Global Business Services

By Cyrus Asgarian, Viktoriya Bondarets, Sascha Kleebaur and Frederick Van Gysegem

From shared services to strategic value engine

Related Expertise

Organizations today are facing rising SG&A costs and growing demands for agility and value creation. In this environment, Global Business Services (GBS) have become a critical lever for transformation. No longer limited to cost optimization, GBS is evolving into a strategic engine that builds a platform to drive company-wide standardization and digitalization, supporting sustainable growth.

Sascha Kleebaur

Senior Partner

Munich Office, Central Europe

Assessing the future of GBS

GBS organizations are at a turning point. Companies with professionalized support-function structures and strong governance mechanisms – including GBS – consistently outperform their peers. By providing a platform for digitalization and automation, GBS helps organizations respond faster to market change and unlock new sources of value.

As SG&A costs continue to rise faster than revenues, incremental improvements are no longer enough. A cross-functional approach is required to protect margins and sustain growth. GBS enables this shift, moving beyond traditional shared services toward a model that delivers measurable enterprise-wide impact.

The journey from traditional to smart GBS

The role of GBS is shifting from a purely operational focus on cost benefits to a strategic emphasis on enterprise value and impact. Traditional models built on labor arbitrage and process standardization are being replaced by smart GBS organizations that leverage AI and automation to deliver real-time insights and accelerate decision-making.

Smart GBS is characterized by its ability to respond in near-real time, strengthening agility across the organization. By moving beyond transactional processing and embracing end-to-end ownership, it becomes a true value engine – empowering business units, enhancing user experience and enabling innovation.

Building a future-ready GBS operating model

A successful GBS transformation requires clear strategic direction and strong foundations. We help our clients define an ambition for GBS, positioning it as a driver of enterprise-wide impact. Our approach focuses on designing agile organizational structures and strengthening governance, while at the same time building service delivery models that deliver measurable value. Performance management is aligned with defined objectives and key results (OKRs), supported by technologies that accelerate execution. Talent development remains a priority, ensuring that GBS teams build the capabilities needed for future demands. At the core of the transformation is a commitment to customer and user experience, with services designed to be responsive and high quality.

Five dimensions to maximize GBS impact

To unlock the full value of GBS, we focus on five key dimensions:

Strategic partnership: GBS works closely with business units to drive the value agenda and support strategic priorities
Talent and capabilities: Continuous development of digital and AI skills ensures that GBS remains at the forefront of innovation
Outcome focus: The shift from transactional volume to business outcomes, guided by clear objectives and key results (OKRs), enables measurable impact
Bold scoping: GBS takes ownership of digital services, analytics and decision-making, expanding its influence across the organization
Digital transformation: As a catalyst for GenAI adoption and digital innovation, GBS reshapes how services are delivered across the enterprise

How Roland Berger supports your GBS journey

Roland Berger offers a comprehensive approach to GBS transformation, supporting clients from initial ambition-setting through implementation. Our work includes workshops to assess the current setup and define future-state target pictures that guide the GBS journey, anchored in a clear value narrative. We also provide hands-on support in designing and rolling out the operating model.

In parallel, we assess how GenAI and automation will reshape people, processes and technology, ensuring that organizations are prepared for what comes next. Our systematic approach covers all relevant GBS functions, identifying opportunities for centralization, supported by automation and selective business process outsourcing (BPO).

Success stories

Designing a future-ready GBS target operating model for a leading global chemical player

Situation: A leading global chemical player needed to redesign its GBS
target operating model across Finance, HR, EHS (Environment, Health
and Safety) and Supply Chain to strengthen centralization and unlock automation potential.

Solution: Roland Berger evaluated the future setup and supported the
company’s centralization agenda. We assessed digitalization and automation opportunities enabled by technology and AI, and developed a clear roadmap for selective BPO.

Impact: The company defined an optimal future-state model and
established a clear path toward further automation and outsourcing,
positioning GBS as a driver of efficiency and enterprise value.

GBS for a global truck supplier

Situation: The client sought to unlock cost savings and operational
excellence across its Marketing, HR, Sourcing & Procurement, IT and
Finance functions by professionalizing its Global Business Services (GBS) model.

Solution: Roland Berger defined the client’s GBS ambition in detail,
including the target operating model, roles and activities. We then developed a structured transfer roadmap and designed the future GBS setup with clear governance and performance steering through service level agreements (SLAs) and key performance indicators (KPIs).

Impact: We delivered a robust GBS concept and a pragmatic transfer
plan, creating a future-ready operating model. This enabled sustainable cost reductions and improved service delivery across corporate functions.

Building a GBS hub model for a global manufacturing company

Situation: The company aimed to centralize its finance activities,
previously dispersed across small country operations, into a core hub
structure, thereby increasing efficiency and strengthening control.

Solution: Roland Berger designed a full GBS hub model that integrated
small country operations into existing hubs. We also developed a phased transition concept and delivered an implementation handbook.
Subsequently, we supported execution throughout the transformation.

Impact: The company centralized its finance operations and streamlined processes, enabled by a clear roadmap that improved efficiency and reduced organizational complexity.

Driving GBS transformation for a German OEM

Situation: The organization wanted to achieve a company-wide shift,
embedding shared services across headquarters functions – with a clear cost-saving ambition and a new organizational setup.

Solution: Roland Berger assessed the GBS potential across nearly 50
percent of headquarters services, covering around 1,300 full-time
equivalents (FTEs). We defined target-state designs for five- and ten-year horizons by function and evaluated suitable GBS locations. We also developed a steering model and implementation strategy.

Impact: The OEM successfully built a centralized headquarters service
structure and delivered on its cost-saving ambition. In addition, it developed a long-term roadmap for GBS expansion.

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