Unilever mulls outsourcing of IT functions

Manufacturing giant in talks with IBM and Accenture

Global manufacturer Unilever is considering outsourcing some central operational functions, including IT.

The consumer products giant, which owns household brands such as Flora, Bird’s Eye and Dove, says it is working with IBM and Accenture to explore outsourcing its human resources (HR), financial and IT functions.

But the firm says that no deal is likely in the near future.

‘We are in discussions over whether transferring some elements of our HR, IT and finance model to Accenture would be good for us,’ a spokesman for Unilever told Computing.

Unilever manages its entire operational infrastructure in-house, but the company spokesman says that discussions with the IT service providers were prompted by a drive towards greater efficiency.

‘We are looking at the elements of our business that are the most basic and transactional,’ said the spokesman.

‘IBM and Accenture are helping us to decide whether it would be better for us to continue to manage these systems in-house, outsource them, or manage them using a combination of the two approaches.’

When contacted by Computing, Accenture and IBM both declined to comment.