In recent years, shared service centers, or SSOs, have evolved from being mere cost-cutting mechanisms to influential agents of business innovation. They are no longer isolated back-office operations, but essential components that enable business agility and responsiveness in a rapidly changing marketplace. However, they face several challenges—from fragmented automation to limited process visibility.
Shared service centers and their evolution
SSOs were first introduced as a method to save money by consolidating similar business functions, such as IT , HR , and finance , across departments. Today, they have become an essential part of modern businesses, offering a wide range of services while facilitating operational excellence and efficiency.
Technological advancements such as robotic process automation (RPA) and business process automation software are changing the way shared services operate.
However, what has truly changed the game is Process Intelligence (PI) , an AI-powered technology that provides a holistic view of business operations and helps create a tailored automation roadmap.
Despite significant evolution, shared service centers face various challenges, mainly related to process complexity and siloed automation. Many shared service centers have adopted automation but have not exploited its full potential due to these obstacles.
The role of automation in addressing challenges
Automation promises greater operational efficiency, improved hotels and motels email list service quality, and reduced costs. It frees employees from routine tasks and allows them to focus on strategic initiatives that drive business growth. CSPs have reported cost reductions of 10 to 20 percent from automation, with the most impactful applications in procure-to-pay, customer service, and order-to-cash.
Complete business process automation platform to automate the most complex processes in your shared service center
However, automation success largely depends on knowing which processes to automate and when. That’s where PI comes in, providing real-time visibility into processes, which is essential for identifying automation opportunities with a high ROI.
Leveraging Process Intelligence for Automation
Process Intelligence combines process mining and task mining to bring end-to-end transparency into business processes and workflows. Here’s how PI can drive automation .