Woolworths is to restructure its communications services over the coming year following the conclusion of a 12 month enterprise-wide review.
Under the changes, Woolworths is aiming to take a flexible approach to telecommunications procurement, establishing a framework that encompasses a range of services modules.
“This approach will enable us to better leverage Woolworths’ internal capabilities and combine them with the expertise of individual service providers,” Woolworths CIO Dan Beecham said in a statement. “It will also provide us with greater scalability of services and deliver cost savings for our business.”
As a result of the new approach Dimension Data has been appointed as the Woolworth’s integration services manager under a five year contract to manage data services, telephony, security and related infrastructure across Woolworths’ food and grocery, liquor, petrol, general merchandise and consumer electronics retail businesses.
Telstra, the lone current telecommunications service provider to Woolworths, will continue as a service provider partner for the time being, a Woolworths spokesperson said.
Beecham said the decision to appoint Dimension Data follows the findings of the review which identified opportunities to gain productivity benefits and increased efficiency across the business.
“The enterprise telecommunications market is changing rapidly and it is important to look at specialist players in the market with specific expertise and points of difference,” he said.
The appointment also followed an extensive request for proposal process, according to Beecham. Tenders for individual service modules under the new telecommunications structure have also been run.
“Dimension Data’s remit will cover governance, contract management and relationship management, architecture and technical leadership, account management, transition, and service delivery management,” Beecham said.