The future of GCCs will be defined by value creation, not by the size of the workforce: Srinivas Nandigam, Advance Auto Parts

For decades, GCCs in India were largely associated with cost arbitrage and execution-heavy roles, but now that narrative is changing. Increasingly, global enterprises are turning their India centres into hubs for innovation, analytics, and strategic decision-making. Advance Auto Parts’ India Innovation Centre in Hyderabad reflects this shift from scale to strategic value creation. Established in 2020, the centre was never intended to be a conventional offshore delivery unit. Instead, it was designed as a capability-driven hub supporting multiple business functions for the North American automotive aftermarket retailer.

Srinivas Nandigam, Managing Director of the Advance Auto Parts India Innovation Centre, believes the GCC model itself is evolving, from capacity building to capability creation. “I have been in the technology industry for over 23 years, with more than a decade in the GCC ecosystem. Traditionally, most GCCs started with a cost optimisation mindset, gradually moving incremental teams offshore. But ...