Building the Business Case for a GBS Model in Malaysia

Why approval is not the same as readiness

Global Business Services, or GBS, is no longer a new concept. For organizations, it is now the model used to organize work across functions, regions, and teams. 

Because GBS is seen as a strategic move, there is often pressure to move quickly. Once the business case looks strong, the assumption is that the organization is ready to proceed. 

Yet across many GBS journeys, one pattern keeps appearing: a strong business case does not always lead to a strong GBS model, because there is still feasibility study, design, and implementation work to be done.  

The GBS business case is the first step, not the full picture

The GBS business case is usually the first formal step in setting up a GBS model. It helps leadership decide whether to move forward and sets the overall direction. 

To build a credible business case, organizations need an early view of several things, often before internal teams have full clarity themselves. This includes a high-level organization design, an understanding of which processes could be migrated, and initial assumptions around scale and scope. 

It also requires basic market intelligence. Local labor availability, labor costs, and rental rates all shape the assumptions behind the numbers. Without this grounding, a business case may be approved but still lack operational realism. 

At this stage, the objective is not detailed. It is to create a realistic starting point that supports decision making, while recognizing that many assumptions still need to be tested. 

Why feasibility matters after approval

The business case helps leaders decide whether to move forward. It is not designed to explain how the GBS model will work in practice. 

That is the role of feasibility. 

A feasibility study tests whether the assumptions in the business case can actually be delivered. It looks at the target operating model across people, process, and technology, and highlights where trade-offs or risks exist. 

Some organizations do this after approval. Others do it in parallel with the business case. Both approaches can work. What matters is recognizing that without feasibility, approval alone leaves too many questions unanswered. 

Where gaps surface during implementation 

Once feasibility and design are complete, organizations move into implementation. This is where the GBS model is tested in reality. 

This is also where gaps tend to appear. 

These are rarely major design issues. More often, they are practical details that were not critical for earlier decisions but matter during execution. Examples include change communication, role clarity, and controls. 

When these issues surface, they can feel unexpected. In reality, they reflect the difference between approving a model and being ready to operate it. 

Approval is a point in time. Readiness is built over phases. 

Approval shows that leaders agree to move forward. It does not mean the organization is fully prepared to operate a GBS model. 

Readiness is built over time, through the business case, feasibility, and implementation phases. 

When these phases are treated as connected rather than separate, organizations are better able to anticipate issues and manage change without losing confidence in the model. 

What board-level conversations often reveal 

Recently, our team was invited to engage with the board of a government-linked company to review its current GBS setup. The focus was not on offering solutions, but on creating clarity. 

As organizations grow, complexity naturally builds across people, process, and technology. At board level, this complexity often shows up as misaligned assumptions made earlier in the journey, particularly during the business case and feasibility stages.  

These discussions reinforced a simple point. Real transformation does not start with new tools or structures. It starts with shared understanding at the top. This is often where readiness is shaped early, or where gaps begin if left unaddressed. 

Building the GBS model you are prepared to run 

A GBS model in Malaysia can deliver real and lasting value. But that value is shaped long before the first service is delivered. 

The business case is an important starting point, not an endpoint. It should be built with enough insight to support decision making, and with a clear understanding of what still needs to be validated. 

Before approving a GBS business case, there is one question worth sitting with. 

Does this document describe the GBS model we want to approve,  

or the one we are prepared to design, implement, and operate? 

The answer often explains what happens next.