IBM and Honda have entered into a five-year agreement that will see IBM manage and run Honda’s finance and execute its procurement operations across Europe. The contract is designed to deliver integrated end-to-end service which can help Honda improve efficiency, reduce costs, standardise processes across its European operations, and ultimately set it on course to a “Zero Touch” vision.
Honda and IBM Global Business Services have been in an existing relationship for ten years, this new contract extends this relationship and gives the latter more responsibility for procurement operations. The fully integrated finance and procurement intelligent workflow is designed to help enable cost savings, productivity improvements, and improved service levels to Honda’s suppliers and customers, on a resilient platform.
Joe Crump, General Manager, Business Administration, Honda Motor Europe said, “We have a strategic need to transform our finance and procurement operations into the very best in the world and in so doing make Honda’s European operations a business that every dealer and supplier want to work with.
“We have a proven excellent working relationship with IBM, which has become a trusted partner and I’m confident will bring enormous expertise to help us make the changes needed to respond to the industry’s challenges and emerging opportunities.”
As part of the new agreement, IBM will manage the Source-to-Pay, Record-to-Report, and Order-to-Cash processes. The standardisation and simplification of the processes are designed to enable the application of the latest advances in automation which can provide further cost and quality benefits. A new single helpdesk with an integrated view of the entire finance and procurement function can not only be more efficient but can also improve customer service.
“We look forward to bringing our business process experience, technology, and transformation methodologies to help Honda Motor Europe bring its Zero Touch ambitions one step closer,” said Dave Miller, IBM Managing Director for Honda Global Account. “We plan to bring together people, processes, and solutions into intelligent workflows through an optimised managed services approach that can enable Honda Motor Europe to enhance its finance and purchasing operations and become the partner of choice to its network of dealers and suppliers.”
The IBM-Honda Motor Finance & Procurement Service agreement was signed in 1Q 2021.
