Business process design as a shared services enabler

M.Comm. (Business Management)A lot of work has been done to implement a shared services model in various corporations as means to improve productivity, reduce operational costs and improve customer satisfaction. By combining services that are performed by different units within an organisation into a single business unit that allows each business unit to access those services, companies have been able to attain some of the benefits mentioned above. Process design is one of the critical activities that have to be performed to implement a shared services unit. Some companies, however, have not been able to optimally design processes in a way that adds value to the performance of a shared services unit. This study is a case study that explored how business process design could be utilised as an enabler to improve the performance of the Eskom Finance and Procurement Unit at Eskom Megawatt Park, in Johannesburg. Through an explorative study of the shared services process design project, the researcher studied how the processes were designed and implemented for the Eskom Finance and Procurement Shared Services. The study was able to identify important process design structures and principles, tools, and techniques that can be utilised to optimally design processes for a shared services unit. It also evaluated process design activities and processes to identify the gaps in process design as well to understand the impact of process design on Eskom