In an important deal for HP’s business process outsourcing credentials, and the company will become the single point of accountability for management of Compuware’s product-fulfilment supply chain for its physical and electronic software. HP will manage Compuware’s business processes, global infrastructure, and delivery centers in the US, and eventually in Europe and Asia.
It will provide product and order-fulfilment for the hundreds of orders processed weekly for nearly 150 Compuware software products, and will take responsibility for handling order-management, commodity supplier management, on-demand printing, software replication, assembly, order-fulfilment, and product distribution services to Compuware’s customers and channel partners.
Compuware said it hopes HP will help it deliver software and documentation to customers worldwide through a leaner supply chain that speeds time to market, lowers costs, and improves customer and channel partner satisfaction.
HP has similar relationships with Citrix Systems and Rockwell Software, and the contract highlights its ambitions to expand beyond its core strength in IT infrastructure services and move into business process services such as finance and accounting outsourcing, although its progress in BPO has lagged behind some of its rivals.
HP’s rival IBM set up a supply chain services practice 12 months ago, which is aimed at helping companies operate all links of their supply chain from procurement to strategy. IBM values the SCM market at $23.5bn, and said it is larger than any other area of the business process outsourcing market.
