Vodafone rings in process-centric global shared services

Adrian Cooper, Head of Finance Shared Services and Purchase to Pay Global Process Owner, Vodafone

What started as traditional offshoring of a given set of processes, has, at Vodafone, morphed into a sophisticated Global Business Services, employing 8,000 people across 5 centers – and set to double in the next 3 years.

That, explains explains Adrian Cooper, who leads the Finance Shared Services group, is how much faith Vodafone has in the shared services model. It also reflects the impact that "one version of SAP" has had on the business [actually, India runs its own version, but for all intensive purposes it’s one platform].

Vodafone has turned the conventional service delivery model on its head by introducing an end-to-end process strategy that has allowed the company to gain the synergies and leverage the skills arbitrage that a true shared services can offer. It’s the way of the future, says Adrian, noting that, "While we’re still a democracy, the time for consensus-driven decisions is over. Today it’s all about what’s best for the business – and the business is location-agnostic as far as services delivery is concerned."

This approach has required a completely new Services Management Model, however. [Listen to the podcast to learn more.]

Barbara Hodge catches Adrian Cooper at the airport – and asks him what happens when you turn a geographic-led model on its head, and replace it with a process-centric approach.

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