Vodafone Group Plc and Accenture have announced their intention to form a strategic partnership to commercialise Vodafone’s shared operations, which provide various services to Vodafone’s operating companies and partner markets.
The partnership will create a new shared services unit, in which Vodafone will retain majority interest and management control, while Accenture will invest €150m for a minority stake. The new unit will leverage Accenture’s technology and transformation services, such as digital solutions, platforms, and artificial intelligence, to accelerate growth, enhance customer service, and drive significant efficiencies for Vodafone and its partners.
“Today’s announcement is a significant development for Vodafone as we change and simplify the way we work to better serve our customers and drive growth,” said Margherita Della Valle, Group CEO, Vodafone
“The partnership with Accenture opens up new opportunities for our company and our people. We’re excited about the potential of our new commercial shared services organisation and the potential to serve not only Vodafone’s own markets but our Telco partners across the industry.” She noted.
“We are proud to have partnered with Vodafone for over 20 years across many strategic programs. We are excited to take our partnership to a new level with this ground-breaking joint venture that will help power Vodafone’s reinvention and create significant value for their operating companies, partner markets and employees,” said Julie Sweet, Chair and CEO, Accenture.
“This move speaks to their ambition to work in entirely new ways, reduce structural complexity, open avenues for growth, create better experiences for their customers and provide additional career paths for their people.” She added.
The partnership will also create new career opportunities and skilling paths for the employees of the shared services unit. Also, combined force of both companies’ brands, investments, scale, strengths, and expertise will enable the strategic partnership to sustain the high-performance expansion that has lasted for over a decade and to facilitate Vodafone’s transformation by creating a more agile and efficient organisation, which will align with its strategy to focus on customers, simplicity, and growth. The strategic partnership will be completed once the definitive agreements are done, which is projected to occur in the spring of 2024.
