This Virtual Roundtable Discussion Summary is available only to GBS / Shared Services Excellence members. For information on membership, please contact us Everest Group regularly organizes virtual sessions where senior executives from enterprises convene to share experiences and network with colleagues in other organizations on hot industry topics or particularly challenging issues of the day. In this virtual roundtable, Everest Group experts and our participants discussed ideas and broke down the components of an effective CoE, examining its role, focus areas, governance mechanisms, typical challenges, market success stories, and steps to take to build a successful CoE.

This report is available only to GBS & Shared Services members. For information on membership, please contact us Building Centers of Excellence (CoEs) has become an imperative for Global Business Services (GBS) organizations and is critical to develop distinctive high-value capabilities, enable cross-functional collaboration, and increase the value delivered beyond labor arbitrage. In the post-pandemic world, GBS organizations have an opportunity and obligation to unlock new ways of creating value by accelerating efforts to build and scale CoEs. Based on an analysis of 100+ GBS organizations, this playbook defines CoEs in the context of GBS firms and the rationale for building CoEs within GBS. The study is the industry’s first playbook that provides a framework for GBS leaders to develop successful CoEs. It breaks down the components of an effective CoE and examines their role, focus areas, governance mechanisms, challenges, market success stories, and necessary steps to build strategic CoEs in GBS organizations. Scope: All industries and geographies Contents: In this report, we study: The definition of CoE for a GBS organization The rationale for investing in CoEs A framework for building successful CoEs within GBS organizations Case studies of best-in-class GBS-based CoEs

The global sourcing market continued to evolve and grow rapidly in 2017 to cross US$185 billion. While buyers leveraged different sourcing models as per their objectives and requirements, the GIC model continued to be an integral component of this evolution. The success of the GIC model in India, Poland, and the Philippines led buyers to explore its application in other locations. While these countries continue to lead GIC activity, companies also established GICs in other parts of Asia, Central & Eastern Europe (CEE), Rest of Nearshore Europe (RONE) (which includes Ireland, Norther Ireland, Scotland, and Portugal), Latin America, and Middle East & Africa (MEA). Besides the geographic diversification, the GIC market also expanded across verticals and functions. Scope This research leverages Everest Group’s proprietary GIC database, the industry’s most comprehensive database on GICs. The analysis is based on GICs providing offshore delivery of global services and excludes shared service centers that serve domestic operations. Data from the GIC database and Everest Group’s experience in the GIC segment has been supplemented by additional knowledge on key themes of the study, sourced through interactions with people working in GICs This report is relevant to a broad set of stakeholders — buyers / parent organizations, service providers, GICs, and industry influencers (investors, industry bodies, etc.) Content This report provides an in-depth analysis of the GIC landscape and trends. It covers market size, growth, and distribution of GICs by buyer portfolio, scale, functions supported, and offshore delivery locations. The research also provides an overview of the trends witnessed in the overall GIC landscape in 2017. This has been compared with GIC activity for the previous two years, to bring forth key areas of differences. It also analyzes the GIC market across key offshore delivery locations, industry verticals, and functions: The location section covers GIC activity across India, Rest of Asia, Central & Eastern Europe (CEE), Rest of Nearshore Europe (RONE), Latin America, and Middle East & Africa. The subsection focuses on activity in the established as well as emerging delivery locations covering the GIC market size, number of new setups, and key cities in these locations The industry and function section analyzes the GIC market across key industry verticals — Banking, Financial Services, & Insurance (BFSI); Energy & Utilities (E&U); healthcare; manufacturing; retail & Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG); and technology & communication, and functions (business process – finance and accounting, human resource, supply chain, industry-specific processes, analytics, and customer care; information technology — application development & maintenance and infrastructure; and research & development / engineering) The study concludes with an assessment of the role played by GICs to drive innovation for the enterprises (including enabling factors and case examples). Membership (s) Catalyst

The global services industry has witnessed a rapid surge in automation efforts as a lever to reduce costs. Increasing adoption of automation is making companies revamp their hiring strategy as Service Delivery Automation (SDA) requires specialized skills, which are not readily available. Further, conventional locations strategies will not suffice for SDA, as it requires an optimized global locations portfolio across onshore, nearshore, and offshore geographies. Choosing the right locations for SDA CoE is a key strategic decision that involves mapping the skills required to available talent and ensuring overall success of the SDA agenda. This report provides an up close view of the type of talent required, hiring strategy, and global locations landscape for SDA CoE. It also assesses the comparative value proposition of leading locations currently being leveraged for SDA services delivery. Further, the report provides insights into different location strategies adopted by leading organizations for establishing an SDA CoE. Contents This report provides perspectives on the talent model, global sourcing landscape, and location “hotspots” for SDA. Key topics covered are: Talent profile required for an SDA CoE in terms of key roles, responsibilities, and skill sets, along with the staffing mix, hiring models, and governance structure adopted by leading enterprises and service providers Global landscape and current distribution of SDA talent across key delivery geographies Comparative attractiveness of leading locations for SDA, in terms of talent availability, financial attractiveness, and availability of an enabling business environment Location portfolio strategies and best-fit location options based on the organization characteristics and considerations for SDA CoE setup Case studies of GICs and service providers on their talent model and location strategy for SDA adoption, along with key learnings Implications for industry stakeholders with regard to the adoption of SDA The scope of the report includes Service Delivery Automation (SDA) using tools such as Robotic Process Automation (RPA) along with advanced automation solutions such as cognitive automation and artificial intelligence Analysis of leading locations currently being leveraged for SDA services delivery across India, Asia Pacific, Latin America, nearshore Europe, onshore Tier-2 Europe, and onshore Tier-2 U.S. Membership(s) Locations Insider™ Service Optimization Technologies (SOT)

Enterprises face many challenges as they seek next-generation models to add value and better manage risk. In addition, the external environment is no longer static anymore – there are technology disruptions, changes in the geopolitical arena, regulatory developments, etc., – all of which add to the complexity in formulating and implementing a global sourcing strategy. Therefore, it is no surprise that many enterprises today have (or aspire to have) a dedicated, high-performance global sourcing Center of Excellence (CoE) that understands the sourcing needs (demand), the risks associated with services delivery (supply), and, in some cases, even has the necessary buy-in from the enterprise to drive sourcing decisions (e.g., location strategy, vendor selection, and performance management) at multiple levels (e.g., deal, portfolio, and/or enterprise-level). At Everest Group, our continued focus on global services delivery and interactions with stakeholders in this space has helped us in understanding key responsibilities shouldered by CoEs of leading enterprises. In fulfilling these responsibilities, these CoEs take on one of the two distinct roles at the enterprise-level – “helper” or “shaper.” Our assessment further suggests that while most CoEs continue to play the role of a “helper” at an enterprise-level, many have transitioned to, or aspire to become advisors in select areas of expertise – a trend that is likely to continue over the next few years as global sourcing activities reach greater scale/saturation and complexity. This viewpoint explores the responsibilities that a global sourcing CoE is entrusted with, the typical roles played by it, and variations therein across enterprises. It also opines on the benefits that are likely to accrue to an enterprise by having CoEs that take on a more prominent role (“shaper”) as opposed to one (“helper”) where they are involved in mostly implementing global sourcing decisions. Scope and Content This report presents views on the following topics: Global sourcing Centers of Excellence (CoE) – key responsibilities Global sourcing Centers of Excellence (CoE) – key roles – “helper” vs. “shaper” Global sourcing CoEs – current role and future outlook Key benefits for an enterprise with a CoE Membership(s) Global Sourcing