Walgreens Boots Alliance Expands Strategic Partnership with Tata Consultancy Services
Mumbai: Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (Nasdaq: WBA) and Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) (BSE: 532540, NSE: TCS), a leading global information technology (IT) services, consulting and business solutions organization, today announced that the companies have expanded their strategic partnership to advance WBA’s transformation of its global IT function by launching a new operating model for IT Run and Operational services, enabling WBA to accelerate its digitalization program to advance innovation for customers, drive organizational efficiencies across the company and further reduce its cost base.
The expansion of the WBA and TCS strategic partnership is based on WBA’s review of its IT operating model and vendor landscape. As a result, the WBA global IT team will focus on leading and supporting strategic technology projects that create customer value through the development of new digital products and services on its business platforms. Following a period of transition, TCS will provide Run and Operational managed services, including application maintenance and support, infrastructure and security operations. The TCS approach will blend artificial intelligence, machine learning and advanced software engineering to enhance operational resilience and boost productivity.
“WBA is building a scalable, sustainable and globally unified IT operating model that is focused on digital transformation, automation of service delivery and innovation,” said Francesco Tinto, senior vice president, global chief information officer, WBA. “The TCS strategic partnership will enhance our ability to rapidly address evolving business needs, support large-scale global technology solutions and promote investment in truly differentiating capabilities through a modernized platform.”
“We are delighted to build on our long-standing relationship with WBA and enable its growth and transformation,” said Ashish Khurana, Head, Retail Industry Solutions, TCS. “We will leverage our contextual knowledge of WBA’s business ecosystem to harness the power of digital technologies to streamline and scale-up their IT operations, while helping accelerate transformational initiatives that enhance the customer experience.”
The new WBA global IT operating model is part of the company’s strategic priority to save to invest to grow, while managing costs efficiently under the Transformational Cost Management Program.
About Walgreens Boots Alliance
Walgreens Boots Alliance (Nasdaq: WBA) is a global leader in retail and wholesale pharmacy, touching millions of lives every day through dispensing and distributing medicines, its convenient retail locations, digital platforms and health and beauty products. The company has more than 100 years of trusted health care heritage and innovation in community pharmacy and pharmaceutical wholesaling.
Including equity method investments, WBA has a presence in more than 25 countries, employs more than 440,000 people and has more than 18,750 stores.
WBA’s purpose is to help people across the world lead healthier and happier lives. The company is proud of its contributions to healthy communities, a healthy planet, an inclusive workplace and a sustainable marketplace. The company’s businesses have been recognized for their Corporate Social Responsibility. Walgreens was named to FORTUNE* magazine’s 2019 Companies that Change the World list and Boots UK was recognized as Responsible Business of the Year 2019-2020 by Business in the Community.
WBA is included in FORTUNE’s 2020 list of the World’s Most Admired Companies. This is the 27th consecutive year that WBA or its predecessor company, Walgreen Co., has been named to the list.