Co-Creation in GBS: From Service Delivery to Innovation Partner

As Global Business Services (GBS) continue to evolve, one of the most impactful shifts is the rise of co-creation—where GBS teams actively partner with business units to drive innovation and outcomes. In leading GBS hubs like Malaysia, this transformation is accelerating as enterprises move from transactional support to strategic collaboration.

Moving Beyond Transactional Efficiency

Traditional GBS models focused on centralizing Finance, HR, IT, and Procurement functions to achieve scale and cost savings. However, today’s business environment demands more:

• Faster decision-making with real-time data across functions and business units

• Improved agility to adapt to market shifts

• Better user experiences for employees and customers

• Direct contribution to business performance

Co-creation models are addressing this need. By embedding GBS professionals into business teams and adopting agile methods, organizations are generating faster prototypes, more relevant solutions, and measurable impact.

Examples of GBS Co-Creation in Action

Finance + Sales: A Southeast Asian consumer goods company built a real-time pricing dashboard through collaboration between GBS analytics and the sales team. This reduced manual updates and increased pricing responsiveness.

HR + Operations: A Malaysian logistics firm collaborated with GBS teams to standardize onboarding processes, design and implement a digital onboarding assistant, and integrate automation and analytics. This comprehensive support reduced onboarding time and significantly improved early-stage employee retention.

Procurement + R&D: Electronics manufacturers are co-designing sustainable sourcing dashboards with GBS procurement teams to support ESG goals.

IT + Marketing: Co-located squads enable rapid A/B testing of campaigns, reducing time-to-launch from 10 days to 3.

Enablers of Effective Co-Creation

• Shared KPIs: Defining unified finance metrics—such as invoice processing cycle time, DSO, and cash application accuracy—ensures GBS and business units jointly own financial performance and service outcomes.

• Hybrid Talent: Data-savvy professionals with business acumen are essential.

• Digital Tools: Low-code platforms, process mining, and self-service analytics drive speed and scalability.

• Cultural Shift: From service delivery to solution co-design, mindset matters.

Looking Ahead

The next frontier includes:

• AI-enabled co-creation (e.g., GenAI tools for finance forecasting or HR engagement)

• Experience-focused design (adoption of XLAs)

• Permanent GBS roles embedded in cross-functional teams

  
  

Final Thoughts

Co-creation is not just a best practice—it’s a necessity. As GBS evolves, its value will be measured not only by efficiency, but by its ability to influence innovation, strategy, and growth.

Let’s Co-Create the Future of GBS

AGOS Asia supports organizations across Malaysia in transforming their Shared Services into innovation partners. Whether you're exploring your first GBS setup or rethinking your operating model, we bring proven frameworks and implementation support.

🔗 Learn more at www.agosasia.com

📩 Schedule a consultation to begin your GBS transformation journey.