The Post Office has a project underway to modernise its systems and services in an effort to be more responsive to market conditions and changing business needs, and it hopes that this deal will help support this project.
Logica will oversee the implementation of two new management products, Master Data Management (MDM) and Dynamic Intelligence Warehouse (DIW). These will replace two current life-expired systems.
According to Logica, MDM will contain all Post Office reference data, including office addresses and details of products sold by the Post Office, such as stamps and travel insurance.
The company says that DIW is a responsive data warehouse, which will store updated information about the numbers and types of products sold daily at post office branches and other outlets.
Keith Graves, who works for Post Office Limited, said: Working with Logica will help us meet the challenging targets we have for growth, service and cost effectiveness. The new business intelligence system will deliver major improvements in consistency, efficiency and access to information. It will also allow us to move away from our previous disparate systems by having integrated, standardised methodology, resulting in up-to-date reporting processes and information. This delivers true visibility across the entire team and a more efficient way of working, all resulting ultimately in increased sales.
Ed Thomas, associate analyst – Business Process Outsourcing at Datamonitor, told CBR that the deal is the latest in a number of similar recent wins for Logica. Logica has been on a bit of a roll with UK public sector contract wins in the last couple of months. In April they won a deal with the Home Office and in March they secured one with Wiltshire County Council worth £12m, he said.
Thomas believes the move could be good for Logica, as the company has not performed as well as expected in the UK market over the last few years. In 2007, it announced a profits warning after what it described as a disappointing performance in the UK market. Thomas said: In 2007, the company’s revenue from the UK public sector was up 10%, a performance made even more impressive by the fact that Logica’s overall UK sales fell 8%.
Harbinder Dhaliwal, director, transport and logistics at Logica in the UK, said: We are delighted that the Post Office has chosen us to support the transformation of these key systems. By integrating these new systems into its information infrastructure, the Post Office will be able to greatly improve its efficiency, enabling it to better respond to increasingly competitive conditions in its marketplace. Logica’s experience with Kalido systems in other blue chip companies means we are well placed to oversee a seamless transition to the new system. We look forward to continuing a long-term partnership with the Post Office.