Sara Lee and IBM Sign Seven-Year Global Services Deal
Sara Lee Corporation signs a seven-year agreement with IBM, which will manage and maintain pieces of the consumer products company's global back office operations. The deal includes the management of a portion of Sara Lee's North American and European Finance (transaction processing) and Global Information Services (applications development and maintenance) groups, as well as the company's global indirect procurement activities.
As part of its long-term strategy, Sara Lee is building on leading market share positions, leveraging opportunities in emerging markets and driving efficiencies to spur worldwide growth. The company is simplifying its organization to achieve efficiencies through process discipline, functional centers of excellence, integrated supply chains and outsourcing work where appropriate. Through IBM's proposed integrated approach, Sara Lee will look to drive additional cost and efficiency improvements. The transfer of activities will happen in a phased approach in accordance with local consultation requirements.
The agreement between Sara Lee and IBM includes the following:
> Finance & Accounting Solution (F&A) - IBM's F&A approach will help to provide a flexible platform to accommodate Sara Lee's business requirements. This solution aims to provide significant savings to the company as it increases the quality of process delivery, deploys new standardized tools, utilizes IBM's Manila Global Delivery Center and dedicates onsite F&A professional support during the transition process.
> Indirect Procurement Services - This includes indirect procurement processes, strategic sourcing, category management, and transactional processes that are tightly integrated with accounts payable to enable compliance and drive savings.
> Application Development and Maintenance Service - IBM will set up a Sara Lee Center of Excellence in India, where ADM services will be provided for the company's global operations. As a result of the agreement IBM has been granted "preferred supplier" status for future IT applications development activity.
Theo de Kool, Sara Lee's executive vice president and chief financial and administrative officer, says, "IBM is a trusted and long-standing partner of Sara Lee, with deep experience in large, global programs. Through their worldwide Centers of Excellence, IBM has industry-specific competencies on a global scale and capabilities to secure qualified resources."
As part of its long-term strategy, Sara Lee is building on leading market share positions, leveraging opportunities in emerging markets and driving efficiencies to spur worldwide growth. The company is simplifying its organization to achieve efficiencies through process discipline, functional centers of excellence, integrated supply chains and outsourcing work where appropriate. Through IBM's proposed integrated approach, Sara Lee will look to drive additional cost and efficiency improvements. The transfer of activities will happen in a phased approach in accordance with local consultation requirements.
The agreement between Sara Lee and IBM includes the following:
> Finance & Accounting Solution (F&A) - IBM's F&A approach will help to provide a flexible platform to accommodate Sara Lee's business requirements. This solution aims to provide significant savings to the company as it increases the quality of process delivery, deploys new standardized tools, utilizes IBM's Manila Global Delivery Center and dedicates onsite F&A professional support during the transition process.
> Indirect Procurement Services - This includes indirect procurement processes, strategic sourcing, category management, and transactional processes that are tightly integrated with accounts payable to enable compliance and drive savings.
> Application Development and Maintenance Service - IBM will set up a Sara Lee Center of Excellence in India, where ADM services will be provided for the company's global operations. As a result of the agreement IBM has been granted "preferred supplier" status for future IT applications development activity.
Theo de Kool, Sara Lee's executive vice president and chief financial and administrative officer, says, "IBM is a trusted and long-standing partner of Sara Lee, with deep experience in large, global programs. Through their worldwide Centers of Excellence, IBM has industry-specific competencies on a global scale and capabilities to secure qualified resources."