27th Oct 2005 12:03
Sainsbury(J) PLC27 October 2005 27 October 2005 J Sainsbury plc and Accenture announce change in IT resourcing Sainsbury's and Accenture today announce that the IT services currently providedby Accenture will be migrated back to Sainsbury's together with a number ofAccenture employees. During the last five years, Accenture has been instrumental in improving the ITcapability of Sainsbury's business and delivered considerable improvements insystem stability and operational cost reductions through the re-platforming ofthe vast majority of Sainsbury's IT systems. As part of the Making Sainsbury's Great Again plan, Sainsbury's IT focus haschanged and it has decided that it is the right time to rebuild its expertiseback in-house. Sainsbury's will treat all termination and / or transition costsas an exceptional item in the year ending March 2006. Further details will beprovided in due course. Sainsbury's said that it expects that as a result offuture cost savings the exit costs are expected to payback in the short term. Accenture said that it does not currently expect this change to have a materialimpact on results from operations in fiscal year 2006. Detailed plans are now being drawn up for the migration of the IT services andfuture development needs from Accenture to Sainsbury's. During this period allSainsbury's IT systems will remain fully operational and there will be no changein the IT service provided. Sainsbury's and Accenture's priority throughout the migration period will be toensure that customers and colleagues are unaffected by the change, particularlythrough the Christmas and Easter trading periods. Key IT development willcontinue as planned. Notes 1. Sainsbury's originally outsourced IT operations to Accenture in November 2000. 2. The relationship between Sainsbury's and Accenture covers the provision, development and ongoing support of all IT systems with the exception of those operating within Sainsbury's automated distribution centres. 3. The Making Sainsbury's Great Again plan was announced on 19 October 2004. 4. Forward-Looking Statements This news release contains forward-looking statements relating to Sainsbury'sand Accenture's operations and results of operations, the accuracy of which isnecessarily subject to risks and uncertainties. Factors that could cause actualresults to differ materially from those expressed or implied include generaleconomic conditions and, in particular, in relation to Accenture the factorsdiscussed under the "Risk Factors" heading in the Business section ofAccenture's most recent annual report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities andExchange Commission. Neither Sainsbury's nor Accenture undertake any duty toupdate any forward-looking statements made in this news release or to conformsuch statements to actual results or changes in their respective expectations. Enquiries Sainsbury'sInvestor Relations MediaLynda Ashton Pip Wood+44 (0) 20 7695 7162 +44 (0) 20 7695 7295 AccentureStacey Jones / Mark Radvanyi+1 917 452 6561 / +44 (0) 207 844 [email protected] / [email protected] This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
Sainsbury's