When we first opened our Shared Services Centre in November 2014, I was often asked `why Barcelona’?

The answer begins with what we needed. We were committed to centralising our operations and fully understood the benefits that creating an SSC would bring. Streamlining our services across Europe would deliver efficiency and cost savings. It was the right thing to do, and an exciting initiative. The big question was where?

The truth is, despite its renowned sun, sea and sand, Barcelona wasn’t the first location we had in mind. We considered several other options including attractive cities in Poland and Portugal.

As a company with a global footprint, operating in more than 13 countrie...