With the new White Paper from SSL, ITESOFT are taking a look at how prepared Shared Service centers are for Digital Transformation, and what they can do.

1. 1
Digital Automation
Smarter. Faster. Safer.

2. 2
ARE SHARED SERVICES READY
FOR DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION?
June 2019

3. AGENDA
3
• What do we mean by digital transformation?
• Integrating advanced technologies into your service.
• Setting up for scalability.
• Mastering your master data.
• Delivering business intelligence.
• Developing a workforce for the future.

4. 4
WHAT DO WE MEAN BY DIGITAL
TRANSFORMATION?

5. HOW MANY OF US ARE ALREADY INVESTED?
5
97% of Finance executives said they believe
digital transformation will fundamentally
change the way business services are
delivered in their function over the next 3-5
years, but only 35% report having resources
and competencies in place to execute a digital
transformation strategy.
Source: The Hackett Group

6. 6
• Shared services have been investing in technology since their
inception.
• Digital transformation is more than just more automation – it is
also disruptive.
– Uber used technology to change the way a process works, and the
way in which we think of the process. Uber isn’t “simply” a slightly
more automated taxi app.
• Robots can now receive and respond to emails, and can
receive and pay invoices without human intervention.
– The impact on staff time is significant, allowing people to learn,
specialise and boost their departments bottom line.
• Shared services support huge multinational companies, some
of which have been around for hundreds of years, and have
the legacy systems and ERPs that come with that.
TECHNOLOGY ISN’T NEW TO
SHARED SERVICE CENTRES

7. 7
INTEGRATING ADVANCED
TECHNOLOGIES INTO YOUR SERVICE

8. ARE YOU USING RPA IN AP?
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0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35
We are not thinking about using RPA in AP
We are thinking about using RPA in AP
We are evaluating RPA in AP
We are piloting PRA in AP
We are live with RPA in one or more activity in AP
Source: E-Invoicing in the Age of the Bot: AI and Big Data, sharedserviceslink 2018

9. 9
HAS YOUR COMPANY IMPLEMENTED AI IN P2P?
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35
We have yet to understand the opportunity of using AI
We understand the opportunities of AI but need further
education
We are piloting AI
We have implemented AI in one or more areas
Source: E-Invoicing in the Age of the Bot: AI and Big Data, sharedserviceslink 2018

10. 10
• Audit your workstreams and find areas ripe for
automation.
– Go through your workstreams and processes and identify
where the ‘drudge work’ is. If a process is taking too long,
is it because it’s a bad process or an inefficient one?
• Talk to your technology partners.
– The easiest way to start integrating RPA and AI and to
understand its potential is to ask your current and
potential technology providers about how they are
leveraging advanced technologies
• Start small and think in terms of measurable value.
– You can think of it like repairing potholes in the road,
rather than building a new highway. Start with a few
projects where you believe you can make the biggest
difference, and scale up from there.
HOW TO MAKE THE MOST OF RPA
AND AI IN SHARED SERVICES

11. 11
SETTING UP FOR SCALABILITY

12. 12
WHERE DOES YOUR ORGANISATION
STRUGGLE WITH DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES?
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50
Insufficient Budget
Change Management
Legacy Systems
Source: Sharedserviceslink, Are Digital Technologies And Analytics Transforming Business Operations, 2015

13. TECHNOLOGY AS A TOOL FOR GROWTH
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A good shared services organization department helps the business run efficiently. A great shared
services organization supports the business to remain agile and launch in new markets.
The key to scalability – being able to take on more tasks or move into more markets – is not only
strong leadership and a strong team, but also technology that can give you the visibility and
control to expand.
Unless you have the budget to open up new offices wherever you are expanding, technology is
essential to help your organizations grow. On your road to digital transformation, it’s important to
keep in mind: How will this technology help the business grow? If the business wants to grow, will
you be able to support them?
If your department had to double its workload,
would you have to double the size your team?

14. 14
• Get paper-free, as much as possible.
– You may not find a one-size-fits-all solution for all of your
suppliers. EDI might be right for some, while e-invoicing networks
may be best for others. Supplier portals, electronic capture, OCR
and other tools may work best for some suppliers.
• Ensure technology will work across your systems.
– Having multiple ERP systems is generally not seen as an ideal set
up, however moving to one ERP is an exercise that can cost
organizations hundreds of millions, and isn’t always a viable
option. Therefore, it’s important that automation technology you
use is either ERP-agnostic, or proven or certified to work with
your existing finance systems.
• Ask: Is the technology fit-for-purpose and fit for the future?
Does it support multiple languages?
– Not only should technology be optimized for your systems, it
must be right for your company 5 or 10 years down the line.
THREE STEPS TO DIGITAL
SCALABILITY

15. 15
MASTER YOUR MASTER DATA

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WHAT ARE YOUR CHALLENGES WITH
VENDOR MASTER DATA MANAGEMENT?
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50
Duplicate records
Accuracy of data
Validation of reported data against external sources
Completeness of data
Continuous monitoring of data over time
Source: sharedserviceslink, How to Get Proactive About your Vendor Master Data, 2016

17. 17
• Clean what you have.
– There are a few ways to go about this. Manually using
spreadsheets, phone calls, emails or, using software or audit
recovery firms to support the process.
• Install good governance processes.
– Ensure your processes are agreed upon across the business
about how to onboard new suppliers and data and streamline
any questionnaires that are sent to suppliers
• Use software as an enabler.
– Finance software providers are able to leverage huge databases
and artificial intelligence tools to help you clean your master
vendor data. You can now use P2P software to validate data on
invoices against a centralized repository of information before it
enters your system.
HOW TO IMPROVE YOUR MASTER
DATA

18. 18
DELIVER BUSINESS
INTELLIGENCE

19. When data is on paper or PDF invoices, that
information sits in isolation; when invoice processing is
electronic, and that data now sits in a centralized
location, it changes the information at your fingertips
dramatically.
Analytics allows you to see what you bought, from
whom, and for whom. Once data is digitized, you can
start pulling crucial information and provide
actionable insights to answer commonly asked
questions such as:
• Where are we spending money?
• Do we have any maverick, off-
contract spend?
• How many vendors are we using?
• Are we using the right vendors?
• Are we getting the most value for
money?
• Where are the savings
opportunities?
19
DIGITALISING INVOICES OFFERS
EASIER ACCESS TO DATA

20. 20
• Ensure you are using the right vendors.
– Examining supplier spend can highlight your total number
of suppliers and spend volume and can kick-start vendor
consolidation, as well as identify potential weak points in
your supply chain.
• Identify price variations.
– Finding areas of overspend will help purchasing teams
identify cost-saving opportunities.
• Get better value from your supply chain.
– A better understanding of your global spend puts buying
organizations in a stronger position to negotiate with
suppliers. Consolidating spend can help you leverage
buying power and remain competitive.
3 KEY BENEFIT AREAS FROM
INTELLIGENT ANALYTICS

21. 21
DEVELOP A WORKFORCE FOR
THE FUTURE

22. IMPROVING TEAMS WELLBEING
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In augmented workplaces (that use
AI and RPA), 70% of respondents
said augmentation had improved
the wellbeing of their team. 78%
using RPA say it frees employees
from repetitive work.
Source: Goldsmith University

23. 23
• We could use our staff to do more higher
level and insightful activities
• Smaller team, increased salaries. Higher
value
• Would be much smaller, more higher-
value, better equipped to do cost analysis
• More time to focus on more value-added
activities, which in the end would directly
impact on our customers experience
IF MANUAL TASKS WERE
REMOVED…
Source: Realize the power of robotics in shared
services, sharedserviceslink 2016

24. 24
• Work towards a culture that embraces
technology.
– Augmentation amplifies the human experience
and not only delivers well on business
performance, but also in employee learning,
growth, and engagement.
• Look to hire the skills for the future.
– As organizations are digitizing finance, they find
they are needing fewer people to perform
manual-entry tasks. Some downsize their teams,
some re-deploy staff, or others await natural
attrition. You still need a team, but it will look
different from what it was 5 years ago.
HOW TO TRANSFORM YOUR
WORKPLACE CULTURE

25. Digital Automation
Faster.Smarter. Safer.