Ahead of this year’s Shared Services and Outsourcing Week Europe Autumn 2023, we spoke exclusively to Kamila Grembowicz, Head GBS Delivery Excellence and Transition, JTI, about key business investments, the evolution of GBS, and advice for people who are new to shared services.

What key area are you looking to invest in over the next 18 months, and why?

"We just finished the implementation of GBS for our company. This took us three years and we are now moving towards the harmonisation of our automation journey, which we started at the beginning of the year. We’re investing in process management, process improvement, automation techniques, improving our user experience with ServiceNow, and creating more interfaces. We have also invested in tools like invoice booking automation and many others. A lot is happening in our investment portfolio at the moment, to bring us to what we call GBS 2.0."

How do you see shared services and GBS evolving in the coming years?

"We have already evolved our operating model during the pandemic when we were pushed to work from home. Now, we can master the hybrid model and work remotely, to keep that evolution going. I also see GBS moving beyond traditional HR or finance. For example, we conduct legal marketing sales, and supply chain support. Many GBS organisations are expanding to support multiple functions, and this will play a bigger role in digitalisation and automation."

What advice/words of wisdom would you give to someone who is just starting their shared services and GBS journey?

"Come to conferences like this, work with your peers, connect, and learn from other people's mistakes - it's the perfect way to do it! In the end, you need to remember that GBS is a people business. All the work we do and the service we provide is for our people, our customers and our employees. It’s about building relationships and discovering new ways of working together."

What are some of the key takeaways or insights that you gained from the panel discussions, roundtables or workshops at SSOW Europe 2023?

"There have been many inspiring sessions that have made me think about trialling different types of automation or different solutions. There was also a very good conversation on talent today. I most enjoyed other companies sharing their journey of what worked, and what didn't work. Learning from others helps prevent my own mistakes. I very much enjoyed hearing about Tesco’s journey to becoming the best GBS in talent, change management, and how important it is when you implement anything new on a daily basis. The topics have been very interesting and I’ve really enjoyed the networking sessions as well."

EUROPE’S NO.1 SHARED SERVICES & GBS EVENT - THE AUTUMN EDITION

16 - 18 October 2023 | Novotel London West, London, United Kingdom

As GBS and Shared Services continue to grapple with the pace of change, industry leaders have taken great steps in refining shared services business model, nurturing key capabilities, and preserving value through efficiency, productivity and resilience. In the meantime, new questions and challenges continue to emerge: What are the other value levers can we pull to deliver value in new ways? Is the GPO model finally sticking and delivering the end-to-end transformation promise? How will ChatGPT contribute towards the efforts of building intelligent GBS and shared services? How are we adjusting our people strategies and building the workforce of the future? Will BPOs play a bigger role in delivering transformation in 2023 and 2024?

The Shared Services & Outsourcing Week Europe Autumn 2023 agenda is developed around these key focuses and looking to explore and provide answers to these pertinent questions.

As the second touch point for the European GBS and Shared Services industry following the Lisbon Event in May, featuring 60+ speakers representing the best of the best in the community, this is a not-to-miss opportunity to get together with the industry leaders and get your finger on the pulse of the key trends and most recent transformation stories from the industry.

View the 2023 agenda here!

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