How can the global business process automation market feed into the dream of atmanirbharta

August 8, 2022


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Founder, Director of Avaali Solutions Srividya Kannan speaks to timesofindia and shares some valuable learnings as a successful business woman.

In an ever-developing high-tech world, technology has reignited to lead our lives. The changing customers’ outlook in a highly digitalized world has led businesses to incorporate innovative solutions to grow and survive in a competitive economy. AI, Machine Learning, Big Data, and Analytics have led to more synchronized operations of businesses across sectors.

Since the onset of the pandemic, businesses have significantly increased their investment in digital to be ready for the future world of possibly permanent hybrid work. Automation is the new revelation to accelerate the growth for many, and with initiatives like Digital India for Atmanirbharta, enterprises are relying on emerging technologies, thereby contributing to India’s developing economic landscape.

But when it comes to providing the much-needed impetus for businesses to grow, delivery models need to be reassessed to suit scale while also building visibility and governance. Such delivery models will need to focus on the parameters such as reliability (meeting stated expectations in a cost-competitive manner), simplicity (simplifying processes and assuring positive stakeholder experiences), and valuable insights (availability of the correct data and dashboards to business in terms of revenue as well as costs). These should also consider the superior quality of delivery even in a permanently hybrid workplace.

Enterprises worldwide have increasingly started to adopt the below business models for meeting these parameters:

  • Shared services model (SSC) – This is a dedicated unit that acts as a centralized point of service and delivers business processes to internal customers across multiple business units of an enterprise.
  • Global In-house Centres (GIC) – The SSC is owned and operated by the company and delivers great talent with superior capabilities.
  • Global Business Services (GBS) – These are multi-functional shared service centres (MFSS) where several functions, including F&A, HR, procurement, IT, treasury, contracts & legal, for example, are housed within the centre under one leader.

India has a significant role in creating and delivering these various business models with our tremendous functional talent and superior digital technology capabilities. Whether it is accounting experience, experience in a BPO environment, analytical thinking, automation implementation capabilities, knowledge of GAAP, experience with business analytics or experience with ERP systems – the opportunities available to us to own and deliver these business models for large enterprises headquartered in India or even anywhere worldwide is massive. For instance, out of the top eight locations with these skills, over 50% are in India. There is a plentiful supply of talent and hiring difficulty is much lower in India versus other global locations, including Mexico and Singapore. Places like Ranchi, for example, rank first amongst the overall top locations for accounting experience. Madurai and Kanpur are also among the cities with a great talent pool. The cost for such talent is the most competitive compared to global salary and related expenses. Indore ranks higher for analytical thinking, and Gurgaon is a top-ranked location for emerging technology skills.

In addition to automating transactional processes, the potential for Indian enterprises to take on judgment-based activities under this model is massive. This could move us significantly higher on the value chain to help enterprises achieve their strategic goals and create value for the enterprise. There is potential for Indian enterprises to expand the type of activities delivered via this model beyond F&A processes to include HR, supply chain, legal & contracts, and IT to even FP&A. Enterprises could also expand to take on services of numerous geographies under this model.

With the next era of development dawning upon us, it only seems virtuous to expand our functional business capabilities and technological borders to accept new business innovations and channel growth for businesses in a new tech-enabled India. Indian enterprises have a significant opportunity ahead of us to build scale and deliver these business models for companies worldwide.

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