Boots, one of the best known retail names in the UK, recently embarked on an ambitious program to reduce costs by £100m. The savings would be used in part to invest in the business and revitalize its customer offer.

"Atos Consulting have helped us achieve very substantial cost savings that will enable us to invest elsewhere in the business to improve our competitiveness."

Julian Coles, procurement services unit director, Boots

Business Challenges

Part of this program focused on the procurement of indirect goods such as IT, marketing and logistics. A fragmented approach to procurement had developed across the company's business units with very little central control or understanding of group-wide spending patterns.

Atos Consulting delivered an end-to-end procurement solution to achieve sustainable change. This included implementation of a strategic approach to procurement; fundamental changes to processes, organizational structure and systems; a balanced scorecard for performance measurement; the implementation of buyer and end-user portals; and an effective change management program.

The results saw substantial annualized cost savings realized in the first nine months and sustainable year on year results are being delivered. Cash has been freed up that can be invested elsewhere to make business more competitive and relevant information is being provided to both the buying community and end users through portals on the intranet.

The work at Boots also earned Atos Consulting first place in the MCA (Management Consultancies Association) awards for strategy and business transformation.