To change its core technology stack, speed up innovation, and promote sustainable growth, UK-based retailer Marks and Spencer plc (M&S) has extended its collaboration with the leading provider of IT services, according to Tata Consultancy Services.

 

Finances for the deal were not made public.

 

The apparel retailer was expected to award TCS agreements worth over $1 billion as part of the five-year contract extension it announced in 2018.

 

80,000 employees have received HR solutions from TCS, while the store has received a solution utilising the Oracle supply chain management platform.

 

The company stated that the UK market was doing strongly amid an uncertain expenditure environment during Q4 results in April.

 

“Their industry advisory capabilities will help us accelerate the pace of business transformation to achieve our goals of significantly increasing our active app userbase, doubling online sales volume, and building an efficient, resilient supply chain network by driving down technology debt, enabling faster time to market, and infusing innovation momentum for growth and value creation,” said Katie Bickerstaffe, Joint Chief Operating Officer, M&S PLC.

 

Since joining up with M&S more than ten years ago, TCS has assisted the retailer in a number of mission-critical transformation initiatives, including its transition to a digital-first organisation.

 

In the following phase of this collaboration, TCS will use a cloud-first and composable platform strategy to streamline M&S' technological environment and update its essential business systems.

 

“As the long-standing transformation partner of M&S, we are fully vested in their purpose and belief that a simplified organisation with a culture of customer centricity and continuous innovation will help them drive sustainable growth in market share, sales, and profit. We are truly delighted to continue and enhance our relationship with them. Our priority is to modernise key enablers and build a high-performance culture that can unlock growth by harnessing the power of their global brand,” said Shankar Narayanan, President, Retail Cluster, TCS.