Deutsche Telekom and France Telecom - which already work in partnership as Everything Everywhere and recently announced plans to cooperate in other business areas - are now going shopping together.
They’ve agreed to combine their procurement activities for customer equipment, network equipment, service platforms and IT Infrastructure. A pilot scheme will be established by the end of this year to handle four IT projects. A total of 1.3 billion Euro per year is expected to be saved after the scheme has been running for three years; around two-thirds of those ongoing savings will be made by France Telecom/Orange.
Olaf Swantee, Executive Vice President Europe and Sourcing at France Telecom-Orange, said “I am very excited to announce this new project with Deutsche Telekom. By combining our procurement activities, our customers will benefit from the best networks, improved services and the widest choice of devices across our footprint. The new joint venture will offer a more efficient sourcing organisation that will lead to more effective partnerships with suppliers. This will enable us to drive innovation and shape the development of technology in a way that meets customers’ needs.”
The joint venture will have operational units in Bonn and Paris.