Electronics retailer also looks to outsourcing agreement to improve vendor management of call centers, improve analytics and reporting
Minneapolis — July 16, 2004 — Best Buy has entered into an agreement for a seven-year strategic relationship with Accenture for consulting and outsourcing services in a move to support the big box electronics retailer's transformation to a more efficient, customer-centric business model. The agreement takes effect today.
Through the relationship with Accenture, Best Buy is seeking to optimize its supply chain management capabilities, to enhance the vendor management of its customer call centers, to expand the functionality of its Web sites and to improve the analytics and reporting that further enable its customer centricity initiative.
Accenture also is to manage and further develop the full scope of Best Buy's information technology operations. One of the retailer's goals for the relationship is to put in place a new and simplified operating platform that will reduce Best Buy's cost structure, including the company's total cost of ownership for information technology systems, over the course of the relationship.
Approximately 600 information technology employees are expected to transition from Best Buy to Accenture as part of the agreement. These staff members are to continue working at the Best Buy corporate campus in Richfield, Minn.
"Best Buy is in the midst of a company transformation to put the customer at the center of all that we do," said Al Lenzmeier, Best Buy's president and COO. "In order to accelerate this transformation and more accurately focus our resources on our customers, we must deliver new capabilities with greater speed and innovation at reduced risk and cost. We have a long-standing relationship with Accenture, and over the years they have demonstrated an understanding of our business, culture and values. For these reasons, we believe we have selected the right firm to help us achieve our goals."
The agreement is in addition to a previously announced agreement for Accenture HR Services to provide Best Buy with human resources support. As part of that agreement, approximately 115 Best Buy human resources employees transferred to Accenture in March.
Accenture's previous work with Best Buy has included merchandising strategy, pricing, promotion effectiveness, inventory management, store operations, and space and assortment optimization.
Minneapolis — July 16, 2004 — Best Buy has entered into an agreement for a seven-year strategic relationship with Accenture for consulting and outsourcing services in a move to support the big box electronics retailer's transformation to a more efficient, customer-centric business model. The agreement takes effect today.
Through the relationship with Accenture, Best Buy is seeking to optimize its supply chain management capabilities, to enhance the vendor management of its customer call centers, to expand the functionality of its Web sites and to improve the analytics and reporting that further enable its customer centricity initiative.
Accenture also is to manage and further develop the full scope of Best Buy's information technology operations. One of the retailer's goals for the relationship is to put in place a new and simplified operating platform that will reduce Best Buy's cost structure, including the company's total cost of ownership for information technology systems, over the course of the relationship.
Approximately 600 information technology employees are expected to transition from Best Buy to Accenture as part of the agreement. These staff members are to continue working at the Best Buy corporate campus in Richfield, Minn.
"Best Buy is in the midst of a company transformation to put the customer at the center of all that we do," said Al Lenzmeier, Best Buy's president and COO. "In order to accelerate this transformation and more accurately focus our resources on our customers, we must deliver new capabilities with greater speed and innovation at reduced risk and cost. We have a long-standing relationship with Accenture, and over the years they have demonstrated an understanding of our business, culture and values. For these reasons, we believe we have selected the right firm to help us achieve our goals."
The agreement is in addition to a previously announced agreement for Accenture HR Services to provide Best Buy with human resources support. As part of that agreement, approximately 115 Best Buy human resources employees transferred to Accenture in March.
Accenture's previous work with Best Buy has included merchandising strategy, pricing, promotion effectiveness, inventory management, store operations, and space and assortment optimization.