SSOW INNOVATE-A-THON: INNOVATE, CO-CREATE, IMPACT

A hackathon-inspired event designed for GBS, Shared Services & transformation leaders to develop innovative solutions to real-world challenges

Why?

·       Learn tools to think creatively and boost collaboration within your own organisation to solve complex business and customer challenges 

·       The practice to pitch, create buy-in and secure sponsorship for new business cases

·       New, innovative ideas and solutions to shared challenges

·       Unique and unparalleled in-depth networking with your peers

How?

·       Attendees will be divided into groups of 6 as a team

·       Teams pick their Challenge Statement as well as their group name, group ethos and solution for the challenge

·       A guided process for teams to work through a solution and a pitch based on the problem statement

·       Teams pitch their solutions to the judging panel

·       Awards ceremony and trophies follow for the category winners and the deliverer of the best pitch

What? (The Challenge Statements)

CALLENGE STATEMENT ONE: CREATING YOUR OWN LAUNCHING & MIGRATION PLAY GUIDE (BEST FOR THOSE WHO ARE EMBARKING ON THE SHARED SERVICES JOURNEY)

·       Step one: Embarking on strategy - creating a business case to move into shared services

·       Step two: Setting up a centre abroad - what are the key steps to consider when setting up a centre in a nearshore location? 

·       Step three: Ensuring a successful transition. Which are the first processes to transition? Why and how?

·       Step four: Preparing for go live

Curators:

Bjorn Dumortier, Director Finance Operations, Zalando

Jeremy Allan, GBS Programme Director, Johnson Matthey

Nigel Coffey, Global Business Services Leader, IVC Evidensia

CALLENGE STATEMENT TWO: DEVELOPING AND COMMUNICATING THE GBS VALUE SYSTEM (BEST FOR THOSE WHO ARE MATURING OR REBOOTING GBS STRATEGIES)

·       Step one: Answer the ultimate question - why should GBS exist?

·       Step two: Developing the most impactful value drivers and measurement metrics

·       Step three: Winning internal love. Selling your GBS strategy effectively by converting the shared services language to business language

Curators:

Salvatore Russo, Head of GBS & Enterprise Location Strategy, AstraZeneca

Mira Viswanathan, GBS & Finance Transformation Programme Office Director, Imperial Brands PLC

Phil Priest, Head of Global Business Services, Rolls Royce

CALLENGE STATEMENT THREE: CREATING BUSINESS CASES FOR GENERATIVE AI

·       Step one: Identifying business areas where Generative AI can contribute maximum business value

·       Step two: Developing a solution package to fully implement Generative AI in these business areas

·       Step two: Creating a full business case plan to win the endorsement and investment from the C-suites 

Curators:

Irfan Ali, Director, Digital, Automation & Innovation, Bosch Service Solutions

As companies more carefully prioritise new investment areas, the cost and efficiency mandate for GBS is returning in a big way. How are we sweating the assets to achieve more with less? How do we bring our focus right back to the basics of process and standardisation effectively? In this session we invite GBS leaders to share their current approaches and best practices:

·       Back to basics with process redesign and process improvement to drive standardisation

·       From scaling to stabilisation: refocusing on the fundamentals of operational and process excellence

·       How are we better leveraging our existing technologies and systems?

·       Choosing the right method and tools for process standardisation and automation