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When we first opened our Shared Services Centre,
SSC, in November 2014, I was often asked ‘why
Barcelona’?
The answer begins with what we needed. We were
committed to centralizing our operations and fully
understood the benefits that creating an SSC would
bring. Streamlining our services across Europe
would deliver efficiency and cost savings. It was the
right thing to do, and an exciting initiative. The big
question was where?
The truth is, despite its renowned sun, sea and
sand, Barcelona wasn’t the first location we had in
mind. We considered several other options including
attractive cities in Poland and Portugal.
As a company with a global footprint, operating in
more than 13 countries in Europe, you might assume
we had an advantage in selecting a location, but that’s
not necessarily the case. Sure, we have developed
extensive knowledge and expertise in recruiting talent
for businesses in European cities. But a project on this
scale, involving providing support for countries with
different systems, languages, operating models and
more, was never going to be easy. We were seeking
a hub that was strategically located, a key magnet
WHY
BARCELONA
IS A FIRST CLASS OPTION FOR
A SHARED SERVICE CENTER
By GEOFFROY DE BEAUCORPS, Finance Director Continental Europe at PageGroup, article provided by DFCG,
the French IAFEI Member Institute
SPAIN
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