Strategic Sourcing proved its worth in a high pressure business transformation programme.
5th November 2007 When Serco, the international services group, embarked on a major business transformation project it opted to resource key positions by drawing on the expertise and market knowledge of Systems Accountants its strategic recruitment partner. Shared values and a joint commitment to partnering between the organisations paid off handsomely in the ‘pressure cooker' environment of a simultaneous enterprise SAP rollout and the creation of an off-shore Shared Services Centre.
David Burke, Director of Shared Services Centre for the Serco Group was one of the principal movers at the ‘sharp end' of the biggest business transformation programme ever undertaken by the Group. “Formula 100” as the programme became known involved the creation of an off-shore Shared Services Centre, the roll out of a SAP ERP system and standardisation of processes across the entire business.
The scope of services covered by the Shared Services Centre encompassed all of the common business cycles, for example, ‘purchase to pay', ‘order to cash', treasury and cash management', general accounting, but more unusually included closing the books for the Group and production of management accounts.
Looking back on the programme Burke acknowledges that it was an unusually high risk project. Firstly, few would attempt to simultaneously rollout a new system, standardise processes, build the SSC and site it off-shore in India . secondly, many groups do not include management reporting in the scope of their Shared Services Centre (SSC).
Given the scale and risk of the undertaking it is all the more remarkable that the Group chose to work almost exclusively with one specialist recruiter of key resources. But with the benefit of hindsight it appears to have been a pivotal decision in delivering a successful programme.
Given the scale and risk of the undertaking it is all the more remarkable that the Group chose to work almost exclusively with one specialist recruiter of key resources. But with the benefit of hindsight it appears to have been a pivotal decision in delivering a successful programme.
Burke established what he refers to as a “wrap around team” of thirteen to fourteen people who were recognised and experienced specialists in their field to help with the creation of the Shared Services Centre. This ranged from systems and outsourcing expertise to off-shoring, ERP and business process skills. Systems Accountants supplied 90 percent of these domain experts whose primary role was not only to troubleshoot problems as they arose but also to find permanent long-term solutions. The approach meant that the Serco Group could leave its internal experts in the front line where they were needed most.
The Strategic Sourcing approach meant that the Serco Group could leave its internal experts in the front line where they were needed most.
David Burke described his requirement for the “wrap around” team to the dedicated account manager from Systems Accountants who was charged with finding the appropriate resource. There were varying degrees of requirement and not just for senior people, for example, less senior personnel were required to staff the Project Office.
Remarkably, apart from one minor hiccup early on, all of the staff fitted into the programme extremely well. “I suppose it was a risk relying on one organisation but we benefited from a common understanding of the requirement and I could pick up the telephone and they understood the requirement straight away from the knowledge that had been built up. Systems Accountants would come back with a shortlist of CVs and I would interview the candidates.”
“The potential downside was that we would be working with less of a pool of resources and that we might have to look elsewhere. But frankly we have not suffered from that and the relationship we built up helped to cope with the diverse range of skills we needed. Systems Accountants understood the programme and the SSC,” remarks Burke.
Remarkably, apart from one minor hiccup early on, all of the staff fitted into the programme extremely well. “I suppose it was a risk relying on one organisation but we benefited from a common understanding of the requirement and I could pick up the telephone and they understood the requirement straight away from the knowledge that had been built up.”
As the programme draws to a close Burke is starting to ensure that there is an adequate skills transfer to his permanent staff. “The programme has settled down and we are able to swap out the contractors and reduce the size of the team. We are making sure that everything is well documented and that we have templates and checklists in place that satisfy the business needs of the SSC.
David Burke considers that by utilising the Strategic Sourcing approach the Group was not only able to fulfil it requirements for key personnel at the right time but also derived better value for money than more traditional approaches. “I believe we received good value for money. We could have purchased this service from consulting firms as a package but we wanted to manage it ourselves and assess the candidates individually ensuring we end up with people with experience and proof that they had done it before.
The plan for the next twelve months is to roll out the common system ,processes and SSC footprint globally. “The next few months provide the opportunity for continuous improvements in processes and bedding down the change in culture. We are in good shape to take on that challenge,” concludes Burke.
