The Hindu Business Line : Britannia, HP ink IT outsourcing pact

MS VANITA BALI, MD, Britannia Industries Ltd, and Mr Balu Doraiswamy, MD, HP India, at a press conference in Bangalore on Wednesday. — G.R.N. Somashekar ,

Bangalore June 13 Britannia Industries has entered into a three-year strategic outsourcing contract with Hewlett-Packard India.

The project will include infrastructure, e-mail and office automation including remote and onsite, ERP software covering finance, supply accounting and business intelligence, tailor-made software, SAP Application Services as well as consulting services.

The value of the contract was not disclosed.

"It is part of our business strategy. All recurring processes need to be mechanised," said Ms Vinita Bali, Managing Director of Britannia Industries.

"IT will improve operating margins. It's about better information, and getting real-time data - from procurement to logistics to marketing and sales."

Mr Balu Doraisamy, Managing Director of HP India, said: "The scope of the project will be integrating new modules when needed. It is a transformational project that includes knowledge management, linking suppliers and partners in the ecosystem network."

Previously, Britannia had been outsourcing parts of its IT infrastructure to various IT firms.

Over a year ago, it decided that consolidation and comprehensive outsourcing of IT was a necessary step to enhancing productivity.

"The reason for outsourcing our IT infrastructure isn't cost - it's enhancing productivity," said Ms Bali.

"Outsourcing of IT in India is changing. Companies are looking beyond point projects. Vendor management is a problem for them," said Mr Doraisamy.

The implementation began a few weeks ago. HP will network around 100 points of activity - Britannia's depots and offices - across India, according to Mr Shyam Sundar, Head (IT), Brittania.

The key challenge is seamless integration.

"IT is germane to businesses today. We look at IT as an enabler to do better, more efficiently and cost-effectively. We need it to create a competitive advantage," said Ms Bali.

HP hopes to bring global practices, innovation and methodologies to the Britannia project.