Global High-Tech Company: Multi-functional Shared Services for North America

Accenture helped the client’s decentralized and independent 14 North American operating companies create a shared services center that reduced costs without affecting service levels.

The client is a global high-tech company with more than 30,000 employees worldwide. In North America the company operates in a decentralized fashion, conducting business through 14 companies operating in 32 states and employing 5,500 people. Each North American operating company is a separate legal entity with its own president, executive team, and support organization.

In addition, since there is no geographic lead for North America, all company presidents report up through overseas business units. Mirroring the business structure, indirect functions in North America such as finance, IT and HR are similarly decentralized with 940 staffers across 60 locations.

Due to the economic environment and a decline in business performance, the duplication of indirect activities across North America companies was no longer sustainable. A mandate from corporate headquarters required that within one year North American companies establish a North America shared services organization and reduce headcount in indirect functions by 20 percent.

Adding to the challenge was that the effort to meet this mandate would be the largest collaborative project that the North American companies had ever undertaken. In many cases functional leads at North American companies did not know their counterparts at other companies and were completely unfamiliar with the divergent systems and process used within the region.

Accenture worked with the client leadership team to define a structured approach and time line that would take them through assessment, design and implementation in less than one year.

Critical to the success of the project were clear and standard deliverables across all functions, regular milestones, a proactive program management office, and regular communications with company presidents and other key stakeholders.

Accenture assisted with the overall management of the 200-person project team while also providing additional assistance to finance and HR during assessment and implementation. Accenture’s involvement included developing the business case, designing the organizational structure, supporting the workforce transition process, designing the service management approach and managing the change management program.

This project resulted in the successful implementation of a North American shared services organization within the mandated one-year time frame. The initial shared services organization included 500 staffers across finance, IT, HR, distribution, purchasing, legal, corporate communications and environmental health and safety. 

Benefits were immediately significant: The client achieved a 23 percent reduction in staff and annual savings of $23 million without a reduction in planned service levels.