The Times of London today reported that Unilever has confirmed that Accenture is the "front-runner" for a global outsourcing contract worth £500 million. The work would cover back-office functions for the international maker of food, home care and personal care products, particularly in the areas of "human resources, learning and procurement."
The article said the deal would be announced by mid-March if the company decided to proceed with Accenture.
In 2005 Unilever had asked both Accenture and IBM for proposals related to the outsourcing of its finance, HR, learning and IT operations. In December the company had signed a seven-year contract to outsource its financial administration in Europe to IBM.
