Businessmodel of ADP

Customer Segments

ADP provides a full range of human resources and human capital management services to a broad client portfolio. The Company’s strategic software-as-a-service offerings serve approximately 530,000 worldwide, principally comprising corporate and institutional employers of all sizes and across all business sectors. The Company’s professional employer organisation specifically targets small and medium-sized businesses, providing human resources outsourcing solutions through a co-employment model. ADP serves approximately 439,000 worksite employees across all 50 US states in this way.

ADP’s clients span a number of business sectors, including the pharmaceutical, manufacturing, financial services, and retail industries, and include numerous high-profile companies, including JP Morgan Chase, Sharp, BT, Marriot, Fujifilm, and Innocent Drinks.

ADP serves an international client base. Its principal market is the US, where its professional employer organisation services are provided exclusively. The Company offers wage and tax collection and remittance services in the US, Canada, the UK, the Netherlands, France, Australia, India, and China. The Company also provides its ore services more broadly across the Americas, Asia Pacific, and Europe, as well as in the Middle East and Africa.

Value Propositions

ADP provides value to its clients in the following ways:

• Its industry standing and reputation, with the Company established as one of the most well-known and well-regarded companies in its field, with a track record of providing innovative, effective, and reliable solutions;
• Its broad portfolio of services, with the Company offering a broad range of solutions and services to employers of all sizes across multiple industries;
• Its accessibility and flexibility, with the Company offering technology-based solutions that enable customers to access tools and resources across multiple platforms, quickly and easily;
• Its research and insights, with the Company basing its various solutions and services on in-depth industry insights and research, enabling the Company to provide more effective and targeted solutions; and
• Its international reach, with the Company providing services to an international client base spanning North America, Europe, the middle East, Africa, and Asia Pacific, as well as a large domestic client base in the US. ### Channels

ADP operates a website at www.adp.com, through which it provides information on its various services, solutions, and activities. The Company provides a range of online platforms and portals through which customers can access a range of services and tools, including its ADP Portal, ADP iPayStatements, and ezLaborManager. The Company however, does not appear to sell products directly to customers online.

The bulk of ADP’s sales are made through its in-house direct sales organisations, which itself is organised by geographic region. These sales personnel operate out of the Company’s offices across the Americas, Asia Pacific, and Europe, Middle East, and Africa, including in Mexico, Colombia, Algeria, Portugal, the UK, Australia, and Japan.

Additionally, ADP markets its employer services solutions through various indirect sales channels, including marketing relationships with banks and certified public accountants, among others.

Customer Relationships

ADP provides a broad range of services and tools to its customers on a self-service basis through its online portals and its software-as-a-service solutions. These channels enable clients to manage their accounts, control payroll operations, make payments, manage time and attendance, without interacting with members of the Company’s sales and support personnel.

ADP provides tailored services through its direct sales force, consulting closely with clients in order to establish the most appropriate solutions and products for each individual client. Larger clients have their own relationship management teams that are available to provide personalised assistance at all times. ADP’s client contracts are typically fixed term and span multiple years.

ADP provides ongoing services to its clients, and is available to respond to queries and enquires from potential clients, through its sales and service teams. Clients can access personalised technical support by contacting the Company over the phone or online. Alternatively, the Company provides a range of online resources, including insights and research papers, user guides, and FAQs, and provides information on upcoming events and webinars.

Additionally, ADP operates a number of social media accounts – including with LinkedIn, Twitter, Google+, and Facebook – through which it is able to interact directly with clients.

Key Activities

ADP is a provider of technology-backed human capital management and business process outsourcing solutions.

The Company organises its operations into two reportable business segments: Employer Services, which offers a range of human resources, business process outsourcing, and technology-enabled human capital management solutions, including payroll services, benefits administration, talent management, and insurance services; and Professional Employer Organisation, which offers small and medium-sized businesses a software-as-a-service human resources outsourcing solution that operates under a co-employment business model.

ADP provides services to an international client base, with operations across the Americas, Europe, Asia Pacific, the Middle East, and Africa, serving employers of all sizes across multiple business sectors.

Key Partners

ADP works in conjunction with a network of partner companies and organisations, which support the development and distribution of the Company’s core human capital management solutions. These partnerships include:

• Supplier Partners, comprising suppliers of various services, tools, and equipment that support the Company’s activities across both operating segments, as well as companies to which certain functions can be outsourced;
• Accounting Partners, comprising various accounting firms and professionals which provide payroll, human resources, and compliance services on behalf of the Company;
• Affiliates and Franchise Partners, comprising various professional service providers and business to which the Company provides services in return for certain marketing and branding services;
• Brokers and Insurance Partners, comprising various brokers and insurance providers that work with the Company to assist in providing insurance and other human resources services;
• Financial Partners, comprising a range of banking institutions and financial service providers through which the Company markets and distributes certain services; and
• Technology Partners, comprising technology companies, software providers, and IT services providers that assist in developing and maintaining the Company’s software platforms and IT infrastructure. ADP has launched a number of partnerships in recent years. This includes a partnership with Workday to develop a unified global payroll experience, and a tie-up with Intacct to streamline back-office processes of mid-sized companies.

Key Resources

ADP’s key resources are its intellectual properties and technologies, its online platforms and portals, its IT and communications infrastructure, its research and development facilities, its sales and marketing channels, its partnerships, and its personnel.

ADP own a number of patents, and is the licensee under a number of agreements for computer programs and databases, that are key to its operations. Searches of records published by the US Patent and Trademark Office identified a number of patent applications filed in the name of ADP or its subsidiaries, in particular ADP LLC, including applications entitled ‘Payroll data entry and management’, ‘Display screen with an animated graphical user interface’ and ‘Display screen or portion thereof with graphic user interface’.

ADP owns and or leases a number of physical properties around the world. This notably includes a network of processing and print centres, operational offices, sales offices, and its corporate headquarters in Roseland, New Jersey.

Cost Structure

ADP incurs costs in relation to the development of its technologies and online platforms, the maintenance of its IT and communications infrastructure, the operation of its sales and distribution channels, the procurement of professional services, the implementation of marketing and advertising campaigns, the management of its partnerships, and the retention of its personnel.

For the year ending 30th June 2016 ADP recorded total cost of revenues in the amount of $6.84 billion. This included operating expenses of $6.03 billion, and systems development and programming costs totaling $603.7 million. The Company also recorded selling, general, and administrative expenses in the amount of $2.64 billion.

Revenue Streams

ADP primarily generates revenues through the collection of fees for providing various services, such as employer services payroll processing fees. It also derives a portion of its revenue from investment income on payroll funds, payroll tax filing funds, and fees charged to implement clients on the Company’s solutions.

For the year ending 30th June 2016 ADP generated annual revenue of $11.67 billion, up on the $10.94 billion recorded by the Company the previous year. The Company attributed this increase in revenue to new business and new business bookings growth.