Rolls-Royce revs up retuned vendor strategy

21.03.2012
Rolls-Royce has appointed Capgemini to lead a new multi-vendor strategy, following the end of a 12 year contract with HP, formerly EDS.

In 2000, the car and aircraft engine manufacturer originally signed a megadeal worth over a billion dollars with EDS, now owned by HP. The twelve-year deal, which covered IT, online operations and the supply chain, has now come to an end, though HP is understood to retain specific work with the company.

Rolls-Royce said it was moving to a multi-vendor setup so that it could ensure it had 'best-of-breed' components, "enhancing quality, flexibility and responsiveness", and that Capgemini would manage this.

Under the three year deal with Capgemini, which has an optional two year extension, the outsourcer will work to ensure that the different vendors and solutions are "fully aligned, smoothly integrated and centrally controlled". The systems serve 40,000 Rolls-Royce IT users around the world.

Capgemini will also support key business applications at Rolls-Royce, including the company's SAP enterprise resource planning and supply chain systems.

Simon Ricketts, chief information officer at Rolls-Royce, said: "It is vital that our world-class products, services and people are supported by equally world-class IT and that is what our new strategy is designed to achieve."