AMSTERDAM, NETHERLANDS and LONDON (Oct. 21, 2002) – Equant an industry leader in data and IP services for multinational businesses, has signed a multimillion dollar integration services contract with Unilever’s Global Infrastructure Organization (GIO) to provide and maintain its Cisco Systems data networking equipment for the next three years.
GIO provides information technology services to all Unilever organizations worldwide, delivering world-class levels of service, controlling costs and improving communications with customers and suppliers. Unilever’s brands span food, home and personal care and include internationally recognized names such as Dove, Hellmann’s, Knorr, Lever 2000, Lipton and Snuggle.
Unilever, headquartered in London and Rotterdam, has a network supporting 100,000 users across approximately 1,400 sites in more than 100 countries. With Equant, Unilever will be working with a single service provider instead of multiple vendors in many countries. All of the sites are covered by a single global contract and service level agreement.
Equant will deliver Unilever’s Cisco networking hardware and support requirements, which are driven by a need to maintain and improve a global infrastructure to support the company’s increasing reliance on centrally managed IP-enabled applications, such as SAP, PeopleSoft and Ariba. GIO’s network provides the e-business infrastructure and intelligent network services that are essential for rapid and seamless deployment of emerging technologies and new Internet business solutions. The network will be used for the research and development of new brands, packaging design, manufacturing and inventory systems, as well as standard business applications. E-mail alone generates more than one million electronic messages per day.
“Our local teams throughout the world will be working closely with Unilever to ensure the technology meets their business demands and also helps them maximize the return on investment,” said Detlef Spang, senior vice president of Western Europe Markets and Sales, Equant. “In selecting Equant, Unilever will be able to deploy new leading-edge network technology across its global business, resulting in greater efficiency and optimized total cost of ownership.”
Phil Hopley, vice president of Operations, GIO, Unilever, said: “Two key platforms in the Path to Growth strategy Unilever announced in February 2000 are those of simplification and the achievement of a world-class supply chain. As a global company in the fast-moving consumer business, the quality of Unilever’s network is a critical element in securing those platforms and is essential to help improve performance in a highly competitive environment. We chose Equant because of its ability to help implement our network strategy, thanks to its global presence, local support capability and long term commitment.”
Equant Integration Services
Equant provides Integration Services for mission-critical networks to more than 800 global companies in 191 countries. With more than 3,600 engineers and consultants, linked by three Global Customer Support Centers, Equant’s Integration Services professionals help customers maximize the performance of their global networks while getting better return on their network investment with a single service provider. Equant’s experts address each stage in the network lifecycle:
· Deployment Services assists in assessment of infrastructure requirements and implementation of new network applications, technologies and locations.
· Maintenance Services supports support equipment from the leading manufacturers of network, server and desktop products backed by Service Level Agreements (SLAs) for response time and restore time, and providing a consolidated, global view of maintenance costs and performance against SLAs.
· Enterprise Remote Management provides proactive, 24x7, end-to-end infrastructure monitoring from the network to the application, with a single point of management and problem resolution.
· Professional Services provides comprehensive project management and consulting services to successfully design and implement complex global projects.
About Unilever
Unilever is one of the world’s largest consumer products companies with annual sales of approximately €52 billion in 2001. It produces and markets a wide range of foods and home and personal care products. Unilever operates in around 100 countries around the globe and employs approximately 270,000 people.
The business comprises:
Unilever Foods Division: Global brands including Knorr soups, sauces and bouillons; Wall’s ice cream; Birds Eye and Findus frozen foods; Hellmann’s mayonnaise; Lipton teas, recipe products and side dishes; Country Crock and Blue Band spreads; Slim.Fast weight management drinks, bars and soups; Flora and Becel healthy heart spreads, Bertolli olive oil and pasta sauces and Ben Jerry’s and Good Humor-Breyer’s ice creams.
Unilever Home and Personal Care Division: Global brands including Omo, Surf and Ala laundry detergents; Dove skin care, hair care and personal wash products; Lux skin care and personal wash products; Signal oral care products; Suave hair care products; Sure and Rexona deodorants; Pond’s skin care products; Calvin Klein fragrances and personal wash products; Lynx and Axe deodorants, personal wash and hair care products; Cif household cleaning products and Comfort and Snuggle fabric conditioners.
Both Divisions have a significant number of ‘local jewel’ brands also, including; in the U.K.; Persil, Peperami, Domestos, Pot Noodle and PG Tips.
In the United States, Unilever sales were approximately $12.5 billion in 2001. It employs nearly 18,000 people and has 67 offices and manufacturing sites in 23 states. In addition to the global brands, significant brands in the U.S. include; Wish-Bone salad dressings; Lawry's seasonings; “I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter!” spreads; Ragú pasta sauces; Skippy peanut butter; Wisk and “all” laundry detergents; Sunlight dish detergents; Lever 2000, Caress, Degree, and Vaseline skin care, deodorant and soap products; Q-tips cotton swabs; Mentadent oral care products; Finesse, Salon Selectives and ThermaSilk hair care products and Nautica and Lagerfeld cosmetic and fragrance products.
In Canada, Unilever sales were about C$1.5 billion in 2001. It employs approximately 2700 people and has 22 offices and manufacturing sites in 6 Provinces. In addition to the global brands, Unilever is best known in Canada through brands such as Imperial margarine, Red Rose Tea, Ragú, Skippy, Popsicle, Sunlight Laundry Detergent and Dish Liquid, Vaseline, Q-Tips, Thermasilk, Salon Selectives and Degree.
Over Equant
Equant wordt gezien als de grootste aanbieder ter wereld van IP- en datacommunicatiediensten voor multinationals. Equant biedt deze ondernemingen een ruime keus in netwerk-integratie- en beheerservices. Het bereik van Equant’s services strekt zich uit over de gehele wereld; het datanetwerk verbindt alle belangrijke handelscentra in 220 landen en regio’s naadloos met elkaar. In 191 landen wordt plaatselijke ondersteuning geboden. Equant kan bogen op ruim vijftig jaar ervaring in datacommunicatie en verleent zijn managed network services, waaronder IP VPN aan duizenden grote en zeer grote ondernemingen. Equant, lid van de France Télécom Group, werd onlangs verkozen tot Best Global Carrier 2002 tijdens de World Communication Awards en gooit hoge ogen in onderzoemken naar klanttevredenheid. Equant heeft beursnoteringen in New York (NYSE: ENT) en Parijs (Euronext: EQU).Voor meer informatie zie www.equant.com.
Meer informatie voor de redactie:
Equant
Erwin Veenhuyzen
Marketing Manager
Tel. 020 606 92 19
Email: erwin.veenhuyzen@equant.com
Potters PR
Monique Potters
Tel. 0345 501595
GSM 06 28 88 96 32
Email: monique@potterpr.nl
Voorzover dit bericht uitlatingen bevat met een toekomstgericht karakter, zijn deze onder normaal voorbehoud van onverwachte ontwikkelingen of onvoorziene omstandigheden.
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