Heinz Wattie’s signs IT agreement with IBM

IBM NEW ZEALAND - MEDIA RELEASE

Heinz Wattie’s signs Multi Million dollar IT outsourcing transformation agreement with IBM

Wellington, New Zealand, 21 June 2005, IBM today announced that it has signed a multi million dollar, nine year outsourcing agreement to support Heinz Wattie’s Australasia (Heinz Wattie’s Ltd and Heinz Australia) transformation of its core IT operations.

Under the terms of the agreement IBM Global Services will provide Heinz with e-Business hosting services, application management services and IT infrastructure development, maintenance and support. The agreement will enable Heinz Wattie’s to gain greater efficiencies and flexibility in responding to rapidly changing market conditions.

As part of the agreement, Desktop, Intel support and iSeries operational support will be delivered to Heinz Wattie’s and Heinz Australia by IBM staff in Wellington, Auckland and Hastings.

Ian Gillespie, Heinz Wattie’s Business Systems Manager said that the relationship, which is the latest extension of a strategic partnership with IBM globally, has many benefits including access to IBM’s deep understanding of the consumer package goods industry.

“The Heinz Wattie’s – IBM partnership is transforming the way IT services are delivered to the business enabling Heinz Wattie’s to be more flexible and responsive to the market place. By outsourcing non-core activity to IBM, we can free up valuable resources to focus on our brands, our customers, our products and the business process continuous improvements that our customers expect.”
“By extending the partnership across our Australasian businesses, Heinz Watties will achieve even greater cost optimisation and a more flexible business model through IBM’s variable cost on demand e-business model,” said Ian Gillespie.

“With IBM taking accountability for day-to-day operation, Heinz Wattie’s’ IS management is freed up to support growth initiatives and devote more time to strategic planning,” said Ian Gillespie.

Matthew King, Director IBM Global Services New Zealand said, “The agreement will remove fixed IT costs from the business and give Heinz WattiesWattie’s the flexibility to scale IT resources according to business needs.

“It also provides Heinz Wattie’s with enhanced capability and capacity of resources to meet the portfolio of industry initiatives that Heinz Wattie’s is implementing,” said Mr King.

“Heinz Wattie’s has sought to move away from owning or leasing assets, to a services arrangement whereby it can source full end-to-end service through one monthly charge.”

“We expect to see more consumer products companies make this strategic step as they respond to retailer initiatives, drive for growth and manage costs,” said Mr King.

As part of the agreement IBM will provide IT helpdesk services through its award winning Ballarat call centre. IBM will also provide desktop services, disaster recovery and network management for Heinz Wattie’s Local Area Network and Wide Area Network. In addition, Heinz Wattie’s are working with IBM to deliver voice-over IP technology.

Five Heinz Wattie’s employees have joined IBM New Zealand as part of the agreement.
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About IBM Global Services
IBM Global Services is the world's largest information technology services and consulting provider. Some 190,000 professionals in more than 160 countries help clients integrate information technology with business value -- from the business transformation and industry expertise of IBM Business Consulting Services to hosting, infrastructure, technology design and training services. IBM Global Services delivers integrated, flexible and resilient processes -- across companies and through business partners -- that enable clients to save money and transform their businesses to be more competitive. For more information, visit www.ibm.com/services.

About Heinz Wattie’s
For more information about Heinz Wattie’s, go to www.watties.co.nz or www.heinz.com.au

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