Germany-based Brenntag SE is expanding its business services footprint in central Poland, with growing Shared Services activity in the Łódź region (Zgierz).

Zaneta Leduchowska is taking the role of Head of the Center.

Recent job listings confirm Brenntag is building out core SSC functions, including:

• P2P (Accounts Payable & T&E) roles
• Order-to-Cash (Credit Control) analysts
• Senior finance positions with SSC experience required
  

From the Brenntag side, the project was led by Marco Mattijssen, Matthias Bredenbruch, Ignacio Arizon and María de los Ángeles López Alemán.

From the City of Łódź side: Mateusz Sipa and Monika Kmin - with post-investment support to come from Aleksandra Cebelińska and Karolina Matejko.

German premium car maker BMW is expanding its presence in Hungary with a new business service center.

The EUR 4.3 million investment, supported by the HIPA Hungarian Investment Promotion Agency, creates a new unit in Debrecen, the location of BMW’s Hungarian plant, producing the iX3 model of the Neue Klasse series since October 2025.

The Debrecen BMW Service Hub will support the Bavarian car maker’s production network in the fields of logistics and finance. The project is expected to create 50 new high value-added jobs.

Debrecen secured the investment in strong international competition, outperforming locations including BMW’s Munich headquarters, Salzburg, as well as sites in Romania and India.

The new service center will provide logistics support for BMW’s European plants, focusing on quality assurance, container management and material inspection. In the financial domain, experts in Debrecen will contribute to the development of accounting and customs processes.

The project further strengthens Debrecen’s position within BMW’s global network of more than 30 production sites, while also deepening cooperation between BMW and the University of Debrecen. As part of this partnership, new training programs with a focus on customs will be launched.

While certainly not official, tell-tale signs suggest LEGO is in the early-process of building a centralized SSC hub in Warsaw.

Recent job postings on LinkedIn suggest LEGO is building regional finance capabilities in Warsaw.

The company already runs a limited number of global hubs in London and Singapore. So a centre in CEE region makes sense.

We'll report on its development in subsequent editions of this newsletter.

The Romanian government has adopted an emergency ordinance for administrative reform that officially acknowledges what experts have been saying for a long time: public administration is oversized, fragmented, and financially unsustainable. The explanatory memorandum to the ordinance leaves no room for interpretation, referring to “systemic dysfunctions,” “excessively bureaucratic procedures,” and “staffing structures that are insufficiently adapted to the real needs of citizens.”An analysis by Dinu Bumbăcea, Partner PwC România, and Cristian Cortez, Senior Manager PwC România

But beyond the proposed staff and cost cuts, the ordinance does something truly significant: it formally defines support departments—finance and accounting, procurement, human resources, legal, audit, IT, communication, logistics—and opens up the possibility for chief authorizing officers to take over these functions, in whole or in part, from subordinate institutions.
In other words, the legislator creates the legal framework for centralizing support functions. What is missing is a concrete model showing how this can be done without paralyzing the administration. And this model already exists and is called a shared services center.

A case study
A preliminary study we recently conducted in a county in Romania shows that the model is directly applicable in our country. The analysis covered over 100 localities with a total population of over 500,000 inhabitants. The publicly available data allowed us to make a detailed assessment of 67 of these units, representing 90% of the county’s population. Within them, we identified about 3,000 employees, of which 266 were in finance and accounting and 88 in human resources.

In the financial and accounting area, between 60% and 70% of processes have the potential for centralization. Of the 266 positions, between 90 and 100 roles could be taken over by a service center, with a 20–30% increase in productivity after the first year and a 30–40% reduction in long-term costs.
In the area of human resources, approximately 70 of the 88 roles could be centralized, with similar productivity gains. The gap with international practice is telling: the current ratio at the county level is 1 HR specialist per 30 employees, while in the private sector the standard is 1 per 150, or even 1 per 200–300 for payroll and personnel administration.
This is exactly the type of “functional overlap in support departments” that the explanatory memorandum to the GEO identifies as a source of “excessive personnel costs.”
A three-step plan: from pilot project to administrative system
To centralize support functions, we propose a gradual implementation model designed to reduce resistance to change and validate results step by step.
Step 1: Voluntary clusters as a pilot project. A group of 4-6 neighboring localities form a cluster and voluntarily share accounting, payroll, and personnel administration functions through a joint center. The county council assumes the role of facilitator and source of initial funding. Proven success becomes the best argument for expansion.
Step 2: County-level service center. After the model is validated, a single center is created, organized as a public institution. Mandatory participation is implemented gradually, function by function. The advantages become more visible: economies of scale, complete standardization, a single IT platform, and equal access to expertise for all localities.
Step 3: Selective outsourcing. After a minimum of 12-18 months of stable operation, functions such as payroll processing or IT infrastructure can be transferred to specialized external providers, while retaining full governance and internal control. Sensitive functions (accounting, financial reporting, public procurement) remain internal.
It is worth noting that the GEO already introduces instruments that facilitate precisely this type of approach: the possibility of centralizing support departments at the level of the chief authorizing officer, the multiannual financing program for administrative consortia based on milestone 310 of the PNRR, the obligation to register all UATs in the National Electronic Online Payment System, and even the possibility of outsourcing local budget debt collection services.
From cuts to structural reform
The recently adopted Emergency Ordinance does what is necessary by forcing the reduction of an oversized administrative apparatus. But linear job cuts, without a structural alternative, risk affecting precisely those communities that most need functional public services, namely small rural municipalities without qualified human resources. Shared service centers offer exactly this alternative. They allow for a reduction in the number of jobs without reducing the quality of services.
Romania no longer has the luxury of postponing public administration reform. The budget deficit, European commitments, and pressure on local public services require immediate but also sustainable solutions. Job cuts may produce short-term savings, but without structural reorganization, they risk affecting precisely those communities that most need functional public services, namely small rural municipalities without qualified human resources.
Shared service centers are an internationally validated tool, and our studies show that they can generate increases in productivity and service quality, as well as long-term savings. And the Government Emergency Ordinance already provides the legal framework in which such a model could be implemented.
The next step is the first pilot cluster to demonstrate, with real figures, that local public administration can be more efficient, more professional, and closer to citizens—not through cuts, but through reform.

Source: PWC. An analysis by Dinu Bumbăcea, Partner PwC România, and Cristian Cortez, Senior Manager PwC România

Automotive front-end module manufacturer HBPO is expanding its activities in Hungary beyond production by opening a business services center.

Established in Győr, western Hungary, the center supports 24 HBPO plants in Central Europe, by providing R&D and engineering services, including the development of Industry 4.0 digital solutions and manufacturing tools.
The EUR 4 million investment has been implemented with the support of the HIPA Hungarian Investment Promotion Agency, and has created over 50 new, high value-added jobs.

HBOP is part of the French group OPmobility. The company is a global leader in the production of front-end modules, a key design element for a vehicle and its identity. It operates 32 locations globally and supplies leading automotive brands. They get completely assembled front-end modules that have been developed, constructed, produced and delivered by HBPO.

In Hungary, the company has manufacturing sites in Székesfehérvár, Kecskemét and Győr. The new business services center in Győr marks their first investment in Hungary focused on high value-added engineering and knowledge-based services.

Leadec Kft., a leading domestic expert in industrial services, has established one of the city’s first SSC centres in Győr through its new investment.
Leadec Kft. is the Hungarian subsidiary of the German Leadec Group, which began providing industrial services in Győr more than 30 years ago. The Group is present at more than 350 locations worldwide, while in Hungary it provides production support and production optimisation services in 9 cities with more than 1,000 employees, primarily for the automotive industry.
The company offers a wide range of industrial services, from full-scale support for factory infrastructure through production line installation to automation. In addition, it actively employs interns from Széchenyi István University in Győr and also provides opportunities for many local recent graduates.
As part of the EUR 2.9 million project, a regional SSC centre has been established in Győr to support the Group’s procurement and accounting functions as a first step. Nearly 100 employees work at the center.
The centre in Győr supports 8 European countries by carrying out high value-added procurement management, as well as financial and accounting tasks. Through this, the company is creating high value-added jobs in the region, primarily in procurement and accounting positions requiring higher education qualifications.

PAYSTRAX, an international payment acquiring company headquartered in Vilnius, is accelerating its growth in Lithuania. The company plans to hire up to 75 new specialists in 2026 and bring on up to 150 new employees over the next three years.

Founded in Lithuania by two Icelandic entrepreneurs in 2018, PAYSTRAX has grown from a startup to an established payments provider with more than 150 employees across six European offices. 

The expansion will span both of PAYSTRAX’s Lithuanian locations – in Vilnius and Klaipėda – and will focus on strengthening the company’s IT, finance, marketing, account management, operations, and onboarding capabilities. In Klaipėda, PAYSTRAX has already moved into larger premises, and in Vilnius it added a second floor at its office to accommodate the growing team. 

"Lithuania has been the heart of PAYSTRAX since day one. The talent, the ecosystem, and the work culture here have been instrumental to our growth – from our very first hires to becoming an award-winning international payments company. This expansion reflects our confidence in Lithuania as the right place to build the next generation of payment solutions", said Johannes Ingi Kolbeinsson, Group CEO and co-founder of PAYSTRAX

PAYSTRAX operates as a principal-level payment card acquirer with licences from both Visa and Mastercard, serving online and point-of-sale merchants across 24 countries in the EEA and the UK. As part of its growth strategy, the company is developing new products and services, including more e-commerce platform integrations, a merchant portal with live business intelligence reporting, card payout capabilities, stablecoin settlements, and a Payment Facilitator (PayFac) service that enables platforms and marketplaces to manage payment acceptance at scale. 

"We are building more of our technology in-house, which means we need strong IT talent, but we are also investing in marketing, customer success, and compliance. We are looking for both experienced professionals and ambitious newcomers who want to grow in fintech. Our hybrid working model means we can attract talent from across Lithuania, not just from the cities where our offices are located", said Monika Kareckaitė-Šiupinienė, Group CHRO of PAYSTRAX.

Thanks to Harvinder Rattan for the summary Notes:!


Day 1 at CEE Business Services Summit

Day 1 at the European Business Services Association conference in Warsaw delivered exactly what the region’s shared services and GBS leaders need right now: honest perspectives, practical lessons, and a clear view of where the industry is heading.

Here are my key takeaways:

? Transformation is a Leadership Sport (Not a Tech Project)
The opening keynote from Blagovesta Karemova and Artur Techmański (Danone) set the tone with a candid look at large-scale transformation. The message was clear: sustainable change is built on disciplined execution, strong governance, and continuous decision-making — with technology as an enabler, not the driver.

? Resilience Isn’t Theoretical - It’s Operational
Oleh Chaharyn (PwC, Lviv) delivered a powerful reminder that resilience must be designed into delivery models and talent strategies, not treated as a contingency plan.

? The nominations showed how leading organisations are combining automation, operating model change, and and strengthening employer branding.

? CX in the AI Era = Smart Tech + Human Judgment
Great insights from Yosif Faydoli (Concentrix) on designing customer experience that blends AI, data and people, not choosing one over the other.

? Skills Are Now a Strategic Priority
The AI workshop with Rakesh Sangani reinforced that data literacy, automation thinking, and AI fluency are quickly becoming core skills in GBS, not specialist capabilities.

Closing Keynote Panel: The Future of Financial Services GBS

A strong finish to Day 1 with Dobrawa Gawęcka (JPMorgan Chase), Piotr Tatar (BNP Paribas CIB) and Aneta Kocemba (Societe Generale), moderated by Harry Virdee BEM Virdee.

The panel shared some very clear, practical messages:

✅ Poland and CEE have real momentum as GBS locations — strong talent, proximity to Western Europe, and a mature ecosystem continue to make the region strategically relevant.
✅ Transformation must stay continuous and disciplined — not a one-off programme, but a permanent way of running GBS organisations.
✅ People are at the centre of change — the real priority is helping employees build new skill sets, progress with change, and feel empowered by it.
✅ And importantly, GBS centres in this region are no longer just supporting change — they are helping drive global change across their organisations.

The discussion was also refreshingly honest about the challenges: rising costs, pressure on the labour-arbitrage model, and intense competition for skills mean the value proposition has to keep evolving — from cost to impact, from delivery to leadership.


Day 2 CEE Business Services Summit, Warsaw


Here’s what stood out.

Geopolitics = Strategy, Not Background Noise

CEE is moving from a cost location to a resilience, regulatory and capability hub.

Location strategy today must factor in cyber, energy, talent mobility and political alignment — not just salary benchmarks.

Leading in 2026 – The Practical Playbook
Rakesh Sangani’s message was refreshingly direct. If you want to lead:

1️⃣ Build a proper skills matrix — know your capability gaps.
2️⃣ Hire a data analyst — data fluency is foundational.
3️⃣ Embrace AI deliberately — clarity > hype.
4️⃣ Define your end-to-end value outcomes.
5️⃣ Build the right operating model — and train your people continuously.

This is leadership discipline, not tech enthusiasm.

GBS Is Evolving — Fast

PwC: The Evolution of hashtag#GBS

GBS used to focus on cost and efficiency.
Now it’s about competitive advantage and digital acceleration.

Centres are widening scope, embedding process excellence, refining delivery models and building next-gen expertise.

We’re seeing this directly at Belvedere Recruitment — increasing demand across Poland and CEE - supporting GBS organisations hiring for:

• data leaders
• risk specialists
• automation experts
• transformation capability

This is no longer labour arbitrage. It’s capability arbitrage.

The Human Layer of Change: Oscar Reitsma’s session was a timely reminder:

We optimise processes.
We analyse data.
But many GBS decisions are still shaped by unspoken emotional drivers.

Scaling empathy in transformation isn’t “soft”.
It’s essential if you want adoption to stick.

New Entrants: The Enduring Appeal of Talent in CEE & Baltics

The closing panel, expertly moderated by Elias van Herwaarden (LocationPerspectives), reinforced a powerful message: despite AI disruption, wage pressure and global volatility, talent in CEE and the Baltics remains the decisive factor for new investors.

New entrants aren’t coming for “cheap labour” — they’re coming for depth of capability, multilingual strength, technical education, cultural alignment and resilience.

In a tight competition judged by a 29-member VIP Jury and attendee votes, congratulations to all winners and participants — the quality across CEE & Baltics is genuinely world-class.