Pan-European provider of Business Availability services Synstar International has beaten 12 rivals to win a £200M, seven-year contract to provide logistics services to Fujitsu, which designs and builds and operates IT systems. The deal encompasses the delivery of computer parts, and the associated capital purchases, strategic planning, bid support, warehousing and distribution.
The contract is to run in two phases. The “interim” phase is already in operation and runs until April 2005, when the current supplier’s contract ends. The second phase takes effect from April 2005.
Synstar – its Business Availability services cover business continuity, data management, networking, life-cycle management and computer services – handles the logistics services to its own network of UK and European operations. Both Synstar and Fujitsu believe that there are clear benefits in combining the investment and sharing economies of scale involved in this activity.
Steve Vaughan, chief executive officer at Bracknell-based Synstar, comments: “This is our first logistics deal and the largest contract Synstar has ever won. It clearly demonstrates again the success in winning larger contracts, one of cornerstones of our business strategy.”
He continues: “This deal will provide significant cost savings for Fujitsu Services and provides Synstar with the foundation to build one of the most significant IT services-based logistics operations in Europe. We very much hope that in time, we will be able to develop other opportunities that arise from this increase in our logistics footprint and capability.”
Commenting on awarding the contract, Fujitsu group commercial director Andy MacNaughton says: “We have been piloting Synstar’s service since January and have been impressed by the dynamic and flexible service delivery that we have received. This coupled with the innovative nature of the commercial deal, made the Synstar offer compelling.”
