Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) (BSE: 532540, NSE: TCS), a global leader in IT services, consulting, and business solutions, has extended its 15-year partnership with Kingfisher Plc, a leading home improvement retailer with over 1,900 stores across seven countries in the UK and Europe. Under the new agreement, TCS will help Kingfisher to significantly enhance operational efficiency by deploying automation and artificial intelligence (AI). Together, both organisations will establish a joint ‘Innovation and Automation Office’ to seamlessly integrate emerging technologies and practices, while also reducing operating costs.
To advance Kingfisher’s strategic growth, TCS will introduce a domain-focused application support structure aligned with Kingfisher’s product and platform approach. TCS will accelerate the use of automation and artificial intelligence in IT operations by building on the success of ignio™, its SaaS-based AIOps platform, along with its generative AI-powered Application Reliability Engineering solution. These technologies will provide actionable insights and enable predictive and proactive management of IT systems for the retailer.
Dave Haycocks, IT services director, Kingfisher, said, “We are delighted to double down on our commitment with our longstanding partner TCS to drive a more agile and efficient IT operation, to grow our business and help our customers and trade professionals build better homes.”
Considering the competitive landscape, retailers constantly seek to optimise and innovate their operations to deliver seamless customer experience. This is pertinent to Kingfisher which relies on its scale and operates internationally under diverse retail banners, including B&Q, Castorama, Brico Dépôt, Screwfix, and TradePoint. Over the last 15 years, TCS has served as Kingfisher’s largest technology partner, working across multiple areas, including digital engineering, SAP-integration, content management and business process services.
Shekar Krishnan, business unit head, retail UK and Europe, TCS, said, “We are delighted to extend our partnership with Kingfisher in the mission to drive more agile, efficient and future ready operations. With the combinational power of AI, automation and our deep contextual knowledge, we will help Kingfisher innovate faster, deliver superior customer experience, and drive strategic growth.”
As a long-standing partner to many of the UK’s leading brands, TCS works closely with the world’s top 10 global retailers and numerous others worldwide, helping them build profitable, sustainable businesses while delivering immersive, unified, and hyper-personalised omni-channel experiences for their customers. TCS’ deep industry expertise, backed by decades of experience and relevant partnerships in retail, spans across store operations, merchandising, supply chain, marketing, pricing strategies, and business model reinvention.
This partnership is a testament to TCS’ commitment to being a trusted innovation partner for leading businesses in the UK. With a 50-year presence in the region, TCS works with over 200 of the nation’s top brands. The organisation holds a leadership position in software and IT services in the UK and has also been ranked the number one IT service provider for customer satisfaction in the UK in an independent survey of CIOs from the largest IT spending organisations in the country. TCS has also been ranked as the number one IT Services Provider in the UK by Pierre Audoin Consultants (PAC), a leading European IT services market research and advisory firm, as part of its Software and IT Services Industry (SITSI) Vendor Rankings. TCS achieved 10% growth – the highest among the top 10 players – and a 7.6% market share, with UK revenues reaching $4,577 million in FY 2024.
