

What is the difference between GBS and SSC?

Global Business Services (GBS) and Shared Services Centers (SSC) differ in scope, maturity, and strategic alignment. SSC focus on centralizing administrative and transactional functions, such as finance, HR, or IT, typically within a specific region or business unit, aiming to reduce costs and increase efficiency. GBS, on the other hand, represent an evolution of this model. They integrate multiple functions and regions into a global structure that operates as a strategic partner for the business. While SSC are more operational and function-specific, GBS offer customized, SLA-based services emphasizing value creation, innovation, and alignment with the company’s strategic objectives.

What are the key benefits of implementing a GBS model?

Implementing a Global Business Services (GBS) model offers several strategic and operational benefits. Firstly, there is a significant cost reduction by centralizing and optimizing processes, generating economies of scale. Additionally, the model enhances service quality, ensuring consistency while adapting to the specific needs of different business units. GBS also excel in strategic alignment, functioning as an extension of the business and directly supporting corporate objectives. Digital transformation is accelerated through advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence, automation, and predictive analytics, which boost efficiency and provide data-driven insights for more accurate decision-making. The model further promotes continuous innovation, creating additional value for the organization. Finally, GBS offer greater flexibility and resilience, enabling the company to adapt quickly to market and regulatory changes while ensuring strong governance and continuous improvement.