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Transform Shared Services to boost productivity and cut costs

Document, analyze and optimize critical processes to drive measurable efficiency gains.

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Achieving Transformation in Shared Services

Shared Services Organizations are responsible for centralizing and standardizing various business functions to improve efficiency, reduce costs, and improve service quality, all while maintaining compliance and managing risk. With process intelligence, these teams can deeply understand how processes are executed across the organization, design standardized and optimal versions of processes, and make data-driven decisions that drive maximum efficiency.  

Discover the Benefits of iGrafx

01

Increase Productivity

Identify inefficiencies and automate key processes to reduce manual work and enhance the speed of execution, improving overall productivity. Continuously monitor and optimize processes to ensure higher efficiency and focus that time on value-add activities.

02

Reduce Costs

Streamline high-volume, transactional processes such as AP, AR, P2P, and others to eliminate unnecessary steps and reduce costs without compromising quality. Validate the impact of cost-cutting measures and ensure consistent output.

03

Ensure Internal & External Customer Satisfaction

With a deep understanding of customer journeys across every touchpoint, uncover delays and bottlenecks to improve the quality and speed of services and deliver exceptional customer experiences.

Improve Shared Services Performance

Shared services were supposed to be the efficiency silver bullet. Pull all the support functions into one hub, standardize processes, and watch costs drop as efficiency grows. But in reality, it has been harder than expected to achieve the promised results. Process intelligence is the magic ingredient to transforming shared services organizations, as we explore in this article.

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The iGrafx Approach

Process360 Live

Discover

Visualize and analyze real-time process data to identify areas for optimization, automation, and risk mitigation, ensuring a data-driven approach to transformation.

Shared Services Organizations need comprehensive visibility into as-is processes. iGrafx offers a suite of capabilities that enable this, including process mining, task mining, and process mapping. 

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Design

Document, model, and standardize processes to eliminate operational silos, ensure best practices are followed, and improve service delivery across business units.

iGrafx’s process design solutions, such as our BPM solution and process simulation capability, allow shared services professionals to model and test proposed improvements without relying on guesswork. 

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Optimize

Predict how process changes will impact productivity, cost, and compliance—ensuring shared services operations remain resilient and adaptive to change.

Achieve optimal, gold standard processes by implementing impactful improvements with the help of iGrafx’s predictive analytics and process monitoring tools. 

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Delivering Value Across Business Functions

Finance & Accounting

Get the insights you need to reduce costs, maintain compliance, and maximize efficiency. For example, the following functions can benefit from transformation efforts:

  • Accounts Payable Management
  • Accounts Receivable Management
  • Financial Reporting & Analysis
  • Budgeting & Forecasting
  • Regulatory Compliance & Reporting

Human Resources

Streamline processes with deep process understanding and real-time decision-making. For example, the following functions can benefit from transformation efforts:

  • Talent Acquisition & Onboarding
  • Compensation: Benefits & Payroll
  • Employee Performance & Development
  • Compliance & Regulatory Reporting

Procurement

Streamline high-volume, transactional processes, ensure compliance to SLAs, and minimize costs. For example, in Purchase-to-Pay (P2P) processes. In addition, the following functions can benefit from transformation efforts:

  • Supplier Management
  • Supplier Performance
  • Risk Management

Resources

Process Documentation: The Critical First Step to Operational Excellence

The Forrester Wave on Process Intelligence Software

Getting Started with Process Intelligence: A Comprehensive Guide

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Featured blog

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01

Why This Recognition Matters Now In a market where process complexity, AI adoption, and compliance demands are all accelerating, buyers need clarity on which platforms can deliver measurable results — now and for the future. This year, iGrafx was named a Leader in The Forrester

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02

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faq

You have questions, we have answers

What is the difference between shared services and outsourcing?
Shared services involve centralizing internal support functions (like HR or finance) within the same organization to serve multiple departments. The goal is to gain efficiency and cost savings while maintaining internal control.  Outsourcing, conversely, means contracting out those same business processes or functions to an external, third-party provider. This is done to leverage external expertise, reduce costs, or gain scalability, even if it means relinquishing some direct control. 
From a process intelligence standpoint, shared services often face issues like a lack of end-to-end process visibility, hindering true optimization. They can prioritize cost reduction over service quality, leading to customer dissatisfaction. Inconsistent data quality across systems and insufficient focus on continuous process improvement (beyond initial standardization) also impede efficiency, prevent effective automation, and limit strategic value creation. 
A Target Operating Model (TOM) for shared services is a detailed blueprint of the desired future state. It outlines how processes, people, technology, data, and governance will be integrated and optimized to deliver shared services effectively. The TOM, informed by process insights, aims to standardize workflows, enhance efficiency, improve service quality, and align operations with strategic objectives, ultimately maximizing value and demonstrating clear benefits. 
Implementing a shared services model, from a process intelligence view, requires a structured approach. First, use a process intelligence solution like iGrafx to gain end-to-end visibility into “as-is” processes, using process mining to identify inefficiencies and variations. Next, define a target operating model based on standardized, optimized processes, leveraging automation where feasible. Crucially, establish clear governance, define SLAs, and monitor KPIs to ensure continuous improvement and value realization, supported by ongoing data analysis and performance insights. 
A shared services model centralizes and standardizes support functions like HR, finance, or procurement into a single unit that serves the entire organization. Instead of each department performing these tasks independently, the shared services center acts as an internal service provider. This approach leverages economies of scale, reduces duplication, and aims to deliver more efficient, consistent, and cost-effective services, often by standardizing processes and utilizing technology. 

Common examples of shared services include back-office functions that can be standardized and centralized for efficiency. These often include: 

  • Finance and accounting: Payroll, accounts payable/receivable, general ledger, financial reporting. 
  • Human Resources (HR): Employee onboarding, benefits administration, recruitment support, HR policy management. 
  • Information Technology (IT): Help desk, infrastructure management, cybersecurity, application support. 
  • Procurement: Vendor management, purchasing, contract negotiation. 
  • Customer service: Call centers and technical support. 

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