Resources · Playbooks

GCC Playbooks

Practical, checklist-driven guides to planning, setting up, scaling and transforming a Global Capability Center (GCC) or captive center, written by Relevance Lab's GCC practice.

We build and run GCCs in the Tier 1 hubs of Mumbai, Pune, Gurgaon, Noida, Hyderabad, Chennai, Bangalore, Ahmedabad and Kolkata, and in the Tier 2 city of Gandhinagar.

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The library

Four GCC playbooks for every stage of your center

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Playbook

Planning your first GCC

A practical GCC setup guide for leaders opening their first Global Capability Center in India, showing how to set up a GCC in India step by step. It walks through building the business case, choosing between Indian cities, deciding whether to set up your own entity or start with a hosted model, and planning the first year of hiring. It explains what to settle before signing anything (scope, sponsorship, governance and KPIs) and the common mistakes that slow new centers down, such as hiring before the operating model is clear or under-investing in leadership. Each chapter ends with a GCC setup checklist you can use with your own team.

What's inside

  1. Building the business case
  2. Choosing a city
  3. Entity or hosted model
  4. Workspace and IT
  5. Hiring your first 50
  6. Governance and KPIs

Related model: GCC as a Service

Playbook

GCC as a Service vs BOT vs Managed GCC

A side-by-side comparison and build-operate-transfer guide covering the three most common ways to stand up or run a Global Capability Center. The playbook explains how GCC as a Service, Build-Operate-Transfer and Managed GCC differ on ownership, legal entity, speed to launch, cost profile, risk and exit options, including how BOT starts in a partner's office and ends with your own captive center. It includes decision trees for first-time GCCs, established centers and PE-backed businesses, plus contract and governance considerations for each model, so leadership teams can agree on the right path before talking to partners.

What's inside

  1. The three models explained
  2. Ownership and entity
  3. Speed and cost
  4. Risk and exit options
  5. Decision trees
  6. Contract and governance tips

Related model: Managed GCC

Playbook

GCC Transformation playbook

For leaders of established GCCs that have stalled at task execution. The playbook sets out a maturity model from GCC 1.0 to GCC 2.0, a diagnostic you can run in a few weeks, and the four levers of transformation: operating model, talent, technology and delivery. It shows how AI Pods and an AI-driven software factory move a center up the value chain, and how to report outcomes to headquarters in business terms, with example KPIs and a sample 12-month roadmap.

What's inside

  1. The GCC maturity model
  2. Running a diagnostic
  3. Redesigning the operating model
  4. Talent and leadership
  5. AI-led delivery
  6. Measuring outcomes

Related model: GCC Transformation

Playbook

Cost of a GCC in India

A breakdown of what drives the cost of setting up and running a Global Capability Center in India. It covers talent costs by role family and seniority, differences between major cities, workspace options from managed offices to campuses, one-time setup costs (entity, IT, security and fit-out) and recurring run costs (HR, payroll, facilities and compliance). It explains how the engagement model changes the cost profile, and includes a template for building your own cost model.

What's inside

  1. Talent cost drivers
  2. City comparison
  3. Workspace options
  4. One-time setup costs
  5. Recurring run costs
  6. Building your cost model

Related model: GCC as a Service

Who writes our playbooks

Written by practitioners who build and run GCCs

Every playbook draws on Relevance Lab's GCC, engineering, FinOps and AI practices, and the work we do for clients across regulated industries.

GCC practice leaders

The people who design, launch and run GCCs for our clients.

Engineering and AI experts

Practitioners from our cloud, data, AI and product engineering practices.

FinOps and operations specialists

Experts in cost governance, HR, payroll and compliance.

Locations

Where we build GCCs: Tier 1 and Tier 2 cities across India

We set up and run GCCs in nine Tier 1 hubs and the fast-growing Tier 2 city of Gandhinagar, so you can balance talent depth, cost and business continuity.

  • Tier 1MumbaiIndia's financial capital, with depth in banking and financial services talent.
  • Tier 1PuneDeep engineering, product and automotive technology talent.
  • Tier 1GurgaonDelhi NCR's corporate hub, with deep technology and business services talent.
  • Tier 1NoidaDelhi NCR's large IT and technology services cluster, at competitive cost.
  • Tier 1HyderabadOne of India's fastest-growing GCC hubs, with strong engineering and data talent.
  • Tier 1ChennaiStrong in SaaS, financial services technology and engineering.
  • Tier 1BangaloreIndia's largest technology talent pool and its most established GCC hub.
  • Tier 1AhmedabadGujarat's commercial hub, with a growing technology talent base at competitive cost.
  • Tier 1KolkataEastern India's largest talent market, with a large graduate pool at lower cost.
  • Tier 2GandhinagarHome to GIFT City, India's international financial services center.

Want a playbook tailored to your GCC?

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