Boeing: Shared Services Group

Overview

Introduction to SSG

The Boeing Company Shared Services Group, or SSG, provides the company's business units and Boeing Corporate with innovative and effective common services that support the competitive design and manufacture of aerospace and defense products.
Services range from all Boeing site services to facilities maintenance and purchase of all non-production goods. The group directs companywide disaster preparedness; business continuity; security and fire protection services; the hiring and training of the Boeing workforce; and comprehensive travel services for all Boeing employees.
It also provides wellness programs, virtual workplace, creative services, transportation and conservation programs
Shared Services manages the sale and acquisition of all leased and owned property through Boeing Realty.
SSG President Tim Copes leads the group.

SSG efficiently integrates the operating infrastructure across Boeing, allowing other business units to focus on customer needs, and product development and delivery.
Embedded in all business units, Shared Services employees assist in identifying their diverse service requirements, then apply Lean principles and practices to meet those needs. The results have positively affected both short and long-term business operations, reducing infrastructure costs by nearly $1.4 billion since 1998.

Shared Services pursues opportunities to better serve business unit customers and improve enterprise efficiency. By forging stronger partnerships with business units to coordinate building asset utilization, SSG enabled Boeing to vacate 106 buildings and reduce floor space by 7.25 million square feet in 2003.
To mitigate risk, SSG acts as a test bed for new business processes and innovation practices before rolling them out to the enterprise. In 2003, Shared Services successfully demonstrated the virtual work environment and its potential benefits, helping Boeing move closer to its 2016 vision of "design anywhere, build anywhere."
Through Shared Services efforts, Boeing gained membership to the Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism program, which allows uninterrupted border clearing at sea, truck and air ports for the items Boeing imports. This especially benefits the just-in-time production of commercial airplanes, aiding in shorter flow times.
Providing innovative solutions at competitive costs -- 24 hours a day, seven days a week, wherever Boeing operates in the world -- SSG helps the company compete and react quickly to changing market conditions.

Shared Services people make up one of the most diverse and highly skilled workforces anywhere in the world. They provide the business acumen and passion for excellence that drive Boeing toward aerospace leadership.
The Boeing culture of lifelong learning brings value to Boeing by expanding and refreshing employees' skills to improve their employability and opportunities for growth. The Learning Together company-paid tuition program, the Boeing Leadership Center and other training programs enable employees to pursue studies in unlimited fields and environments. In the past two years, nearly 1,600 Shared Services employees earned degrees through Learning Together.

By integrating services, Shared Services Group delivers greater value, creates Lean processes and operations, and leverages buying power -- all to provide a competitive edge and excellent service to its Boeing business partners.