Korea Exchange Bank (KEB) and IBM have signed a five-year strategic procurement outsourcing agreement, covering IT, marketing, services, facilities and supplies.
Under the deal, Big Blue will run KEB's overall sourcing and procurement operations end-to-end. As part of a "smart purchasing process" project, the vendor will establish and support the bank's strategies, improve process and systems, ans manage relationships with suppliers. IBM will make purchasing decisions and settle payment.
By centralising and streamlining the procurement process, IBM says it will help the bank cut costs during the "challenging economic climate", supporting its Zero Waste Project, a management campaign aimed at improving efficiency.
Hakdong Kang, business development executive, managed business process service, IBM Korea, says: "IBM's success in process outsourcing despite the unprecedented business environment in the last few years is partly attributed to the process innovation in a range of areas including enterprise purchasing, which helps drive cost saving and ensure industry compliance."