In today’s economic environment, it doesn’t make sense to duplicate services that can be consolidated. It also doesn’t make sense to financially support separate administrative functions at separate divisions or operations or in different locations when centralization would bring cost effective operating efficiencies. For the minority and women’s business enterprises (MWBE) trying to compete with larger, better funded firms, what does make sense in many cases is leveraging shared services as a means of improving service delivery, streamlining operations and controlling costs.

The shared services model represents the centralization or merging of common functions managed by operations in multiple locations or divisions. Typically these functions include human resources, finance, information technology, accounts payable, purchasing and payroll, but may also incorporate front office functions like customer service. A common misconception is that leveraging shared services is primarily a cost cutting strategy. Though it does reduce business administrative overhead, its goals are much more far reaching. The shared services model is a platform for growth because it: