While nothing has been officially confirmed, the paper suggests that Accenture is the leading contender for the contract and that an official announcement concerning a deal is likely to be made in mid-March.
The speculation comes amidst a number of big contract wins for Accenture. The firm recently signed a GBP329 million human resources outsourcing deal with BT, and fended off a consortium led by IBM Global Services to enter into negotiations with Dutch bank ING Groep over a major IT and network outsourcing contract.
According to the Times, the latest contract will cover the back-office functions for Unilever’s human resources, learning and procurement operations.