Business Services: Adding Value Through "Judgement-based" Solutions

While Shell’s Business Services Centre in Krakôw provides multi-functional services to Shell’s global operations, it’s also taken steps to move beyond the standard scope of Shared Services. Today, the Centre is more involved in higher-value, "judgement-based" services, following the trajectory we are witnessing across Shared Services that have incorporated a data analytics role Barbara Hodge interviews Piotr Dziwok, Shell Business Services Centre What is your background, and current role, at Shell? I started my career in Shell in the mid 1990s. I built the Shell Car Care business in Poland and then in CEE and CIS; led the Shell Chemicals business in CEE and CIS; and then took a similar role in Latin America, as V-President of Shell Brazil. In my most recent role I led the global program implementing the new Customer Value Proposition and systems for the global Fuel Cards business. As of 1st of May 2011, I was appointed General Manager of the Shell Business Service Centre in Krakôw. I am also performing the duty of Country Chair of Shell in Poland. Can you provide a brief overview of your Centre's operations? During the last seven years of its operating life, the Shell Business Service Centre in Krakow has developed into a strategic unit and is part of a global network of six service centres, which together employ 10,000 staff and provide key business processes for Royal Dutch Shell – a global group of energy and petrochemical companies. Krakow Shell Business Service Centre concentrates its activities around the areas of Finance Operations, Customer Service, Supply & Distribution, HR Services and Contract & Procurement. A general trend we’ve discerned is that the processes provided by all centres are becoming more and more complex and sophisticated. What is the biggest challenge to your shared services operations today? What do your customers want? I believe the biggest challenge today is to ensure high quality and at the same time very prompt delivery of our services. Moreover, we need to provide high productivity levels, while sustaining low productivity costs. In spite of the fact that low costs are sometimes quoted as not being a key aspect of business services, I believe that they are, in fact, very significant. What has been your response to this trend, within the Business Services Centre? We’ve worked hard to meet our customers’ needs. The fact that complex processes are constantly being migrated to SBSC and that our stakeholders consider us a trusted advisor, providing relevant support, tell us we are on the right track. While most Finance SSCs are staying with familiar, functional processes, your BSC has moved on and is focused on "judgemental-based" process services. What does this mean? Over the last few years, the scope of services we support from the Finance Operation in Krakow has evolved. Our services have moved towards more analytical, decision-making support. Today, we cover more "up-scope" processes with higher penetration levels than one would have imagined a few years back. For example, we perform cash forecasting analysis and recommendation for loans; we also cover quite an extensive scope for indirect taxes, which include tax return statements preparation and submission for a number of countries. How is this new focus allowing you to deliver high-end, complex business processes to assist with decision-making? First of all, we have achieved significant benefits as a result of economies of scale. And the concentration of scope has enabled a better penetration of expertise and process knowledge, which we have built up over time in our Krakow Finance Operations. As a result, our key process experts within Finance Operations are now recognized as business partners throughout the organisation. Through these experts, we provide truly world-class support to our business lines in making relevant business decisions. What is the measure of the impact your services are having on the business? Within Shell’s BSC, the main metrics we follow concern productivity levels, quality of delivery, and operational costs. However, when it comes to particular businesses, each of them uses a variety of their own metrics to measure our impact. For example, Customer Service uses Customer Satisfaction Level as core dimension; the Order-to-Delivery department takes into consideration the cost of delivering the product; etc. [inlinead]

Business Services: Adding Value Through "Judgement-based" Solutions

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