Type II (shared services unit)

Function s such as finance, IT, human resource s, and logistics are not always at the core of an organization’s competitive advantage. Hence, they need not be maintained at the corporate level where they demand the attention of the chief executive’s team.11 Instead, the services of such shared functions are consolidated into an autonomous special unit called a shared services unit (SSU) (Figure 3.13). This model allows a more devolved governing structure under which SSU can focus on serving business units as direct customers. SSU can create, grow, and sustain an internal market for their services and model themselves along the lines of service provider s in the open market. Like corporate business functions, they can leverage opportunities across the enterprise and spread their costs and risk s across a wider base. Unlike corporate business functions, they have fewer protections under the banner of strategic value and core competence. They are subject to comparisons with external service provider s whose business practices, operating models and strategies they must emulate and whose performance they should approximate if not exceed. Performance gaps are justified through benefits received through services within their domain of control.

Figure 3.13 Common Type II providers

Customer s of Type II are business units under a corporate parent, common stakeholders, and an enterprise-level strategy. What may be sub-optimal for a particular business unit may be justified by advantages reaped at the corporate level for which the business unit may be compensated. Type II can offer lower prices compared to external service providers by leveraging corporate advantage, internal agreement s and accounting policies. With the autonomy to function like a business unit, Type II providers can make decisions outside the constraints of business unit level policies. They can standardize their service offerings across business units and use market-based pricing to influence demand patterns.

Дата добавления: 2015-11-14