British retailer Pret A Manger signs on Tech Mahindra to accelerate digital transformation

Tech Mahindra, the information technology (IT) services arm of the $19.4 billion Mahindra Group, has signed a five-year contract with Pret A Manger to accelerate the British ready-to-eat food and beverages retailer’s digital transformation.  

Tech Mahindra will create and implement a digital transformation programme that aligns with Pret’s business strategy and enable the latter to transition to global operating model. The contract involves the streamlining and optimisation the retailer’s IT infrastructure through cloudification, systems re-engineering, consumerisation of IT systems and data engineering, Tech Mahindra said in a statement. 

Global technology research and advisory firm Information Services Group led the partner selection process for Pret A Manger, the statement added. 

“The COVID-19 outbreak has forced retailers across the world to realign and reconfigure their service offerings. As a strategic digital transformation partner, Tech Mahindra will enable Pret to seamlessly operate and deliver its services to millions of customers across the country and rest of the world,” Tech Mahindra head of sales for UK and Ireland Jinender Jain said. 

The partnership with Tech Mahindra would enable Pret to “...accelerate our business transformation and make changes to our global technology operations, ensuring our shops and team members have 24/7 access to technical support. Pret will continue to set its technology strategy and lead key projects in-house, working closely with Tech Mahindra on day-to-day delivery,” added Pret A Manger chief technology and transformation officer Sarah Venning.   

Tech Mahindra currently employs more than 120,000 people across 90 countries and caters to more than 1,000 enterprise customers. The company focuses on leveraging next-generation technologies including 5G, blockchain, cybersecurity and artificial intelligence to enable end-to-end digital transformation, it said in the statement. 

The company has lately also made a number of acquisitions of bolster its capabilities. In April, it acquired Denver, Colorado based Eventus Solutions Group for $44 million (Rs 328.42 crore) in an all-cash deal. The addition would boost the consulting capabilities of its customer experience and customer management spaces, it said at the time. Earlier the same month, it acquired hybrid cloud automation and DevOps services provider DigitalOnUS for $120 million. The strategic acquisition is expected to strengthen Tech Mahindra’s offerings in hybrid-cloud digital transformation.