Transforming BHP’s shared services into one global, digital partner for the business

BHP’s internal shared services model was transformed into a single operating business
Human-led, digitally powered process, in a collaborative ‘one team’ environment
Elevated operational productivity and efficiency to new levels

Shared services have long been the backbone of everyday business. They underpin an organisation’s day-to-day operations and enable effective delivery to clients and customers. As technology has advanced, so has the opportunity to become more data-driven, intelligence and service-orientated than ever before. Shifting to a fully integrated service model — or creating digitally-enabled Global Business Services (GBS) — not only drives efficiency but introduces value creation opportunities.

Working with global resources company BHP, in the midst of the global pandemic, we helped them establish and embed a Global Business Services function. This new function is now a digital transformation partner to the enterprise, and has delivered game-changing improvements to the business and its bottom line.

Shared goals from day one

The core goal was to deliver top-tier, efficient, end-to-end (E2E) processes that would deliver real benefits to the front line, and help drive BHP’s ambitious business strategy. This needed to be achieved without compromising production or the safety of over 80,000 employees and contractors worldwide.

“For BHP the clear goal was to connect and digitalise its processes. At BHP, productivity for our frontline stems from many connected processes and interfaces that need to work effectively. Maximising that connectivity represented a significant transformation of BHP’s operating model, aligning teams from finance, human resources, supply chain and procurement, to marketing, sales and maritime operations.”

Sundeep Singh,Group Officer, GBS BHP

The process — a ‘one team’ environment

The PwC team was embedded in BHP’s business and culture in a way that allowed it to hit the ground running. BHP and PwC delivery squads included skills across digital, data, people and process domain knowledge. Working together as a community of solvers — predominately virtually due to the pandemic — our ‘one team’ environment solved together in real time. This included engaging functional owners of the business and being clear on the scope and mandate for the project: the watchwords were continual collaboration and co-creation.

In the past every process at BHP, from producing financial accounts to managing the supply chain process, had been carried out by separate functionally-led shared services teams. PwC’s E2E process-led and digital transformation approach was the foundation for connecting processes to break down silos, and remove bottlenecks to drive operational efficiency and effectiveness across the organisation.

“Through the new approach, we’re working to remove process waste, reduce variation for reliability, and identify automation opportunities to prioritise the frontline customer experience at an operational level.”

Sundeep Singh,Group Officer, GBS BHP

To make sure BHP stakeholders were fully comfortable with the process, it’s my firm belief that it’s important to go beyond presentations and deliver live demos to actually demonstrate the output. This was the case with the SAP Signavio technology solutions that underpinned our work. It allows people to see what’s possible through proof of concepts and simulation tools. Process automation tools can provide further support, while citizen ownership tools help accelerate improvement pipelines.

Outcomes — real, measurable impact

The Global Business Services function has delivered game-changing improvements to the business and its bottom line. Key achievements include:

$500 million (US) in value created through end-to-end process improvements, through improved operational efficiency and automation across various functions.
52% improvement in the global ‘requisition-to-onboard’ HR process, ensuring roles needed on-site are filled faster and more effectively, and minimising personnel-related production losses.
Enhanced visibility and collaboration across BHP’s global operations, enabling faster decision-making and agility in responding to market changes.

The quality and impact of this transformation was also recognised by the 2024 SAP ‘Best Run’ Awards for ANZ, receiving the Business Transformation Award.¹

“For client management teams wanting to automate overnight, there needs to be a new way of thinking about technology deployment. Tech and business need to work closer together for faster outcomes, however it’s often hard for large, global organisations to do that. That’s where having the right advisor and approach is key.”

Angelo Estrera,Global Client Partner at PwC

A foundation for continuous improvement

The GBS transformation was systematically documented, with playbooks detailing roles, responsibilities and processes, ensuring that the significant gains already made are future-proofed against turnover and organisational restructures. This foundational work continues to support BHP in unlocking productivity and achieving its core purpose.

“The relationship is built on a culture of partnership, founded in the capacity to deliver with shared values of respect, integrity, and pursuit of performance at every point in the process.”

Sundeep Singh,Group Officer, GBS BHP

BHP extended our management services agreement by two years and will run until December 2028.

If you would like to find out how a Global Business Services model can help transform your organisation, please contact Shaun Ryan.

Contact the author

Shaun Ryan

Partner, Advisory, E2E Process Transformation Leader, PwC Australia

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References

https://www.sap.com/idea-place/best-run-awards-anz/entries/2024-award.html

Transforming BHP’s shared services into one global, digital partner for the business

Shared goals from day one

The process — a ‘one team’ environment

Outcomes — real, measurable impact

A foundation for continuous improvement

Contact the author

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Shared goals from day one

The process — a ‘one team’ environment

Outcomes — real, measurable impact

A foundation for continuous improvement

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