Implementation of SAP Shared Services Center (SSC) Saves Regional Operations USD$2 Million Annually
Singapore — SAP Asia Pacific today announced that it received the award for “Most Advanced Automation of a Shared Services Organisation” at the Asia Pacific Shared Services Excellence Awards 2005. The award was presented by the Shared Services and Outsourcing Network in conjunction with the International Quality and Productivity Center at a black-tie gala dinner on March 15, 2005 at Star City, Sydney, Australia.
“The SAP Shared Services Center (SSC) represents a best-practice showcase for how an SSC implementation leverages the ‘share all systems’ concept, building on seamless integration between all SAP systems,” says Joshua Goldgar, Director of Marketing, International Quality & Productivity Centre (IQPC). “It is an excellent business case scenario that portrays solutions that empower employees to manage processes in a collaborative environment and at the same time increase efficiency and accuracy.”
“We’re very pleased to be awarded with this honor, which validates SAP’s continued efforts in the area of shared services,” said Colin Sampson, Chief Operating Officer for SAP Asia Pacific, on accepting the award in Sydney. “This award showcases to the public the success of the best practices we’ve been sharing with our customers in Asia Pacific in addition to applying them to our own operations. The recognition is a testament to how a shared services approach can generate substantial ROI by increasing business efficiency and driving down operational costs.”
To date, SAP has generated more than USD$2 million in savings annually due to its shared services operations. All processes performed in the SSC are powered by SAP’s own leading mySAP ERP solution, which has resulted in increased productivity levels and tighter operational controls. Communication flows between countries and the SSC have also been far more efficient due to the robust technology workflow.
One of the most successful automation projects has been the implementation of payroll and employee self-service components of mySAP ERP Human Capital Management, across SAP subsidiaries in the Asia Pacific region. By implementing the country-specific versions for payroll and legal reporting, local tax, language and regulatory requirements are automatically cleared by the system, thus reducing the complexity of processes performed in a foreign country. Furthermore, employee self-service scenarios, which include functionality for leave application, online pay-slip, bank details and address maintenance, have empowered employees to manage processes in a collaborative environment while greatly enhancing efficiency and accuracy.
Additional benchmarking has also revealed that the cost of the processes transferred to the SSC as a percentage of revenue has decreased by some 50 percent. Further savings are expected as the SSC extends its services to include many other functions such as demand generation for education services and consulting contract management. The Shared Services model in Asia Pacific is all the more significant as other SAP regions, specifically Latin America and Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA), are now taking Asia Pacific’s lead and implementing the same approach.
The Shared Services Excellence Awards is the only globally recognised peer program in the industry, providing a unique opportunity for companies to compete for the acknowledgement and respect of their competitors. Established in the late nineties, the Shared Services Awards are the longest-running awards program recognising, honouring and promoting excellence in Shared Services operations.
Entries were received from a wide cross section of Government and Private sector organisations in the Asia Pacific region and winners were short-listed from a judging panel that consisted of an assembly of leading shared services practitioners, drawn from industry.
About SAP APA SSC
SAP has centralized the transactional processing and administrative functions of its 12 Asia Pacific subsidiaries into its first SAP Shared Services Centre (SSC) at the Asia Pacific headquarters in Singapore. The SSC, made up of around 36 well qualified and service-oriented resources, are responsible for Software Contracts Administration, Partner Services, Consulting Administration, Education Administration, Human Resources and Payroll Administration as well as Finance and Administration for the region
