What is Shared Services Setup & Optimization?

Shared services setup services refer to the design and implementation of a centralized function that delivers common back-office processes, such as finance, HR, procurement, IT support, or customer administration, to multiple business units within a group. Rather than each entity running its own independent function, a shared services model consolidates those activities under a single team with standardized processes and defined service levels. 

Shared services consulting services help distribution groups assess which functions are suitable for centralization, design the operating model, and manage the transition from distributed to shared delivery. Shared services operating model design determines how the function will be governed, what services will be in scope, how performance will be measured, and how business units will interact with the central team. 

Shared services implementation services cover the practical work of standing up the function: recruiting or redeploying people, configuring systems, documenting processes, and managing the cutover from legacy arrangements. For groups operating across multiple geographies, global business services and shared services consulting providers help design models that account for regulatory, language, and time-zone variation while still achieving the cost and consistency benefits of centralization. 

Shared services optimization services are relevant for groups that already have a shared services function but are finding that it has grown organically, lacks clear service standards, or is not delivering the efficiency originally expected. Managed shared services solutions offer an alternative for distributors that want the benefits of a shared services model without building the internal capability to run it, placing delivery in the hands of an external specialist instead. 

A well-designed shared services center setup and optimization programme typically generates significant cost reduction while improving process consistency across the group.

Benefits of Outsourcing Shared Services Setup & Optimization Services

• Material reduction in back-office cost: Consolidating duplicated functions through shared services setup services eliminates redundant headcount, technology licences, and management overhead that accumulate when each acquired entity runs its own support functions independently.
• Consistent process quality across business units: Shared services operating model design enforces standardized ways of working, which means invoicing, payroll, procurement, and reporting are handled consistently regardless of which entity they relate to.
• Faster integration of future acquisitions: A functioning shared services centre can absorb new business units efficiently, as shared services centre setup and optimization creates a repeatable onboarding process rather than a bespoke integration exercise for each deal.
• Improved visibility for group leadership: Centralizing functions through shared services consulting services gives group finance and operations leaders consolidated reporting and cleaner data, supporting better decisions across the portfolio.
• Access to specialist capability at lower cost: Managed shared services solutions allow distributors to access experienced finance, HR, or IT professionals through a managed model, avoiding the cost and difficulty of recruiting and retaining those specialists independently in each location.
• Scalability without proportional headcount growth: A well-designed model delivered through shared services implementation services can absorb increased transaction volumes and additional entities without a linear increase in overhead, supporting margin improvement as the group scales.

How to Choose Shared Services Setup & Optimization Services

• Experience with distribution group structures: Providers should have designed shared services models for distribution businesses specifically, because the combination of high transaction volumes, multi-site operations, and supplier complexity creates service scope and process requirements that differ from other sectors.
• Scope definition rigour: The provider should help you build a clear business case for which functions to centralize and which to leave distributed, as shared services consulting services that centralize the wrong activities create service failures and resistance that undermine the entire programme.
• Technology platform alignment: Shared services implementation services must be designed around your existing ERP, HR, and finance platforms, as a shared services model that requires a full technology replacement adds cost and risk that can make the business case unviable.
• Change and transition management capability: Moving people and processes into a shared structure affects employment arrangements, reporting lines, and working practices, and providers without structured transition management experience routinely underestimate the people challenges involved.
• Optimization capability for existing models: If you already have a shared services function that is underperforming, confirm that the provider offers shared services optimization services as a distinct capability, with diagnostic tools and benchmarks to assess current performance against peer-group standards.

Frequently Asked Questions