US retailers hot on the outsourcing trail
The US retail market is a hot market right now for IT outsourcing.
Minnesota-based retail chain Best Buy is the latest player to announce
that it is outsourcing its entire IT operations, including call center
operations.
While there is no official announcement yet, industry insiders are hinting that Accenture is now gearing up to assume management of Best Buy's IT
services by June.
Aside from Best Buy, two other retail stalwarts - Sears, Roebuck and
Co.and Target Corp. - have earlier signed multi-year (and multimillion)
deals. Sears signed up with IBM Global services while Target hired
Computer Sciences Corp.
While outsourcing deals are bound to affect existing IT positions, all
three companies said their respective partners will naturally absorb their
previous IT workers.
It's widely-acknowledged that the retail market is a hotbed for cutthroat
competition and players are trying to outdo one another and technology is
an integral component in their strategy.
Wal-Mart recently announced it is embracing RFID and is compelling its
suppliers to do so. Such a move has huge ripple effects in an industry
that thrives on volume.
Retailers will have to leverage on technology as much as they can in order
to save on costs and a lot of them are trying to find solutions through
outsourcing.
