Global HR Process Design to Accelerate HR Transformation

A global HR Target Operating Model set the stage for a leading intralogistics provider to partner with binder|consulting, redesign its HR processes end‑to‑end, and transform HR service delivery into a fully digital, globally consistent experience across all regions.

1. Intralogistics
   
   1. Industry
2. EUR 5.4b+
   
   1. Annual Revenue
3. 20,000
   
   1. Number of Employees
4. 30 Countries
   
   1. Project Scope
5. 3 Years
   
   1. Project Duration

The Initial Situation

As the intralogistics leader prepared to implement a new global HR Target Operating Model and establish an HR Shared Service Center, long‑standing structural issues became impossible to ignore. HR processes and systems were highly decentralized, with each country operating its own tools, practices, and ways of working.

This fragmentation led to inefficient processes, limited end‑to‑end digitalization, and frequent media breaks between systems, making it difficult to deliver a consistent employee experience.

At the same time, there was no unified HR‑IS for global master data management or shared digital toolset for HR service delivery, document administration, and HR case handling. Additionally, core HR processes such as recruiting, onboarding, and HR administration varied widely across locations, leading to inconsistent service quality and limited transparency for both HR and the business.

The client recognized that a successful HR TOM implementation would require more than a new org chart. It needed a clearly defined role concept, a coherent, global process backbone,  and a modern digital toolset capable of supporting standardized, high‑quality HR services across >15 countries.

The Critical Challenges

The challenge was both broad and business‑critical: to design and implement fully integrated, global, end‑to‑end HR processes that would support the new HR TOM and shared service model, while simultaneously accommodating local, legal, cultural, and tool-specific requirements - all in parallel with a time-sensitive SAP SuccessFactors rollout and the establishment of a new unified digital HR toolset.

The new processes had to span across all roles, activities, systems, and interfaces, ensuring a seamless service experience while minimizing inefficiencies, hand‑offs, and manual work along the way.

To enable this transformation, it was necessary to establish a unified digital toolset — including an HR portal, ticketing system, document creation solution, and electronic personnel file — ensuring that end‑to‑end processes were not only conceptually sound but also fully implementable from both an organizational and technical perspective. Only then could HR move from fragmented, country‑specific practices to a scalable, data-driven digital service model.

How We Supported the Client

How We Supported the Client

To meet these objectives, binder|consulting implemented a structured yet pragmatic approach to global process design. Building on the new HR TOM, industry best practices, and the target HR‑IT architecture centred on SAP SuccessFactors, the team developed standardized, end-to-end HR process designs based on the HR service catalogue.

Throughout the project, binder|consulting placed strong emphasis on defining consistent global end-to-end processes, including clear roles and responsibilities, to ensure ownership and accountability. These were grounded in the extended Three‑Pillar Model of HR business roles, which clearly delineated the collaboration between HR Business Partners, Center of Expertise, HR Services and Field HR - an additional HR role operating at the local level. Special emphasis went to Moments that Matter: pivotal touchpoints (such as onboarding, promotions, or life events) where employees form lasting impressions of their HR experience and the company. The result was a scalable, reusable global process catalogue, ready to evolve with future HR and business needs.

Additionally, binder|consulting defined detailed requirements for the digital HR toolset. Where system constraints and the need to implement additional digital tools became apparent, the end-to-end processes were iteratively refined to reflect actual capabilities, ensuring that the final designs were not only conceptually sound but also technically feasible.

The rollout followed a phased, region‑by‑region implementation embedded into the broader HR TOM program. Each wave started with a familiarization phase, in which global end-to-end processes were reviewed with local teams, followed by a localization phase to adapt work instructions and supporting materials to country‑specific requirements.

Dedicated enablement and change management activities equipped HR and business stakeholders for the new ways of working, while Operational Readiness Tests simulated real‑life scenarios in a test environment to validate the overall readiness of the new HR TOM and the end‑to‑end process design for go‑live. A structured hypercare phase then safeguarded service stability and allowed for targeted refinements during the first months of operation.

The Impact Delivered

The project delivered a fully integrated, global end-to-end HR process landscape tailored to the client’s organizational structure, HR TOM, and digital ambitions. Across 15+ countries, HR now operates within a structured process framework that clearly connects the new roles, activities, and systems, enabling smooth cross‑border collaboration and consistent service delivery.

Standardized and digitized processes significantly reduced duplicate work, waiting times, and friction losses, while the new HR portal and ticketing system support higher levels of automation and efficient case handling. Employees and managers experience a common, high‑quality HR service through harmonized processes, clear responsibilities, and a single point of entry for HR topics. By intentionally focusing on Moments that Matter, HR interactions have become more human-centered, consistent, and experience-driven, moving beyond transactional efficiency toward meaningful engagement.

The improved measurability of KPIs - such as throughput times, error rates, and customer satisfaction - enables data-driven decision-making, while strengthening compliance with legal and internal policies. By designing processes with flexibility and adaptability in mind, the organization is now able to respond more quickly to new regulatory requirements, market conditions, and technologies, firmly positioning HR as a digital, data‑driven partner to the business.