Unilever contract with IBM
Unilever PLC
23 December 2005
Unilever NV and Unilever PLC
23 December 2005
UNILEVER SIGNS 7 YEAR CONTRACT WITH IBM FOR FINANCIAL TRANSACTIONAL SERVICES
OUTSOURCING
Unilever today announced it has signed a contract to outsource significant parts
of its financial transactional services to IBM. This agreement covers more than
20 European countries and is part of the One Unilever programme, which aims to
streamline the organisation in order to increase competitiveness in the
marketplace and step up growth.
IBM will provide financial services including Purchase to Pay, General
Accounting and Bill to Cash and will be delivered from IBM centres in Portugal,
Poland and India. The deal is expected to deliver significant cost savings to
Unilever throughout the seven years of the contract. These anticipated cost
savings will contribute to the overall targeted €700 million annual savings of
the One Unilever programme.
'IBM brings strong business process knowledge, deep technical expertise and a
flexible, responsive business model to finance shared services. As a specialist
in this area, IBM will be able to help us optimise our business process
performance, and deliver additional savings in support of our core business;
offering consumers excellent brands and products', says Kees van der Graaf,
president Unilever Europe.
Van der Graaf added: 'This change will affect quite a number of our employees in
Europe. We are committed to treat all of them responsibly and will follow all
appropriate consultation processes. When jobs are affected we will do our best
to find alternative employment'.
'IBM will apply business insight within our global network of operations to
optimise business performance. The agreement will create long-term economic
benefits for Unilever,' said Tony Cronin, general manager, business
transformation outsourcing, IBM. 'This relationship is a strong example of the
new on-demand business IBM is targeting in the marketplace for Business
Performance Transformation Services.'
Unilever will follow a phased approach in implementation over approximately two
years, starting in the first quarter of 2006. Approximately 750 people are
affected by this change.
For further information:
Tanno Massar
Corporate Media Relations Director
Tel +31 10 217 4844
tanno.massar@unilever.com
OR
Richard Janes
IBM Business Consulting Services
Tel. +44 207 021 9370
Richard.janes@uk.ibm.com
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statements, including 'forward-looking statements' within the meaning of the
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others, competitive pricing and activities, consumption levels, costs, the
ability to maintain and manage key customer relationships and supply chain
sources, currency values, interest rates, the ability to integrate acquisitions
and complete planned divestitures, physical risks, environmental risks, the
ability to manage regulatory, tax and legal matters and resolve pending matters
within current estimates, legislative, fiscal and regulatory developments,
political, economic and social conditions in the geographic markets where the
Group operates and new or changed priorities of the Boards. Further details of
potential risks and uncertainties affecting the Group are described in the
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