A seven year contract to operate the government’s first Shared Service Centre has been secured by BPO firm arvato. The centre is the first public sector shared service unit to be operated by a private sector firm.

The centre itself is designed to provide BPO services to the Department for Transport and associated agencies. The centre is part of the Cabinet Office’s next generation of shared service facilities, which forms part of a new strategy designed to generate savings of as much as £600 per year.

Matthias Mierisch, CEO & Chairman of arvato UK, said: “Our solution provides a new operating model for back office functions, using industry best practice, economies of scale and standardised processes to deliver improved value for money and service quality”.

The centre represents the government’s response to criticism from the NAO regarding the public sectors employment of cross-sharing between parliaments and the promotion of unification. With a centralisation of services, an additional shared service centre will have its management privatised alongside arvato, with a view to driving efficiencies.

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