How IT Supports Coke’s Global Product Development

Every company’s constantly trying to cook up new product ideas, so why did we choose to write about the Coca-Cola Co.’s efforts this week?

It’s because Coke reaches the world’s fickle and fragmented global markets on a scale rivaled by only a few consumer goods companies, and because business technology plays a key role in keeping this product-development wheel spinning.

That’s detailed in our package of stories this week on Coca-Cola and its largest bottler, Coca-Cola Enterprises. One of Coke’s most notable efforts tries to re-use new product experiences — from the products to marketing concepts — using a collaboration platform called the Common Innovation Framework. The article outlines other collaboration efforts at Coke, including with bottlers and customers.

Coke’s having to innovate new products faster than ever, and do so on a staggeringly global scale. In hyper-competitive Japan, hit drinks come and go constantly. Coke’s trying to export the lessons learned in these brutal markets to the rest of the world, while still giving local leaders room to tune products to local tastes.

For me, there are many times no drink will do but an ice-cold Coke. Apparently, a whole lot of people in places like China, Nigeria, and Japan don’t agree, and they want something new. Collaboration technology plays a key role in how well Coke serves this increasingly fickle, as well as thirsty, world.

Chris Murphy
cjmurphy@techweb.com
www.informationweek.com

Accenture Expands Global Delivery Network with Opening of Delivery Center in Noida, India

09 July 2008

53rd delivery center in Accenture’s Global Delivery Network provides BPO services to clients globally

NOIDA, India; July 9, 2008 — Accenture (NYSE: ACN) has expanded its Global Delivery Network with the opening of the Accenture delivery center in Noida in the National Capital Region of Delhi, India, strengthening the outsourcing capabilities it provides to clients globally.

The delivery center in Noida offers cross-industry BPO services in finance & accounting, human resources, learning, procurement and customer care, as well as industry-specific services focusing on the insurance, healthcare, pharmaceutical and utility industries. The center also offers custom BPO services, including the redesign and implementation of clinical data management practices for the pharmaceuticals industry, back office operations for the banking industry, and the management of a company’s end-to-end supply chain.

Professionals in the delivery center in Noida share the same methodologies and tools that Accenture uses across its Global Delivery Network, working with professionals in other Accenture delivery centers around the world to support Accenture’s growing global client base.

The delivery center in Noida brings the total number of centers in the Accenture Global Delivery Network to 53, following the opening of a center in Monterrey, Mexico in May. Accenture now has more than 35,000 professionals at 13 delivery centers in 6 cities in India, with centers in Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, Pune and the Delhi area.

“The ability to serve the needs of our clients using a global capability is a key strength of Accenture,” said Pankaj Vaish, Accenture’s managing director, Delivery Center Network for BPO. “Our Global Delivery Network enables us to mobilize the right people with the right skills and capabilities to deliver solutions for our clients in a cost-effective and efficient manner. This new facility in Noida will support our growth plans in India, which is a key node in the Accenture Global Delivery Network.”

Commenting on Accenture’s growth in India, PG Raghuraman, Accenture’s lead executive, Delivery Center Network for BPO in India, said, “The establishment of a delivery center in Noida was driven by the continued strong client demand for Accenture’s services from India. In addition to achieving an impressive scale in India, we plan to hire a significant number of people over the next few months to support our new delivery center.”

The Accenture Global Delivery Network comprises more than 77,000 professionals at 53 delivery centers and at client locations worldwide. By applying a systematic approach to creating and capturing proven, repeatable processes, methodologies, tools and architectures, professionals in the Global Delivery Network enable Accenture client teams to deliver customized services and solutions in less time than would be required to develop them independently.

About Accenture
Accenture is a global management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company. Combining unparalleled experience, comprehensive capabilities across all industries and business functions, and extensive research on the world’s most successful companies, Accenture collaborates with clients to help them become high-performance businesses and governments. With more than 180,000 people in 49 countries, the company generated net revenues of US$19.70 billion for the fiscal year ended Aug. 31, 2007. Its home page is www.accenture.com.

Contact(s):
Rajesh Dube
Accenture
+080-51060071
rajesh.dube@accenture.com

FAO Contract Characteristic

DALLAS July 15, 2008 – More new contracts for outsourced finance and accounting services are including management reporting and analytics, but outsourcing buyers continue to focus on transactional, ‘phase-in’ approaches for accounts payable, accounts receivable and general accounting services, according to the Everest Research Institute’s study of Finance and Accounting Outsourcing (FAO) contracts.

The increased preference for a ‘phased approach’ of F&A services and the rising influence of the middle market buyer group has resulted in a steady decline of contract and engagement sizes in FAO contracts, according to the Institute. Average contracts are about US$54 million in total contract value (TCV) with a term of 5-7 years, and more than US$5 billion in contracts are up for renewal over the next three years.

“Buyers of outsourced finance and accounting services have a broader range of solutions in a maturing market offering a diversity of suppliers, delivery locations, technology solutions, geographic coverage and industry-focused solutions,” said Katrina Menzigian, Vice President, Everest Research Institute. “Stabilized FTE-based contracting models present buyers with engagement approaches that are well established and understood; however, transaction-based contract models are evolving and best suited for engagements for which inputs, outputs and dependencies are already understood.”

FTE-based pricing remains the dominant model, but business-impact pricing is showing signs of increasing, according to Saurabh Gupta, Research Director, Everest Research Institute and co-author of the report.

“Interest in utilizing business-impact pricing along with a base fee is also rising,” said Gupta. “FAO metrics generally tend to focus on timeliness and accuracy, however, the focus of service levels is shifting from diagnostic metrics to business-oriented metrics. As the FAO market continues to evolve, contracts will evolve and change in tandem; therefore, it’s important that buyers understand the opportunities and associated risks of the differing contract models in order to make an informed decision.”

“With different pricing models gaining some traction in the marketplace, FAO buyers should educate themselves on the benefits and challenges associated with each type,” pointed out Menzigian. “In some cases, a single deal may warrant more than one pricing model.”

“Buyers should also be knowledgeable about the supplier landscape in order to understand the strategic objectives of the different suppliers,” said Gupta. “Some suppliers are looking for ‘smart deals,’ others for ‘growth accounts,’ while others are looking for ‘anchor accounts.’ It’s important the buyer have a strong sense about how each supplier would perceive its relationship with the buyer’s organization.”

KPN extends HR cooperation with Logica

14 July 2008
Logica delivers custom made HR reports

Logica, the leading IT and business services company, today announced that it is providing KPN with HR management information services. As part of this outsourcing contract five KPN employees will transfer to Logica’s offices in Rijswijk, The Netherlands. The 6.5 year contract has a value of € 2.8 million.

Logica is now responsible for the management reports used by KPN’s HR managers, covering recruitment and attrition information and employee sickness leave. The reports also provide in-depth information about the use of lease cars, the development of salaries and career frameworks.

The new contract is an extension of the successful outsourcing contract of KPN’s HR Shared Services Center (HR SSC) that was granted to Logica at the start of this year . Sixty HR specialists in this best-in-class HR SSC are responsible for all activities concerning the HR administration for KPN. This contract extension strengthens the cooperation and illustrates that KPN has full confidence in transferring key HR processes to Logica.

Chris Jansen, managing director of the Energy, Utilities and Telecoms division of Logica in the Netherlands, commented: “Through the outsourcing of standard and custom made HR reports Logica supports and provides better insights about the role of HR within KPN. Logica will continue to standardise the reporting services and integrate this capability into its wider HR services offering.”

Henk van Tilborg, HR director at KPN, said: “Transferring information management fits into our strategy of building a compact and efficient HR organisation. HR is starting to direct and steer the policy around employee development. Logica is a trusted and innovative business partner who offers us strong support in this process.”

About KPN

KPN is the leading provider of telecommunications services in the Netherlands, serving customers with wireline and wireless telephony-, internet- and TV services. To business customers, KPN delivers voice-, internet- and data services as well as fully-managed, outsourced ICT solutions. Both nationally and internationally, KPN provides wholesale network services to third parties, including operators and service providers. In Germany and Belgium, KPN pursues a multi-brand strategy with its mobile operations, and serves multiple customer segments in consumer as well as business markets. At September 30, 2007, KPN served 5.5 million wireline voice subscribers, 9.1 million mobile customers, 2.6 million Internet customers and 0.4 million TV customers in the Netherlands as well as 16.8 million mobile customers in Germany and Belgium. With 27,155 individuals (24,890 FTEs), KPN posted revenues of EUR 8.9bn, with an EBITDA of EUR 3.7bn in the period January - September 2007. KPN was incorporated in 1989 and is listed on the Amsterdam, New York, London and Frankfurt stock exchanges.

About Logica

Logica is a leading IT and business services company, employing 39,000 people across 36 countries. It provides business consulting, systems integration, and IT and business process outsourcing services. Logica works closely with its customers to release their potential - enabling change that increases their efficiency, accelerates growth and manages risk. It applies its deep industry knowledge, technical excellence and global delivery expertise to help its customers build leadership positions in their markets. Logica is listed on both the London Stock Exchange and Euronext (Amsterdam) (LSE: LOG; Euronext: LOG). More information is available at www.logica.com.

BancTec Enters Long-term Partnership With EDB Value Added Services

Relationship expands BancTec’s Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) capability into Nordic region

BancTec, a global provider of complex business process automation solutions, has extended the reach of its BPO offerings through a new, ten-year agreement with EDB, one of the largest providers of IT services in the Nordic region. The BPO partnership agreement, worth more than $52 Million, includes the outsourcing of EDB’s Document Imaging and Processing business to BancTec Sweden. “BancTec has rapidly built its BPO practice throughout Europe, with particular expertise in providing document processing services,” said Michael D Peplow, President, EMEA, BancTec. “The combination of EDB and BancTec provides a comprehensive portfolio of document input and output services to some of the largest and most demanding companies in the Nordic region. We look forward to working with EDB and supplementing their core IT and Consultancy practice with document processing services that will process more than 12 million documents per year.”

EDB Value Added Services is a part of the IT operations business unit. For more than 40 years, EDB has delivered solutions covering the entire range of business-critical IT services, from application services and industry-specific solutions to IT operations and networking. In 2007, EDB generated revenues in excess of $1.25 Billion.

The agreement takes effect July 1st, 2008, at which point approximately 50 EDB employees will transfer to, and begin providing services under, the BancTec banner. “We very much look forward to working with our new staff to make the processing centre in Stockholm one of the most innovative and productive operations within BancTec,” said Peplow. EDB sales will begin marketing the new BancTec BPO services to current customers and prospects, focusing on how the partnership with BancTec significantly enhances the depth and quality of its Value Added Services portfolio with innovative solutions that improve productivity and lower costs. In addition to reducing its own production overhead, the agreement with BancTec will also enable EDB to focus on its core competencies in IT services and consulting.

About BancTec
BancTec helps clients around the world simplify the process of managing their information. Founded in 1972, the company provides a wide range of solutions for automating complex, high-volume and data-intensive business processes for clients in the financial services, healthcare, manufacturing, government, services and utilities industries. BancTec’s offerings include business solutions, business process outsourcing, and infrastructure services. With headquarters in Dallas, BancTec serves clients in 50 countries. For more information on how BancTec can help you optimize information management, visit www.banctec.co.uk or call +44 (0)1753 778888.