Shared services have the potential to bring significant value to the firm. The model:
Can lower firms’ operating costs by reducing the number of service employees and gaining efficiency.
Can enhance firms’ architectural agility by facilitating their transformation toward new organisational forms such as “shared service organisation” and “service-oriented enterprise”.
May improve organisational learning and innovation by concentrating technical and managerial expertise and facilitating knowledge sharing.
May increase service quality by forming a customer-oriented mindset within the service organisation and professionalising service delivery.
May also bring political advantages such as enhancing credibility and solving internal conflicts.
In a global economic downturn like today’s, the need to leverage the benefits of shared services becomes increasingly urgent.