AI In Shared Services: How Technology Can Create Value For PE-Owned Midsized Businesses

Shared services have proven to be a cost-effective operating model for support functions in large corporates. Traditionally, cost-conscious companies have followed an offshoring strategy to take advantage of educated, skilled, low-cost labor in countries such as India. They have either outsourced or set up their own global capability centers (GCCs), often requiring large scale operations, with several hundred full-time equivalents (FTEs), to be cost-effective.

Now, technology arbitrage is allowing small and mid-sized enterprises (SMEs) to adopt shared services as a model for generating value and superior returns. The rapid drive to automation and artificial intelligence (AI) is drastically reducing the need for onsite personnel, making GCCs in lower-cost jurisdictions feasible at lower scale. Technology is also challenging the need for multiple centers, as voice recognition and transcription tools are able to handle multiple languages without the need of