ANSR to set up about 25 large-scale global capability centres in India

"We are currently doing one every three weeks and we are looking at setting up one every two weeks next year… the large-scale GCCs are of companies with revenues of over $10 billion," Ahuja said

Global capability centres (GCCs) in India are set to gain further momentum in 2024 as ANSR, an end-to-end GCC consulting firm, plans to set up about 25 large-scale GCCs in the country next year.

Factors like cost, talent, and value creation continue to drive multinationals to set up more GCCs in India.  

“We are currently doing one every three weeks and looking at setting up one every two weeks next year. The large-scale GCCs are of companies with revenues of over $10 billion,” Lalit Ahuja, founder and chief executive officer (CEO), ANSR, told Business Standard.

The GCCs would be primarily from non-tech sectors like banking, financial services & insurance (BFSI), airlines, retail, consumer packaged goods, and media.

“They are big adopters of everything digital. They are transforming into data-driven decision-making enterprises, but don't have the DNA to be a tech company,” Ahuja said.

While traditionally, ANSR focussed on the North American market, it is currently seeing a lot of traction from the UK, European Union, Australia and New Zealand. Also, a lot of organisations from the mid-market segment are also beginning to set up their GCCs, Ahuja said.  

“Earlier, GCCs needed huge scale and investment. It was more of a Fortune 500 play but now setting up GCCs has become very easy. There is almost no capital involved. The model is mature. So, the mid-market segment is emerging as one of the big adopters of GCCs,” Ahuja said.

The number of GCCs, including the mid market, could go up to 35-40.

According to the latest Nasscom-Zinnov report, India currently hosts about 1,580 GCCs, employing 1.66 million people. This is expected to witness substantial growth in the next two years, with India poised to have over 1,900 GCCs by 2025, employing over 2 million people. 

India’s scale and diversity of talent continue to be key drivers of GCCs in India.

“India has more people than all other locations put together. The talent has strong English language capabilities, domain expertise, and cultural adaptability. When you go to North America, a lot of companies are led by Indians and that is a testament of leadership, administrative and managerial capabilities of the talent here. GCCs in India obviously have also matured and evolved. If you have to look for success stories, you find them more in India than any other location. So, these are a couple of drivers, which just keep getting compounded,” Ahuja said.
 

Some of the GCCs ANSR set up during 2022-23 include FedEx, Hy-Vee, Inspire Brands, Neighborly, Kenvue, HME and DocuSign.  

Earlier this month, Waters Corporation, a US-based provider of analytical instruments and software, invested $16 million in a new GCC in Bengaluru to foster technological development and advancement.

The NYSE-listed company has about 450 employees in India and plans to hire another 300 for its new GCC in Bengaluru.