Sydney, August 21, 2003
Coles Myer Limited, Australia's largest retailer, is simplifying maintenance and management of its in-store equipment through a three-year, multi-million dollar partnership with Fujitsu Australia.
The deal will enable Coles Myer to streamline support processes and leverage economies of scale across 1900 Coles Myer stores. Fujitsu will provide a single point of contact for all retail technology service issues across Australia and New Zealand, including point-of-sale equipment, printers, PC systems and back-end store management platforms from multiple vendors.
Under the agreement, Fujitsu is providing comprehensive on-site maintenance, support and repair services across the full range of Coles Myer brands, including Coles, Bi-Lo, Myer Grace Bros., Liquorland Target, Officeworks and Kmart.
"Fujitsu is providing a fully managed in-store support service that Coles Myer needs to maintain its mission-critical retail technology platforms," said Peter McFarlane, Executive General Manager Services, Fujitsu Australia. A key feature of the arrangement is that Fujitsu will collaborate with Coles Myer under its partnership program to deliver measurable business benefits.
"Through this partnership approach, Fujitsu's account management team is working in concert with Coles Myer, both on-site and off-site," said Mr McFarlane. "Fujitsu is committed to fully understanding the needs of each of Coles Myer business units and providing a flexible, systematic approach that will exceed our customer's expectations. This is the essence of a vital long-term partnership."
Coles Myer Infrastructure Services and Operations General Manager Ken Harmsworth said Coles Myer sought a support partnership with a company which had retail experience, and the ability to support technology from different vendors across Australia and New Zealand.
The three-year partnership will consolidate previous maintenance and support supplier contracts.
Coles Myer expects to extract significant costs savings from the consolidation. It also expects measurable business benefits, including more efficient operating procedures, consistent service levels and improved management of technology assets.
"We wanted to standardise procedures and service levels and maximise the advantages for Coles Myer as a group," Mr Harmsworth said.