Unisys expands Aussie centre
Unisys expands Aussie centre
Unisys Australia has invested $5 million and created 50 new jobs in an expanded shared services centre (SSC) that will take on the back office functions of its European, Middle East and African clients.
The facility, in the Sydney suburb of North Sydney, will expand beyond its Asia Pacific portfolio to become one of two global back office support centres for the technology service provider. It will cover eight different time zones.
To house the 50 new staff and expanded operations, Unisys said the network, systems management and client support centre will relocate to the Sydney suburb of Rhodes in 2003.
The SSC initially opened in 1998 with seven employees. It currently serves 15 countries in the Asia Pacific region. The company said it has already invested more than $30 million in the Sydney centre since it opened. With the new expansion, the centre's head count will be 130 people.
SSC provides back office processes, such as payroll, order to invoicing and purchasing services, order management, accounting, accounts payable and expense reimbursement.
According to Unisys, NSW was chosen to house the second global SSC because of its multi-cultural mix and language skills and IT proficiency.
Ron Frankenfield, vice president and general manager for Unisys Asia Pacific said these attributes and the support of the NSW Department of State and Regional Development the influenced the decision to expand in Sydney.
Tom McGlinn, Unisys vice president for worldwide financial services, said, "The New South Wales Government can take satisfaction in the fact that Sydney quickly became the clear choice for this global reorganisation and expansion. The skills were right, the economics were right and the track record of support from the government has been significant."
Unisys said SSC staff come from diverse cultural backgrounds and represent over 26 countries including Australia, Chile, China, England, Greece, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Iraq, Ireland, Italy, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Kenya, Lebanon, the Netherlands, the Philippines, Scotland, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, the US and Vietnam.
Unisys calculate the annual processing volumes of its global SSCs include: two million disbursements; 1.8 million vendor invoices; 500,000 customer invoices; 3.6 million accounting journals; 450,000 payroll transactions; 325,000 cash receipts; 200,000 travel transactions; and 120,000 collection calls.
The other major Unisys global SSC is in Bismarck, North Dakota.
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