Is Your GBS Location Too Risky?

Location has always been a significant component of the shared services model. Choosing the right place to outsource impacts a business's costs, capabilities and overall effectiveness, which in turn impacts the trust an organization puts into its service arm.

In today’s VUCA (volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous) business environment, organizations are facing one crisis after another. Whether it be the combination of political instability, inflation, supply chain interruptions, food scarcity and the refugee crisis, businesses around the world are looking for a location where tension is limited and results get delivered. According to data from SSON Research & Analytics, 51% of shared service organizations (SSOs) believe their current location footprint exposes the organization to risk, showing that half of SSOs need to seriously reconsider their location/footprint.

Long gone are the days of determining location decisions based on trust and on-time delivery. Today organizations need planning and control in place to ensure agility. 

In addition to agility, finding a location with the right talent is also top of mind for many businesses. The main concern GBS have in today´s environment in terms of risk is talent/ workforce (42%), meaning that businesses are closely looking at a location’s labor market to understand the risk of opening a service center. 

Emerging Location

One location that has recently emerged as a provider of this much desired agility and workforce stability is Georgia, an Eastern European country on the Black Sea with nearly 4 million residents. 
A 2023 survey by SSON Research & Analytics evaluated nine outsourcing regions by six categories including cost effectiveness, workforce availability, specific skills availability, customer centricity, productivity/efficiency and agility/innovation. Results showed that, holistically, the Eastern Europe region is the second strongest region for shared service centers and business process outsourcing in the world.

Georgia has played a critical role in the region’s strong ranking thanks to its competitive business operating costs, strategic location at the crossroads of Europe and Asia and strong IT and business services sector.

Keep Reading to Understand

• The market factors leading shared services to Georgia
• The opportunities the country offers for long-term success
• A case study sharing one business's experience with setting up a service center in Georgia
• A look at the country’s business climate, labor market and more