Walgreens (NYSE: WAG)(NASDAQ: WAG), the nation’s largest drugstore
chain, has signed an agreement with Genpact (NYSE: G), a leader in
managing business processes for companies around the world, to provide
Walgreens with accounting services. The agreement is part of Walgreens
Rewiring for Growth initiative that is finding ways the company can be
more effective and efficient in support of its growth strategy.
Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
Under the 10-year agreement, Genpact will assume several accounting
processes currently managed by Walgreens, as the retailer implements a
new structure for its accounting division. The agreement will impact
accounting staff at its offices in Deerfield, Ill. and surrounding
areas, including Danville, Ill. and nine smaller accounting locations
across the U.S.
Genpact has agreed to acquire the Danville facility and maintain or
potentially grow employment levels over the duration of the agreement.
Approximately 500 Walgreens accounting employees in Danville will become
Genpact employees within the next four months, while the remainder will
stay with Walgreens. Over the next six to 18 months, another 300 jobs at
various sites may be impacted as part of the transition of accounting
work.
With this strategic decision, Danville will become the largest of three
delivery centers for Genpact in the U.S. and positions the company to
provide greater onshore access to its clients. Genpact will continue to
make investments in building domain expertise and enhancing the skills
of employees in Danville.
"Genpact’s proven ability to bring efficiency to finance and accounting
processes and its commitment to our Danville employees were key factors
in our decision to forge this agreement,” said Walgreens executive vice
president and CFO Wade Miquelon. "This move will help us improve cost
productivity and facilitate our growth strategies, while maintaining an
agile and service-focused organization.”
"We are delighted to announce this strategic relationship
with Walgreens,” said Genpact President and CEO Pramod Bhasin. "This
agreement strengthens our ability to deliver end-to-end solutions for
the retail and healthcare industries. As leaders in our industry, we are
redefining the market by moving beyond just process efficiencies and
focusing more on accelerating positive business outcomes for our
clients. We believe our domain expertise in finance and accounting,
health care, back-office processes, re-engineering and analytics coupled
with our heritage of Lean Six Sigma uniquely positions us to support
Walgreens growth initiatives.”
About Walgreens
Walgreens (www.walgreens.com)
is the nation’s largest drugstore chain with fiscal 2009 sales of $63
billion. The company operates 7,149 drugstores in all 50 states, the
District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. Walgreens provides the most
convenient access to consumer goods and services and cost-effective
pharmacy, health and wellness services in America through its retail
drugstores, Walgreens Health Services division and Walgreens Health and
Wellness division. Walgreens Health Services assists pharmacy patients
and prescription drug and medical plans through Walgreens Health
Initiatives Inc. (a pharmacy benefit manager), Walgreens Mail Service
Inc., Walgreens Home Care Inc., Walgreens Specialty Pharmacy LLC and
SeniorMed LLC (a pharmacy provider to long-term care facilities).
Walgreens Health and Wellness Division includes Take Care Health
Systems, the largest and most comprehensive manager of worksite health
and wellness centers and in-store convenient care clinics, with more
than 700 locations throughout the country.
About Genpact
Genpact is a leader in managing business processes, offering a broad
portfolio of enterprise and industry-specific services. The company
manages over 3000 processes for more than 175 clients worldwide.
Putting process in the forefront, Genpact couples its deep process
knowledge and insights with focused IT capabilities, targeted analytics
and pragmatic reengineering to deliver comprehensive solutions for
clients. Lean and Six Sigma are ingrained in the company’s culture,
which views the management of business processes as a science. Genpact
has developed Smart Enterprise Processes (SEPSM), a
groundbreaking, rigorously scientific methodology for managing business
processes, which focuses on optimizing process effectiveness in addition
to efficiency to deliver superior business outcomes. Services are
seamlessly delivered from a global network of centers to meet a client’s
business objectives, cultural and language needs and cost reduction
goals. Learn more at www.genpact.com.
