Setting up a Global Capability Center is one of the most important strategic decisions that a multinational organization may undertake. When appropriately implemented, a GCC (Global Capability Center) turns into a long-term driver for innovation, talent, operational excellence, and competitive strength. A decade down the line, leaders will need to think as global enterprise strategists to build culturally fluent organizations.
A successful GCC setup demands absolute clarity on the organization’s long-term intent, whether it is capability building, cost optimization, innovation, or market expansion. It is time to recognize that a GCC is not just an offshore extension but a core pillar of the enterprise operating model. This requires thoughtful decisions around governance, talent architecture, culture, and stakeholder alignment. Strategic discipline in place of speed will help build centers that consistently deliver outsized value.
What Is a Global Capability Center Setup
A Global Capability Center setup involves establishing a wholly owned offshore or nearshore unit that delivers specialised functions for the parent organisation. Unlike outsourcing, GCC as a service gives the organisation full ownership over people, processes, quality, and culture. A modern Global Capability Center handles:
- Technology and engineering
- Finance and accounting
- Analytics and data science
- Customer service
- Product development
- Research and innovation
GCC services are not vendor based. It is a strategic extension of your organisation built to strengthen capability, accelerate transformation, and unlock long-term value. A modern GCC is more than just a location, it is a philosophy of how work should happen. It aligns global teams around a unified mission, codifies the company’s culture, and builds institutional knowledge that cannot be replicated by vendors.
The result: smarter decisions, faster execution, and stronger enterprise resilience.
Why Organisations Choose a Global Capability Center Setup
Organizations don’t adopt GCC as a service for a single reason, it is driven by a strategic choice shaped by their long-term goals, operating pressures, and ambition to build differentiated capabilities. As enterprises scale globally, they start looking for models that give them greater control, deeper expertise, and the ability to innovate at speed. A GCC offers a structural advantage by aligning talent, technology, and operational excellence under one unified framework. This makes the setup particularly attractive across industries, where leaders are seeking ways to enhance efficiency, strengthen global delivery, and future-proof their operating models. The strategic reasons for setting up GCCs could be many. Some of them can be:
- Access to skilled talent: India has a deep pool of skilled talent in engineering, finance, analytics, and digital roles.
- Cost optimization: Many organizations understand that they achieve an operational saving of 30-50% without any compromise on quality.
- Faster delivery cycles: Time zone advantages support 24x7 operations and quicker turnaround.
- Innovation and agility: Proximity to emerging markets helps organisations pilot, test, and localise digital solutions.
- Risk diversification: A distributed footprint improves resiliency and business continuity.
The strongest GCCs leverage all these advantages instead of focusing on only one driver. To explore how the GCC setup is accelerating in India, read the full report by Reuters.
The Global Capability Center Setup Journey: Key Phases
Setting up a Global Capability Center is not a plug-and-play exercise, it is a structured transformation journey. The roadmap to craft a GCC journey starts with the right questions, why the GCC exists, what problems it will solve, which capabilities it will anchor, etc. When you divide the journey in separate phases, each of them demands intentional planning, disciplined execution, and a clear understanding of how the GCC will contribute to long-term business outcomes.
At MOAR Advisory, we structure the Global Capability Center setup into clear phases to streamline decisions and build a scalable foundation.
Phase 1: Strategy and Feasibility
A successful setup of a Global Capability Center begins with complete strategic clarity.
Align with Strategy: Identify the capabilities your GCC will own in year one and long-term.
Location strategy: Talent availability, cost structure, language skills, time zone overlap, and cultural compatibility all shape the final choice.
Financial modelling: Estimate setup costs, operating expenditure, talent cost curves, infrastructure needs, and break-even timelines.
Risk mapping: Every location presents regulatory, compliance, retention, and geopolitical considerations that require early mitigation.
Feasibility studies from MOAR Advisory provide clarity, data, and direction for confident choices in the hands of leadership.
Phase 2: Legal and Compliance Foundation
Once the strategy is confirmed, building a compliant legal base is the next critical stage.
Entity Setup: Setting up the legal entity in compliance with local regulations and international corporate governance.
Regulatory Compliance: Employment law, transfer pricing, data privacy, foreign investment guidelines, and sector-specific norms must be aligned right from day one.
Banking and Finance: Financial controls, banking systems, and reporting frameworks.
Tax Planning: Creating efficient structures while meeting all global and local tax requirements.
MOAR Advisory works with legal, tax, and compliance specialists to ensure a secure and compliant GCC foundation.
Phase 3: People and Culture
The strength of a GCC comes from the people building it; this is where long-term value is created.
Organisation design: Structuring roles, functional teams, and leadership pathways.
HR operations: Payroll, benefits, performance frameworks, learning systems, and compliance tracking.
Talent acquisition: Employer branding, sourcing strategies, and high-quality hiring pipelines.
Culture integration: Ensuring GCC employees feel a part of the global organisation through shared values, rituals, and engagement.
Leadership Competency: Identifying leaders who can scale operations while managing cross-cultural expectations.
MOAR Advisory specializes in building people-first GCCs anchored in culture, capability, and long-term scalability.
Phase 4: Infrastructure and Operations
The right infrastructure accelerates performance and collaboration.
Workspace design: From bespoke offices to managed workspace and hybrid models.
IT Infrastructure: Secure and scalable digital systems with global integration.
Digital Transformation: From project execution to product thinking.
Operational excellence: Governance, SLAs, metrics, workflows, and continuous improvement frameworks.
MOAR Advisory offers workspace-as-a-service with robust IT capability for world-class operational readiness.
Phase 5: Brand, Marketing and Stakeholder Alignment
Every Global Capability Center set up requires visibility to attract talent and solidify internal alignment.
Employer brand: The value proposition is critical in competing for heavy markets of talented individuals.
Internal communication: Ensuring global teams understand the GCC mission and capabilities.
Local brand presence: Digital marketing, events, partnerships build local credibility.
Stakeholder Alignment: Creating harmony between the expectations of headquarters and GCC execution.
MOAR Advisory helps organizations build strong, differentiated GCC brands backed by strategic communication.
Phase 6: Launch, Scale and Optimize
After launch, scale, maturity, and impact become the focus.
Phased scaling: Grow capabilities and teams while keeping quality and culture intact.
Performance measurement: Focus on outcome-based measures.
Continuous Improvement: This will identify the process gaps and refine the operational models.
Strategic evolution: Moving the GCC from execution to innovation and strategic contribution.
MOAR Advisory stays engaged through scale-up and optimisation to ensure continuous value delivery.
Common Pitfalls in a Global Capability Center Setup
While the GCC advisory model offers immense strategic potential, many organizations underestimate the complexities involved in getting it right. Early decisions around culture, talent, governance, and leadership often determine the success of the center. Even well-intentioned setups can falter when foundational elements are rushed, overlooked, or misaligned with the broader business strategy. These recurring missteps reveal clear patterns that leaders must be aware of before scaling their GCC vision.
These patterns consistently surface across industries—highlighting a set of avoidable pitfalls that can derail even the most promising GCC setup. Some of the common pitfalls can be:
- Weak cultural integration
- Poor-quality hiring due to speed pressures
- Compliance shortcuts
- Limited leadership empowerment
- Unclear mandates
- Under-investment in talent and infrastructure
Avoiding these pitfalls creates a smoother, more scalable GCC journey.
Is a Global Capability Center Setup Right for You
Once you have analysed both the opportunities and the pitfalls of a GCC journey, the next step is to determine whether the model truly aligns with your organisation’s long-term vision. A GCC setup is most beneficial for companies ready to commit to long-term capability building with clear priorities on quality, culture, and integration. If these elements align with your organizational vision and you are prepared to dedicate multi-year resources, a GCC can become a powerful platform to scale, innovate, and sustain competitive advantage.
GCC as a service works best for organisations that:
- Need sustained capability building
- Want direct control over quality and culture
- Can invest multi-year resources
- Provide clear mandates
- Prioritise integration and change management
If these conditions apply, a Global Capability Center setup can transform your organisation.
Next Steps for Leaders
The next step for leaders is to begin by defining the specific problem statement and the capabilities an organisation aims to build. A structured, intentional approach at this stage sets the foundation for a GCC that delivers sustained value rather than short-term scale.
If you are considering a GCC, begin with:
- An exploratory consultation
- A detailed feasibility study
- A strategic roadmap with timelines and investment plans
- A partner ecosystem that includes legal, HR, workspace and IT experts
- A structured launch with compliance, people and operations foundations
Conclusion
A Global Capability Center setup offers significant advantages in talent, efficiency, innovation, and business resilience. But value creation depends on rigorous planning, local expertise and strong cultural alignment. With the right approach and experienced partners, a GCC becomes a long-term strategic engine for growth.
MOAR Advisory has guided organisations across industries through successful GCC setups that deliver measurable value from day one and continue scaling with confidence. At MOAR Advisory, we have supported multiple Global Capability Center setup journeys across India and other strategic markets. Our experience shows that the opportunity is significant, but the results depend entirely on the quality of planning and execution.
Your GCC journey starts with one conversation. Connect with MOAR Advisory to begin your feasibility discussion and strategic planning.
Read more - Why ‘Value Continuity’ Is the New KPI for GCCs
FAQs
A Global Capability Center setup is the process of establishing a wholly owned offshore or nearshore unit that manages specialised functions for a parent organisation.
A typical Global Capability Center setup takes three to six months, depending on scale, legal requirements, and hiring speed.
The biggest challenge is integrating culture and leadership to ensure the GCC feels like a true extension of the organisation.
Yes. Many mid-sized companies set up GCCs with phased models that scale gradually with demand.
Companies invest in GCCs for talent access, cost optimisation, innovation, risk diversification, and round-the-clock operations.
GCCs commonly manage engineering, finance, analytics, customer operations, digital transformation and product development.
Compliance ensures legal, regulatory, tax, and data protection requirements are met without risk to operations.
MOAR Advisory provides end-to-end support, including feasibility studies, legal setup, talent strategy, workspace planning, IT infrastructure, and long-term optimisation.