MSD, part of Merck & Co, has named Dublin as the site of its shared business services center, which will support its operations in Europe, Africa and the Middle East.
Merck already has a business services center (known as a managed services center in the US) in North Carolina covering the Americas, and another in Singapore covering the Asia Pacific region.
Multinational pharmaceutical companies, like those in other business sectors, are consolidating and outsourcing their “back office” functions, so that they do not duplicate the same activities in each country in which they operate.
But there are functions that just cannot be outsourced, or are just too confidential, complex or cumbersome to go down that route.
The European center will have around 150 employees, who will provide IT and management services for functions like human resources, travel, accounting and meetings.
The decision by Merck to site the center in Ireland was heralded by Ireland’s Taoiseach (Prime Minister), Brian Cowen, as a major coup for the country.
Merck already has manufacturing and other business functions in Ireland, with 2,300 employees. As well as being a major manufacturing hub for the worldwide pharmaceutical industry, the government has invested heavily in attracting international IT and service centers to Ireland.
Click here to start your 30-day, risk-free trial of "The Pink Sheet" DAILY – Immediate business intelligence from the company and product level up.
